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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Do you all sit with your primary school child every night and doreading/word cards etc

69 replies

julienetmum · 12/12/2006 13:01

There seem to be a lot of threads about reading records, flash cards etc.

My dd has a reading book sent home every night (changed about 3 times a week) a little less the last couple of weeks due to Christmas, nativity plays etc.

However I only generally manage to sit with her and read it about once or twice a week. We have a bedtime storu every night but usually by the time we have got in, had tea it is time to get ready for bed or she wants to watch a bit of TV or play.

We do no homework at all on weekends as I am either working or we are out visiting family etc.

Just wondered as dnecice has homework every weekend and others mention doing stuff every single night (like spellings or recognising words)

OP posts:

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LieselVonGiftwrapp · 12/12/2006 13:03

I do it religously as she is struggling at the moment.

Ceolas · 12/12/2006 13:03

No not every night. Average about every second night.

Dull for both of us IMO

busybusymum · 12/12/2006 13:05

yes I do sit, everynight with my DD aged 7 (yr3) as she needs me to support her with it but dont with my DS 9yo (yr5) as he doesnt need my help. but I do sit and go through their homework with them at the weekend and I have been know to make them do it again if I feel it isnt good enough .

HeavenisInherwinterunderwear · 12/12/2006 13:07

Most nights but if the reading book hasn't been changed for a few days then don't do reading. Spellings and words. Ds1 is not keen as he finds spelling and writing hard but I don't want him to fall even further behind.

ParanoidSurreyHousewife · 12/12/2006 13:07

It depends on what your particular school expects though doesn't it? As well as the age and maturity of the child. Is your dd reading the book by herself or do you only read it once a week? And even if you are, if the school are happy and you are happy then that is fine.

At ours an adult is expected to hear the child read each night until the end of Year 2 (when the children are expected to do 20 minutes reading a night by themselves). However this is another local school which doesn't have any homework, so parents do have some choice.

crazydazy · 12/12/2006 13:07

We practice about twice a week too. Do not push DS as he's in Reception and has a very high boredom threshhold. He just cannot be bothered after tea, he just wants to play so I let him. DD on the other is 6 and quite enjoys reading but she reads any books now, not just the school books she is given.

WigWamBahhumbug · 12/12/2006 13:09

Dd is 5 and in Year 1, and if we are to read all of the books they send home each week we have to read with her almost every night. They are 26 - 30 page books and she can't manage to concentrate well enough to read the whole thing in one sitting, so we read half every night - they send them home three times a week, so that's two nights for each book and one night off. It only takes 20 minutes, so she still has time to play, have a bit of TV, have a bedtime story and all the rest of it.

They are given their spellings 25 at a time, but they have five or six weeks to learn them, so we only look at spellings once a week or so. Dd has picked up on spelling very well though, so doesn't have to spend huge amounts of time on her spellings just yet.

She also brings home little "projects", which they generally have a week to complete - again, we tend to sit and do a little at a time.

saadia · 12/12/2006 13:10

We do most nights but if ds doesn't want to then I don't force him. We have cut back alot on TV though so he is quite keen to read now. Sometimes he wants me to read to him, so I subtlely make him do a bit of work as well by pointing out words that he knows and he reads them.

We have also got those some magnetic words on the fridge so he might stand there and read out words and make meaningless sentences.

On weekends he will do about 15mins a day, of whatever he's in the mood for - either reading, writing or numbers, but if he starts to lose interest then we leave it as I can't see the point of forcing him.

Aimsmum · 12/12/2006 13:12

Message withdrawn

Original poster

julienetmum · 12/12/2006 13:14

She reads the books in school, either individually or in her reading gruop of 4. When we do read it together it takes about 60 seconds as she has usually memorised it.

The only comment I got from school was when I didn't fill in her record book for about 2 weeks.

She is in reception class and is in the top reading group.

OP posts:

busybusymum · 12/12/2006 13:14

With my DS in year 1, he reads to me every night(if he isnt too tired) and reads his words cards about 4 times a week. He doesnt get any other homework.

Tommy · 12/12/2006 13:15

we do - take it in turns - me one evening, DH the other. DS1 is in Reception. He loves it all so much that we can use it as a threat/bribe "If you don't get out of the bath now, you won't be able to do your phonics...." and it works!

Weird child

busybusymum · 12/12/2006 13:18

Tommy, thats what its like with us too, its great when they are keen! except DH wont listen to the DC read as he falls asleep and wakes with them jumping on him!

sunnysideup · 12/12/2006 13:48

We have a reading book as often as we like, can be every day but many days we forget to change it....when we have a school reading book we have it as one of ds' bedtime stories. He has about 20 minutes of stories every night.

Other than that, we do nothing in the afternoon/evening.

To be honest, there isn't time. DS is home after school/park by 4pm and is in bed having stories at 6 so by the time he's had dinner and his down time, or tv or whatever he wants, there is no time at all for his phonics and words....and he's too knackered anyway.

We look at his stuff in the morning, we're up at 6 so there is time then to look at his words; he's fresher then too and happier to do it. Obviously we get up, have breakfast, and doodle about a bit, I don't do it at 6am!

I think the home stuff can go hang if they're too tired, at this age anyway.

kslatts · 12/12/2006 13:59

DD1 in year 2 reads every night for 20 minutes, changes the book at school once she has finished it, has maths once a week which is her strongest subject so usually only takes her about 15 minutes, she has a spelling test every week and has 10 words to learn I test on them each night.

DD2 in reception reads every day, the teacher changes her book twice a week, she also does her word cards every night, she has a sound book and once a week colours in a picture and practises writing the corresponding letter, she has been given a sentences book, each week she has to write a sentence and draw a picture to represent the sentence.

I work full-time and dh works shifts so we share the reading and homework.

eldestgirl · 12/12/2006 14:00

Oh Tommy, tell me about it. DS1 bounces in at 7am and chirps up, can we do some reading please? I just can't! Not a morning person. But yes, I do read with him every night as DH is never here. Can't bear the school readers though, so we just do our own thing.

TEEstheCEEsontobejolly · 12/12/2006 14:01

No, I get my mum to!

foxinsocks · 12/12/2006 14:02

gawd no, we don't every night. Probably a couple of times a week.

ComeOyefaithfulVeneer · 12/12/2006 14:03

DD is in reception and we do 20(ish) minutes of reading/writting a night. It is instigated by her as she (currently) enjoys it. We haven't really be given any guidlines by the school as to what is expected of us at home.

Legacy · 12/12/2006 14:08

DS2 is in Reception. Gets 2 reading books a week. We do 3 stories a night - 1 his reading book, and two others, which either I read to him, or if they're easy, he 'helps' to read, pointing out words he knows etc.

We have letters in the bath which we play games with once or twice a week, and we have the Reception words fridge magnets in the kitchen where we try to do a 'word of the day' with DS1 (7) at breakfast.
DS2's reading is coming along fine - and I'm not worried as he's one of the youngest in the year.

His writing is non-existent though and I keep thinking that's what I should be practising more, but he's just not interested....

Original poster

julienetmum · 12/12/2006 14:15

20 minutes a night, yikes, dd would go to bed at 8pm if we did that long.

Most nights we don't actually have time for a bath, on the days I work I pick her up from care club at 5.15pm, we get to my mums at 6.00pm to pick ds up, she eats tea, plays for 15-20 minutes, then we go home and straight to bed.

She does read everything she can get her hands on and asks the most awkward questions about them going off at some strange tangents. Her latest is estate agents for sal/to let boards on the way home in the car or signs on vans and lorries. How to explain what letting a house is to a 5 year old.

It was the formal sit down and do specific words and tasks I was wondering about. We have never actually been given word cards anyway except for a few ORT ones prior to her starting school.

OP posts:

ComeOyefaithfulVeneer · 12/12/2006 14:27

Finding 20 minutes is easy in this house. I am a SAHM so home by 3.40 from school, bed time is 7.30 so plenty of time for food, bath, homework and a bit of tv thrown in.

Spicedfennelwine · 12/12/2006 14:28

2-3 nights a week for my yr 1 and yr 2 dds.

if we have been too busy we catch up at weekends. or sometimes have a bit of a burst of activity in the holidays.

and if they're tired or not keen we just don't bother.

iota · 12/12/2006 14:32

I usually forget - sometimes we have 5 mins in the car on the way to school.

and I'm SAHM - just a lazy one

kids are both doing fine though

Glitterygookwithchocsonthetree · 12/12/2006 14:35

Ds1 is in year 1.

We only do reading book when it's changed (about 3 times a week) because he isn't struggling to read so he just whizzes through it and there's no need to go over it again.

Every morning we park up early near school and we sit in the car and do his spellings.

In the evening - nothing particularly structured but he quite likes writing so does that himself, he reads by himself and other stuff, numeracy for example, we just do as part of daily life rather than as a structured learning session.

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