Any little ideas that supplement a state school education?

[Iamwaiting]

My daughter goes to our local village school and is so happy, she loves it! And at her age (Y1) that is the most important thing as far as we are concerned.

However having attended private school myself with class sizes of 15, I can't pretend that the quality of education she is receiving is brilliant. Her teacher is wonderful, but realistically there is only so much she can do in a class of 30 with two children requiring 1 to 1 support (that they can't currently recruit for.)

It's no-ones fault, just the way it is. But we have a little disposable income (not enough to afford private plus the nearest is 40 mins away!) but enough to fund extras to help with this side.

So for instance we have a Reading Chest subscription so she has unlimited books of an appropriate to supplement the one a week she gets from school. She attends Stagecoach to help with her confidence.

Both those ideas came from here, so I was wondering what little extras other people do to support their child's education?

Just to be clear that this is not a state vs private school debate. Both are what they are, and as I said my DD's happiness is the most important thing right now. But at the same time I feel like maybe there is a bit of a middle ground to help support her in areas the school simply doesn't have the funding to be able to.

Thanks!

Go to places - museums, art galleries, stately homes, zoos, parks, restaurants, theatre ...

Go to the library regularly and let her choose whatever she wants

Encourage interests, but equally don't force them if she gets bored and wants to move onto something else.

Play board games and build Lego

Cook

Discuss topics in an age appropriate way

Beavers or Rainbows... they usually do a range of activities.

Follow their interests and encourage curiosity.

Swimming lessons would be my number 1 extra curricular at that age.

Do her school need parent volunteers?
I go in to my child’s class once a week for an hour to listen to readers/help with art projects/do gardening etc (whatever the teacher asks for help with really) and I’ve also chaperoned trips and local walks to the local river/shops/library etc.

It might not directly benefit your child (for instance I barely ever listen to my own child read) but I find it valuable to see what DC is doing in school, get to know their classmates, and show them that I’m interested in what they do at school and proud of their progress.

Thanks all for the tips! We do swimming, and she starts Beavers in April.
Unfortunately I can't volunteer due to work but I am on the PTA so I help with anything I can where I can get back in time from work.

Learn an instrument.

Sounds like you're doing good.
Other bits we do is visit locations/museums/attractions etc that relate to the topic work they're doing at school - ie Romans etc
We have a Whizz Pop Bang subscription which has interesting experiments as well as topic relevant information.
An instrument would be good - we're lucky in that our school has a private guitar teacher come into school & do 2:1 lessons.
Board games, reading, puzzles, cooking, etc

I play the piano so we are found simple stuff together, but I will definitely get formal lessons when she turns about 7

Well if you're trying to make up what you see an an educational deficit, the obvious answer is tutors. My friends daughter does a maths session weekly online, she's already a bright girl so it's clearly pushing further not keeping up classes.
If she does theatre/ drama, an instrument, has books to read then the rest is the kind of enrichment activities you can do as a family - theatre, galleries, city weekends abroad, etc.
Perhaps a magazine subscription to Children's National Geographic etc.?

Sports: get her involved in at least 1 (preferably 2 sports) on a weekly basis outside of school in addition to the swimming lessons
Forest School on weekly basis at weekends and also in school holidays
Music: definitely teach an instrument
Cookery: lots of baking and helping cook meals with you

Finally with tongue in cheek but also with a nod to reality:
Lots of playing outside in the rain/snow etc 🤣 Put wellies and snowsuit on and get her outside in all weathers

Extra work at home for backing up school, especially maths.

Lots of reading.

Lots of experiences. Go to places like museums and galleries and focus on one main thing. For example, a gallery but focus on one artist. Anything else that grabs interest is a bonus.

Go out in nature a lot. Learn about the world around you and be able to identify some trees, plants and birds.

Watch documentaries and age appropriate tv/films that help her understand the wider world. Things like The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind.

Reading: Subscriptions to various publications like The Week Junior, National Geographic Kids and Whizz Pop Bang. Weekly trips to the library. Choosing books for fun to read as well ones to inform them like biographies, books on countries, etc..

Extra work at home/workbooks to supplement work at school: Mathseeds, Reading Eggs etc..

Educational games: Board games, lego, magna tiles and puzzles

Activities alongside school studies: Visiting places that coincide with the subject matter they are being taught.

Sports: Try all sorts of different sports based on interest.

Life skills: Taking up swimming, self defence or martial arts class, an etiquette class, drama or public speaking class. Learning how to network and socialise, volunteering and learning to help others/empathise. Having varied dinner table conversation about things they have read or seen in the news etc.. Learning how to hold a conversation with others; How to budget money, learn about savings and investments etc..

Cultural experiences: museums, galleries, exhibitions, Make a bucket list each season of events and things to do.

Outdoor pursuits: Woodland walks, National Trust sites, forest school, day trips to the seaside etc..

Holidays: Visiting a different country and have them research the country to learn a few facts about the culture, food or a key place to visit,

Languages: Have them learn a language or two

Music: Have them learn an instrument

Cookery: Have them help in the kitchen while cooking or baking.

Watching documentaries and films that are age appropriate that wither have a learning or fun/entertaining element

Tutor: Get help with a tutor to help with subjects they need help with.

Careers: Teaching them about the various careers out there, as well as the steps or requirements to take to get there. The salary ranges and discuss what those salaries can offer in terms of lifestyle.

And recognise that of the many brilliant ideas shared so far you don’t need to do all or most - just a select few. Otherwise you’ll have a frazzled and overloaded child.

Your county's Wildlife Trust usually offer lots of extra-curricular activities as well as during half terms and holidays.
Their websites usually offer activities to download and do with your children like tree identification, bug hunts etc...
RSPB is also a valuable resource for activities.

Travel if you can afford it. Not two weeks at Disney either 😁. It’s possible to do it on a budget. I’ve taken my children to multiple countries and I am a single parent. I’ve had plenty of snark about how can I possibly afford it but it’s quite easy really, only three airfares, flying very early or late, self catering, the attitude of we are living here for a couple of weeks/months, rather than let’s live it up and spend loads because we are on holiday.

Give her life experiences, museums, music, art. Be involved in her learning and expand on what she is learning at school. Travel if you can. Read. I think learning an instrument is very good and both my ds started one early. You do not need to be constantly doing but just foster a sense of curiosity and then she will want to learn naturally.

Read Daily. Eat together as a family whenever possible (it makes a huge difference to their vocabulary and social skills). Mine also love puzzle books/word searches and we have started using a writing practice book for one of our children as his writing was quite scruffy and a little bit of practice a few times a week has made a massive difference (and given him a bit more stamina).

Other than that, give them an enriched childhood whenever possible - so much learning happens outside of school and it doesn’t need to be pricey. Mine love a ride on the bus to town, a trip to a museum or library, welly walks to the park etc and we find we engage much more as a family when we are out experiencing new things.

Some absolutely brilliant ideas on here, thank you so much for taking the time to respond.
She's only 5 so this gives so much to go at and explore bit by bit, and allow her to find her own passions and interests as she grows older.
We also love being in the garden, and have had some massive veg boxes put in the garden where we grow our fave veg each summer which has been such a lovely activity (just in case anyone else is reading this for ideas.)

I don't think you need to wait until 7 for formal music lessons and a private school would certainly introduce these earlier.

Scouting, music, drama. Build her cultural capital with visits and experiences. Read widely with her - children’s classics not just modern books. We found ballet very good for discipline at that age too. Swimming and one other sports club.

Academically, you could do some apps like:

1. Doodle Maths
2. Teach Your Monster to Read if she hasn't already mastered phonics
3. A kids group language class focussed on singing -- not sure how widely available these are outside of London

For the non-academic activities:

1. Learn an instrument
2. Swimming lessons
3. Another sport that develops all round athletic ability like gymnastics
4. Art classes
5. Stage coach / Lamda etc- like you do already

I'm not suggesting you or she has time to do all of these things but these are what the gaps are in the offering!

Talking to her about anything of interest, history, art, music or whatever. When my kids were growing up I did this and as adults they have all said how much general knowledge they have because of it.

Doesn't cost anything so might not be what you are looking for.

Learning an instrument, mine started at 4 and were amazed when they realised that not everyone could read music (me included.)

I used to be a leader at Beavers and kids get to try lots of things which might not be in great depth but might inspire an interest in something you haven't thought of. Archery was a great favourite with ours.

Read with her, to her, and listen to her read to you. Make maths a game- count everything, and start sums and times tables early. Expand your answers- she asks about stars, tell her the deeper information and explain the vocabulary she's unsure about

Thank you so much everyone, lots of brilliant ideas to think about!

We are in a similar situation to you, and I would definitely say learn an instrument. DD is 6 (yr2) and started violin lessons last year, which she loves. I also play the piano and have done bits & pieces with her, but she has responded much better to a music teacher who isn't her mum!

She has also started drama classes, which she really enjoys and are great for building confidence etc.

Also plenty of reading, library trips, theatre trips, time in nature etc as PP have said, and discussing everything as you go.