6yr old private tutoring for English, to early ?

[Samsung1122]

Hi,

so our son is just finishing yr 1 and will be going into yr 2 later this year, he’s struggled with his reading and writing and me and his father were thinking about sending him to 1-1 tutoring just once a week for 40mins throughout the summer, however both have mixed feelings, is he to young or are we going to give him a big boost of help by doing this ?

You’ll get people telling you he’s too young but honestly if he’s been struggling I would take the chance to give him a boost forward over the summer. Reading and writing are the cornerstones of learning and making sure he has those fundamentals down during infants will serve him well. If you can afford it then go for it. The kids that do best are always the ones with their parents supporting their learning, school can’t do it all.

I think you need to look at why he's struggling, as 40 mins won't make much difference if you aren't able to also support him. Is he dyslexic? Is it hand muscle strength for writing? You need a more holistic approach I think than just a tutor once a week (although they could be great for giving you ideas of what to practice if you know what the issue is).

How much reading and writing do you do at home right now ?
At his age I would imagine that 10 minutes a day of reading with you or dad would make a bigger difference than 40 minutes tutoring a week.
You’ve probably thought of this but I assume that you take him to the optician for eye tests every year.
If you do a search on here, you’ll find fun activities that strengthen writing muscles. Eg using the garden hose trigger or letting him “paint@ the fence with his super soaker. (That’s if writing is physically difficult)
If it’s vocabulary then reading to him more or making family screen time more adult or older programmes might help expose him to new vocabulary. I think that my youngest had the best vocabulary despite struggling to its school too because he was exposed to more adult stuff because of his siblings.
If it’s what to write then encourage him to make lists or keep a diary this summer. Even if it’s a sentence or two every day, he’ll go back in September without the summer slide.
If he finds writing on paper with pencil boring then invest in some gel pens, aqua doodle or get a mini white board and marker like at school to make writing more fun. If you live by the beach, get him to write in the sand for fun.

I’m sure I read research some years ago that suggested that the biggest gaps in attainment took place over the summer holidays and it was believed to be because some parents continued to get their children to read and study over that period and some didn’t. If your son is already a little behind, then I would definitely keep him going over the summer. A tutor once a week will only help if you and your husband also do some reading/writing with him each day too. Even 10 mins a day will likely make a difference.

It is never to young to think about how to help your child learn.. the only question is about the right method. Other posters are right that multiple times a week is much more effective than once a week..

But, if neither you or your husband know how to help him, a tutor with expertise would be great, especially if they could give you reading/activities or guide you in how to help him in between sessions.

Is he really struggling? What does the school say?

I remember a tutor saying that it was only effective if parents also invested time themselves during the week. So you would have to cooperate with the tutor basically.

At this age you can't outsource it IMO as I don't think one long chunk once a week works - you need daily work with them. It's not difficult to do reading and a bit of writing every day. At a bare minimum, lots of reading at home.

My son was struggling with English at this age so we started with an English tutor over the summer holidays at the end of year 1 and it did really help give him a boost. It's not too early and is just giving them the extra help they need.

In my opinion you absolutely can outsource this and some children who are reluctant learners will respond better to a teacher than their own parents. Of course we did still read and write with him regularly too but teachers are trained in the best ways to get a child reading and writing and they certainly know a lot more than I do.

Ok thanks for all advice, just for some more info we haven’t been told that he has or could have any learning difficulties, he started yr1 only knowing most of the phonological sounds, then in January they started to put them into reading groups based on ability and he was in the lowest group and told he needed extra help, from January up until today he now blends words, most of the time out loud like d-a-d but sometimes he can read a page of 4 words with blending in his head and reading them out loud, he’s just not that fluent at it yet !

we love reading and read atleast 2 books a night and he loves listening however when it comes to him reading his books it’s ww3, he starts getting angry, starts refusing to look at the book and so on, he really dosnt want to read only when we give an incentive ! And I’ve tried to make it fun.

I was thinking that with the guidance of the tutor (worlds at his school) she could guide me on a weekly basis as to what me and his father need to be focusing on for that week, and with them 40mins that she’s with him atleast I would know he’s really getting into it and using his little brain :)

I only want the best I know his confidence isn’t the best and even the teachers told me, socially he’s very confident but when it comes to his work he is not.

I was raised with no parental help, and school was hard, hoping that I can take a lot of that burden off him.

Edited as missed your update.

Thank you, he is a very reluctant learner and I was thinking that with the direct 1-1 it would help him, they did tell me that even though he’s a very socialable boy he’s really not that confident when it comes to work so I really wanted to try and give him this boost throughout summer.

I would get some year 1 workbooks from Amazon (or somewhere else) and sy you are doing a page a day.

How often do you ready with him / to him at home??

It is normal to struggle at this age - it is not something that comes naturally to children - let him enjoy the holidays. It will click with him in his own good time. Just keep reading to him and occasionally point out the odd word - not in the way of a test: Do you know what that word is? But in the way of: Look two o's that's an ooo!.

The school holidays are exactly that at this age. There simply is no rush.

I got my son at this age a little bit of tutoring, I'd say pick very carefully, our tutor for that age asked in advance what he liked (dinosaurs) and built the exercises and lessons around it. He absolutely loved her. Especially over the summer holidays, he won't be tired from school or over worked. It made a massive difference in my sons writing and confidence.
Do get dyslexia checked though, schools aren't always best at picking up on it, rhey have big classes and dont get much 121 time with individuals, but a tutor should be better at seeing him work closely and picking up any of this too. Just pick the person super carefully to ensure they're really fun and light.
Also try and get him to the library to try lots and lots of different books, even if you just read to him, it'll encourage a love of books which makes it worth trying hard to learn and it lasts a lifetime!

Please take the pressure off rather than adding more by a private tutor. Not necessary. Make reading incidental and fun rather than a chore. Use every opportunity in the home , read to him ,share a read with him , play word/board games get him writing and reading his work to you, pretend you need his help to read instructions menus etc. Make sure he knows why he is learning to read ( not just to please teacher etc.) Use other subjects and things he is interested in to make lists that he can read back to you. But don't give him the responsibility of having to have a tutor....please.

Haven’t read the full thread but I’d agree especially as a parent of a dyslexic child. The amount of loss over the summer hols is quite large. Teachers admitted to us that the first 6 weeks of the autumn term is just reminding them of the previous year.

So tutoring won’t go astray but to a previous suggestion, other things that will teach pen control, fun books and time with his parents daily will make all the difference too. There are also lots of games for iPads and lastly, switch subtitles on on the TV. I can’t recommend this enough.

oh yes the iPad apps - I think it was Teach Your Monster to Read and Reading Eggs that worked the best for my kids.

Our DD was in year 3 when we got her a tutor - we were considering it sooner, but school were sugarcoating the fact that she was falling behind her peers.
We totally struck gold with her tutor - with us, DD would refuse to read, write or engage in homework activities, but the tutor unlocked something in her within a few weeks, and she started to enjoy all the things she hated doing with us. To the pint that she began reading on her own, something she’d never done before.
DD has since then been diagnosed with dyslexia, and I’m convinced that it’s mainly thanks to her tutor that she continues to enjoy learning and not letting her dyslexia stand in her way.

Get him signed up for the summer reading challenge at your local library to encourage reading through the summer - it’s free!
summerreadingchallenge.org.uk

I don’t think it’s too young. We’ve been having a tutor for our 6 year old who was having a hard time with phonics. The tutor has used a different reading approach and he’s now doing really well. We weren’t being pushy and parents, just wanted professional advice and it’s proven invaluable!

I had my y2 child tutored for maths and it really helped as he became very confident (because it made sense) and more keen to practise (we get HW to keep the skills up). I tried doing it myself but I couldn't explain it jn a way that made sense.

Make sure you chose your tutor wisely though!

It's really not normal to struggle. He is behind: OP is absolutely right to help him. Just waiting for it to "click" is hopeless.

Probably best to put this off for a while as a formal thing, and focus on supporting his informal learning at home, especially over summer.
Some suggestions;
-Get him to start keeping a diary, carve out some time in your days for him to do this, either with help or alone. [Prevents any loss of learning and the little and often approach is also recommended for learning disabilities like dyslexia].
-Read with him every day, get him to read to your sometimes, and you read to him. It you're lacking time, having him read to you whilst you're doing something else (eg a story whilst you wash up, or reading a recipe whilst you're cooking).
-Visit the library regularly, start working this into your routine now, get him excited about choosing books on topics he's interested in. (bonus is your library also has free clubs over summer).
-Try to acquire some books at that basic learning the read level (eg the biff and chip books), and put them somewhere accessible and up front in your home.
-Carve out some time to do workbook type activities in English (and maths if you think it'd be valuable). This could be daily, or just at time where he'd be doing independent activities anyway (eg if you've got a holiday planned, whilst you're travelling, or maybe whilst you tidy up from a meal, he gets a workbook out). If he finds it stressful, get an easier one he can be successful with on his own to build up his confidence, and then work towards doing the correct year group ones. If travelling, add a workbook to his activity stuff. These don't have to be long periods of time, but 10 minutes a day will make a difference in the long run.
-Try to build reading and writing into his play - if he's building something, offer paper and encourage him to label his creations.
-Build more reading into your home - add labels to cupboard or things he uses often (eg toy hampers, plate cupboard, toothbrush drawer etc), turn the captions on when he's watching TV or programmes on a tablet etc.
-If you're on outings where there'll be some reading, try to have patience and let him do it (eg reading signs at the supermarket, reading the info board at the zoo, reading the opening times at the park).
-Play card and board games where there's a little reading involved, eg top trumps, monopoly, cluedo.