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Trying to get ahead (education)
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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Id like to think im a relatively good parent and my child is open to the idea of more home learning.
Ive bought various books suited to her Key Stage level and we work through these.
Im not entirely sure what she has/has not learnt yet in school (poor communication on both parts i guess)
Am i doing the right thing by wanting her to do more home learning or am i doing the wrong thing by teaching her things she has not yet been taught by qualified teachers?
Parents what did you do with your children?
Educators did you find it was a help or hindrance that parents get involved? (could be teaching them wrong methods etc) |
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Met a young lad couple of days ago who had foreign language books in his backpack and is now home schooled...about 8/9... apparently he will be taking gcse's by time he is 12!!!! Nothing wrong in extra education  |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Met a young lad couple of days ago who had foreign language books in his backpack and is now home schooled...about 8/9... apparently he will be taking gcse's by time he is 12!!!! Nothing wrong in extra education "
Wow thats pretty impressive.
I doubt ive the intelligence to home school my child.  |
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OP, You need to make learning fun! Therefore the only advice I could give is don't buy books for your child because they are 'educational' and of the 'right level'.
Buy books your child will enjoy reading. Then s/he will read them for pleasure. |
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Looked into it when youngest was having problems with a teacher not treating her correctly over her dyslexia. .school is not compulsory. .education is..and with home schooling you don't have to follow national curriculum! Education can be based around anything. ..a festival I work has the only ofsted registered school for the Friday. .they base activities around national curriculum guides but make everything fun..using the festival as a tool..music, songwriters doing English, maths based around attendance mumbers..history you may find you are educating without even realising |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"OP, You need to make learning fun! Therefore the only advice I could give is don't buy books for your child because they are 'educational' and of the 'right level'.
Buy books your child will enjoy reading. Then s/he will read them for pleasure."
lol I have HUNDREDS of books that she will either read on her own or we read together..
Ive got Fiction and Non Fiction
Ive never forced education on her, but since she was tiny ive had posters of all kinds up in the hallway, back of the bathroom door, posters in her room.
Maps of the World, Counties in the UK ..
If she ignores them, they are just colourful pictures, but if she did choose to glance then subconsciously she would have learnt something |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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I wouldn't leave the education of my children entirely in the hands of teachers.
I teach them things ahead of the curriculum, so when they get to it, it's much easier for them.
Or if it seems they're behind on an aspect of their learning, I put in some remedial hours with them, help them to catch up. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"Looked into it when youngest was having problems with a teacher not treating her correctly over her dyslexia. .school is not compulsory. .education is..and with home schooling you don't have to follow national curriculum! Education can be based around anything. ..a festival I work has the only ofsted registered school for the Friday. .they base activities around national curriculum guides but make everything fun..using the festival as a tool..music, songwriters doing English, maths based around attendance mumbers..history you may find you are educating without even realising "
That festival sounds awesome!
I feel quite sad that im not 100% sure what she is currently learning in class, i have an idea as they send home 'what we are learning this term' but not in great detail
I loved my time in school when i was younger and my mother was a great addition to my education. Guess its being realistic and using oppertunity.
We are saving money in a jar for the 'holiday spends'.. so other day she put it into piles of the same coin, counted the number of coins, she knew the value of the coin and then used multiplication to work out the value of that pile ..
then it was addition of all the piles.. but it was her way of working it all out how much had been saved up :D
She shows an interest in gardening and science to the entent i ended up buying a cactus!
Life is just an oppertunity to learn |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"I wouldn't leave the education of my children entirely in the hands of teachers.
I teach them things ahead of the curriculum, so when they get to it, it's much easier for them.
Or if it seems they're behind on an aspect of their learning, I put in some remedial hours with them, help them to catch up."
See thats the bit i was unsure of 'teaching ahead'
today i was teaching addition/subtraction of double digits where you put them vertically
39
-23
and in my day it was the Tens and Units but a friend made me aware its Tens and Ones
and thought 'oh gosh am i going to confuse her' and 'what if they teach things differently at school
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The most important thing for children is not the common structure founds in schools these day as teachers are expected to produce results at the cost of the children.
Forget 'school work' at home and get her involved in activities that challenge her and her confidence. Role model, climb walls with her, show her you are up to face challenges, play table tennis, take up yoga, encourage her to play until she is worn out.
My grandchildren have been taught to play safely with fire, build dens in the woods, swim in the sea and wade through rivers (all in safe conditions I hasten to add). They've watched me do things that challenge me and joined in.
We cook and hand out food to the local homeless and help out at the Junk Food Project when they are with me. They watch me sing in public. I don't have a garden so we grow salad and herbs in containers on my windowsills.
Physical exploits are directly related to brain development and confidence which will all help with how she learns.
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By *B9 QueenWoman
over a year ago
Over the rainbow, under the bridge |
"Id like to think im a relatively good parent and my child is open to the idea of more home learning.
Ive bought various books suited to her Key Stage level and we work through these.
Im not entirely sure what she has/has not learnt yet in school (poor communication on both parts i guess)
Am i doing the right thing by wanting her to do more home learning or am i doing the wrong thing by teaching her things she has not yet been taught by qualified teachers?
Parents what did you do with your children?
Educators did you find it was a help or hindrance that parents get involved? (could be teaching them wrong methods etc) "
No method is wrong if a child learns.
You teach and support your child's education as you wish. No good teacher would be upset with that unless you teach your child the wrong things. |
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In the years before my daughter had homework from school we had "learning books" as we called them then. She would see me with puzzle books and wanted something of her own so we got the key stage books for her or she'd ask me to make up word searches for her to help with her spelling.
It's a great way to see how your child is doing for yourself, understanding how they work things out or find a solution, it gives you an insight into how their brain is ticking over and helps them learn at home without the distractions they have at school.
Good on you for it, there's no harm in extra learning if they're enjoying it. |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"The most important thing for children is not the common structure founds in schools these day as teachers are expected to produce results at the cost of the children.
Forget 'school work' at home and get her involved in activities that challenge her and her confidence. Role model, climb walls with her, show her you are up to face challenges, play table tennis, take up yoga, encourage her to play until she is worn out.
My grandchildren have been taught to play safely with fire, build dens in the woods, swim in the sea and wade through rivers (all in safe conditions I hasten to add). They've watched me do things that challenge me and joined in.
We cook and hand out food to the local homeless and help out at the Junk Food Project when they are with me. They watch me sing in public. I don't have a garden so we grow salad and herbs in containers on my windowsills.
Physical exploits are directly related to brain development and confidence which will all help with how she learns.
"
WOW great post, thank you Topsy..
Id consider myself to be quite active with her, we go places and try new things.
All the schools round here do 'forrest school' where they learn to make fire, carve wood, build shelter
After school clubs are swimming, dance and football.
I asked her a blunt but grown up question a few weeks back 'How could mummy be a better mummy' and she replied 'we could have more board games'
We then had a day trip to go buy some and even made our own..
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Both my kids and I love spending time doing homework together. If they see the workbooks in shops they want me to buy them! I frequently drag/take them round museums, castles and the likes I just make it fun. I think that you're a great mother for wanting to help! |
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"The most important thing for children is not the common structure founds in schools these day as teachers are expected to produce results at the cost of the children.
Forget 'school work' at home and get her involved in activities that challenge her and her confidence. Role model, climb walls with her, show her you are up to face challenges, play table tennis, take up yoga, encourage her to play until she is worn out.
My grandchildren have been taught to play safely with fire, build dens in the woods, swim in the sea and wade through rivers (all in safe conditions I hasten to add). They've watched me do things that challenge me and joined in.
We cook and hand out food to the local homeless and help out at the Junk Food Project when they are with me. They watch me sing in public. I don't have a garden so we grow salad and herbs in containers on my windowsills.
Physical exploits are directly related to brain development and confidence which will all help with how she learns.
WOW great post, thank you Topsy..
Id consider myself to be quite active with her, we go places and try new things.
All the schools round here do 'forrest school' where they learn to make fire, carve wood, build shelter
After school clubs are swimming, dance and football.
I asked her a blunt but grown up question a few weeks back 'How could mummy be a better mummy' and she replied 'we could have more board games'
We then had a day trip to go buy some and even made our own..
"
Then you are doing exactly what your daughter needs and board games are a brilliant way of learning, our families favourite is Rummikub but be prepared to spend bloody hours playing as it's incredibly addictive.
As an aside, my 12 yo granddaughter has some sort of processing disorder which really hinders her abilities to read, write and calculate, she doesn't know how to read a ruler but her school has just produced a report that shows she is on target for her age and abilities.
All the usual learning difficulties have been ruled out and she is a caring, chatty child with incredible friends with amazing physical skills so we will just have to keep supporting her and see what the future brings. |
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I gave up on the extra books with my youngest. He's full of all sorts of facts & I've no idea where from 
I'm not thick but I can't keep up with all the changes & constantly have to ask the teacher to explain things to me in a vain attempt to keep up |
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Go for it. Research has said that parts of the brain need to be active early in life or they shut down. We make it fun. Not too heavy so it becomes tiring.
He's 3 and welcomed me home in French.... Who would have guessed |
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I can't understand why your first port of call shouldn't be the teachers. Our local schools run parent sessions so the parents can see how they teach the children in lots of different new ways as well as the demands of the new curriculum. Much maths these days, for example, does use different terminology and different equipment. Maths learning is not about pushing the children to bigger and bigger numbers, its is about developing. Deeper level of understanding, problem solving and reasoning and exploring numbers. The teachers, if they are striving for good results, know this can't be done without the parents, so they should welcome any support you can give. |
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You keep doing what you are hun. The best way is to have fun together. The only advice I would have is to stop when she doesn't want to learn. And plz don't push to much. The schools today is about get results and that is put on children. So no adding to it for they are kids not robots. So keep helping her and when the fun stop then be understanding with her.
I have three children with learning difficulties so I did more hands on things with them.
So be happy and enjoy your time with her for they soon grow up.
Remember there is no hand book with kids. Lol |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Id like to think im a relatively good parent and my child is open to the idea of more home learning.
Ive bought various books suited to her Key Stage level and we work through these.
Im not entirely sure what she has/has not learnt yet in school (poor communication on both parts i guess)
Am i doing the right thing by wanting her to do more home learning or am i doing the wrong thing by teaching her things she has not yet been taught by qualified teachers?
Parents what did you do with your children?
Educators did you find it was a help or hindrance that parents get involved? (could be teaching them wrong methods etc) "
80% of a childs education for life and academia comes from the home |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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Children learn in different ways so don't get too worked up about it and remember you can always go in and ask the teacher what you think your children need extra support with |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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If she loves science, there's a billion and one science experiments at home you can do. If you PM me, I can recommend some stuff.
I'd make things you do with her applicable to the real world. Cooking is great for maths, for example. Find out what she is interested in and extend it and extend it.
I love Topsy's ideas.
Kids learn much more effectively if they are interested. And they retain the information for much longer. So stick to what she loves.
If there's something she needs extra practice with but doesn't enjoy it, figure out how you can make it appeal to her more. So, my son hates all fiction stories and actively resists reading (to the point of physical aggression).
But he does have a topic he's obsessed about. So I made up a story on my laptop about him, and his obsession. I used mostly words he already knows and a few new ones. I put pictures of him and his obsessive interest in the story. And tailored it to his exact interests. Then printed it off in a big font. And he read it with me! All 6 pages!!! He wouldn't read a normal book (even if it was about his obsessive interest) for more than a sentence, and that's on a good day.
So get creative. Listen to her when she asks questions and google the answers together. Watch YouTube videos.
My son asked me how centrifugal force forms from gravity the other day. He's only six.  I spend a lot of time on Google...
(As for your - am I teaching stuff wrong question, I would request a meeting with their teacher to discuss it.) |
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"If she loves science, there's a billion and one science experiments at home you can do. If you PM me, I can recommend some stuff.
I'd make things you do with her applicable to the real world. Cooking is great for maths, for example. Find out what she is interested in and extend it and extend it.
I love Topsy's ideas.
Kids learn much more effectively if they are interested. And they retain the information for much longer. So stick to what she loves.
If there's something she needs extra practice with but doesn't enjoy it, figure out how you can make it appeal to her more. So, my son hates all fiction stories and actively resists reading (to the point of physical aggression).
But he does have a topic he's obsessed about. So I made up a story on my laptop about him, and his obsession. I used mostly words he already knows and a few new ones. I put pictures of him and his obsessive interest in the story. And tailored it to his exact interests. Then printed it off in a big font. And he read it with me! All 6 pages!!! He wouldn't read a normal book (even if it was about his obsessive interest) for more than a sentence, and that's on a good day.
So get creative. Listen to her when she asks questions and google the answers together. Watch YouTube videos.
My son asked me how centrifugal force forms from gravity the other day. He's only six. I spend a lot of time on Google...
(As for your - am I teaching stuff wrong question, I would request a meeting with their teacher to discuss it.)"
Thanks Crazy.
My son is 30 and although a prolific reader, has never read fiction in his life. He did a degree in international relations and political science and is very successful in his career. Don't ask him who Dickens or Laurie Lee is though!
My grandchildren and I go feral on holiday but we couldn't go this year, when I asked them if they want to go back to the same place next year, they jumped for joy. They now have a bank account we are all putting money in for next year.
I also spend quite a bit of time on YouTube looking things up and although I hate football, my grandson and one granddaughter love it so we regularly kick a ball around. I bought them pavement chalks recently and we had a blast.
I let the schools do the academia, I'll do all the rest.
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"If it's a girl teach them how to bake a cake, a boy how to put up shelves
and what cave did you crawl out of? "
Practical application of maths and science, plus they'll be popular when they're older |
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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"If it's a girl teach them how to bake a cake, a boy how to put up shelves
and what cave did you crawl out of?
Practical application of maths and science, plus they'll be popular when they're older"
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By *uxom redCouple
over a year ago
Shrewsbury |
To me the most important thing you can teach your child is life skills, the ability to cook. I've taught my children to cook as it's not taught in schools.
A person who has w reading age of ten years can get by in life but if you can't cook your pretty stuffed.
Swimming start early |
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By *LCCCouple
over a year ago
Cambridge |
"The most important thing for children is not the common structure founds in schools these day as teachers are expected to produce results at the cost of the children.
Forget 'school work' at home and get her involved in activities that challenge her and her confidence. Role model, climb walls with her, show her you are up to face challenges, play table tennis, take up yoga, encourage her to play until she is worn out.
My grandchildren have been taught to play safely with fire, build dens in the woods, swim in the sea and wade through rivers (all in safe conditions I hasten to add). They've watched me do things that challenge me and joined in.
We cook and hand out food to the local homeless and help out at the Junk Food Project when they are with me. They watch me sing in public. I don't have a garden so we grow salad and herbs in containers on my windowsills.
Physical exploits are directly related to brain development and confidence which will all help with how she learns.
"
This is exactly what I was going to suggest. There is so much more to learn in this world than simply what they teach in schools. The stuff that they teach in schools is important and having qualifications is very important in this day and age, but there are other things for her to learn too.
When I was a child my parents both worked full time, but I went to this great youth group. There I learn sailing, computing, camping, photography, adventure sports, firearms, engineering, all sorts.
So I think broadening your daughters horizons would be more valuable than teaching her the same thing that someone else will teach her next week/month/year anyway. |
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Read to her as much as possible, and get her to read to you.
Try pushing it with books a level above her age group if you think she's coming along well enough.
It will really develop her imagination, her reading and writing skills, her communication and confidence. |
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By *heBakeOLiteGirlWoman
over a year ago
62 West Wallaby Street (not real address) |
I learnt to read before I went to school. In year 2 I would go with the year 6's to pick books from the library. I got bored easily at school I wanted to learn quicker than what they would teach me. My parents would always do extra things with me at home. I can knit, sew, bake thanks to my mum and strip classic mini engines and take cars apart thanks to my dad. It's always good to learn new skills or things away from school. They can't teach you everything. |
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I think that children learn better if doesn't feel like school or it is something they are interested in.
My daughter grew up surrounded by books and poetry, family who talked and read to her, told her about things and we're always happy to answer questions.
It's also important to admit if you don't know something. .. you can have fun finding out together.
Let her explore for herself too and I think it's important not to make anything gender specific.
You are obviously supportive of her learning and that is probably the most important thing.
Apparently it tends to be children who's parents are genuinely interested in their education that do better regardless of their ability. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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OP, I take my hat off to you. Your child is so lucky to have you as a mum.
For me, I took the route that learning is fun a la Sesame St and that learning is more than ABC/123. My children grew up practically living in the Nation History museum, Tate Modern, National Gallery and any other free learning environment that I could find. I made learning fun. We read Shakespeare, transcribed by Leon Garfield (brilliant, brilliant books). Merchant of Venice and then I took them to Venice. Romeo and Juliet and then we watched the whole thing at the Globe on the South Bank. My youngest was the youngest person there at 8 years old. I fell asleep, they loved it!
From the age of 5 for my oldest we ALWAYS had an extra 30 mins of learning when they came home. My youngest was 3 and insisted that they also joined in, so they did; their choice. My children thought it was completely normal to do extra school work at home whilst growing up. We also did lots of board games, cutting and pasting, cooking; they are both better cooks than me. Fridays were always free and play dates.
Even when we went on holidays, the bond books (look in your local Smiths or online as they truly are fabulous) went with us; seriously. I feel (personal opinion here) that if you leave it up to the teachers and schools, your children may not achieve their best and that MY children are MY responsibility, full stop. The buck stops here.
Forward to now, both are at Russell Group uni’s, my eldest is graduating next month having studied Russian and my youngest graduates next year; History!
It worked for me, just do what works for you and your lovely child.
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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thanks all for the replies and messages.
im lucky to have a child who engages with education and wants to learn more.
i will be communicating with the school more to work with them rather than me doing my own thing x |
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"Id like to think im a relatively good parent and my child is open to the idea of more home learning.
Ive bought various books suited to her Key Stage level and we work through these.
Im not entirely sure what she has/has not learnt yet in school (poor communication on both parts i guess)
Am i doing the right thing by wanting her to do more home learning or am i doing the wrong thing by teaching her things she has not yet been taught by qualified teachers?
Parents what did you do with your children?
Educators did you find it was a help or hindrance that parents get involved? (could be teaching them wrong methods etc) "
Good for you!
We were very proactive with our children's education. I was a teacher (16+).
We made learning fun and our children were encouraged to ask questions about anything and they always got an "age appropriate" answer.
We had a routine. My daughters were not allowed sweets etc during the week but on a Saturday we'd all go to the library and take our time choosing our books. The girls could choose any book they liked but one had to be a "classic".
On the way home we'd stop off at Ayres the bakers for a cake each to have while we read our books.
I'd also take them travelling to see and experience new things. We made learning fun and showed an interest, never missing a parent evening, even after our divorce we went to them together.
It paid off as my eldest holds a masters, my middle one a bachelor's and my youngest working towards her PhD.
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"I wouldn't leave the education of my children entirely in the hands of teachers.
I teach them things ahead of the curriculum, so when they get to it, it's much easier for them.
Or if it seems they're behind on an aspect of their learning, I put in some remedial hours with them, help them to catch up."
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