Category: Views & Ramblings

1. Should I get my child a tutor?

   Posted on 10:56am Tuesday 21st Jul 2015

   My eldest daughter goes into Year 6 in September, so we are already talking about Senior School. She is going to take the 11+ and I can't tell you the amount of people that have asked me whether or not she is being tutored for the exam. Initially I was quite adamant that she wasn't going to get a tutor and that if she could get into grammar school on her own merit, then I would be happier than her being "coached" for it but the more I think about it, the more I wonder if I am putting her at a disavantage. I wouldn't put her into a swimming gala, without swimming lessons. I wouldn't sign her up for a gymnastics competition, without putting in the training first, so why should the 11+ be any different?

   I am conscious that the summer holidays have only just started but we were asked to collaborate with Tutorfair and they talk about the "Summer Slide". The Summer Slide is a term coined by educational psychologist Harris Cooper, who found that US schoolchildren regress in all subjects over the summer holidays, by an average of 1 month, and 2.6 months in maths. (which I can only assume is a similiar scenario in the UK). This is a problem widely recognised by educationalists, here are a few of the stats: 

   • Students will score lower on the same test at the end of the summer than they did at the start. (Downey, 2004) 

   • Students lose on average 2.6 months worth of Maths learning and 1 months worth of spelling skills. (Cooper, 1996) 

   • Teachers spend 4 to 6 weeks re-teaching forgotten material. (Peters, 2005) 

   How can you prevent this summer learning loss?

   Of course it’s important that kids have some downtime and R&R over the summer, especially those students who need time to catch their breath after June exams. But every student risks summer learning loss, and it’s a weighty topic on every parent and educator’s mind. Whether your child loves to read, or problem solve, we have a few tips that can be fun and effective ways to retain and promote learning over the summer break.

   1.  Play not work

   Summer learning should be fun. Whether you’re educating your children yourself, or enlisting the help of a nanny or tutor, take the lessons outside the classroom and discover activities that your child will enjoy. Find out about next year’s curriculum; just hearing about a topic in advance helps pupils to learn it quickly in the classroom. Create a treasure hunt with subject-specific clues – this has the added advantage of keeping them occupied for some time, depending on how tricky the questions are!

    2.  Riveting Reading

   Harris Cooper found that the poorest children lose the most reading skills, while those better off actually improved over the summer. The long summer break can be an opportunity for children to discover reading. Studies have shown that reading four to five books over the summer has a positive impact (comparable to attending summer school!) and on average students lose 2 months of reading skills over the summer.

    

   Be inventive; even the most reluctant reader just needs the right trigger!

   For the tech-savvy paper-phobic child you could purchase a family e-reader, or take a trip to your local library and encourage your child to choose books that she or she is interested in. You could also try the Summer Reading Challenge, which rewards children with stickers and certificates for free!

   3.  Marvellous Maths

   Adapt recipe quantities while cooking to familiarise children with dividing, multiplying and using fractions. These questions crop up everywhere from primary school to GCSE Maths.
   
   When your 6-year-old asks, again, how long till his best friend arrives: ask him to work out the time in hours and minutes (or days and hours, depending on how early the excitement starts to build…) Young children find time calculations a challenge, counting in a base of 60 instead of the normal 10s and 100s.
   
   Children are natural entrepreneurs: if it would be safe and you can keep an eye on them, a homemade lemonade stall requires plenty of maths practice. Just keep an eye on the recipe to make sure they produce something drinkable! Ask them to calculate the profit margin and hourly earnings - useful to know when employing a younger sibling…(this is definitely something that works in our house)

   4.  Whirlwind Writing

   Long car journey? Encourage your children to pass the time telling stories, this will help develop their linguistic creativity as well as stopping them from pinching each other! You can even offer a prize for the best story.

   Postcards are also a cheap and appealing way of getting a child to pen a few lines to a friend.

    5.  Super Science 

   Take advantage of the British summer weather: after the next rain shower, draw chalk circles round a few puddles, to observe the water cycle. Even in our damp conditions, your child will see evaporation in action as the puddle shrinks.
   
   In the garden or park, ask your child to collect small (one leaf is good) samples from different plant species. Go over these samples together, discussing differences and similarities, and why one plant is classed as a different species from another.

   6.  Summer Tuition

   Children are remarkably good at learning in different environments with different people, and if you can afford some extra help, a tutor could be just what they need to inject some educational fun into the holidays.

   This doesn’t mean someone who will sit at home forcing algebra over the kitchen table! Most tutors are, by now, as fed up of painful exam-cramming as you and your children, and will be only too happy to rediscover the joy of learning over summer.

     

    

   Tutorfair

   So, maybe I should be considering tutoring and Tutorfair is a website which makes tutoring accessible for all.  It’s easy to use, search by putting in your postcode and subject, and picking the best tutor near you. View everything from qualifications to videos of tutors, so you can get a better idea of what they are like. The website gives students a better choice of tutors, and makes it easy for tutors to do what they love. Online payment makes booking easy, and if you’re not totally satisfied with your tutor after your first lesson, Tutorfair will give you your money back. Tutorfair helps you find the best tutors in your area, and for every student who pays, Tutorfair gives free tuition to a child who can’t. 

   So should I get my daughter a tutor? I suspect she won't be overly happy about to start with but I am sure we will all be happy with the results in the end

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2. What is the right age to let your child out to play?

   Posted on 8:58pm Friday 17th Jul 2015

   What is the right age to let your child out to play on their own?

   If I am honest, I am not sure that there is a "one size fits all" policy as it is difficult to set an exact age when it is safe for children to be out alone and getting the balance between independence and safety can be difficult.

   When researching for this post, I found that the NSPCC say “We agree that children need to have time outside to play, but children under the age of eight are too young to be out unsupervised. We know that children under eight can’t judge speed and distance of moving vehicles. They still need help when crossing roads"

   So I have a tween and a toddler, one who thinks they know better and one who wants to do everything her big sister does. The little one loves to be outside and is happy playing teaparties in the garden (with or without the cat!) but this doesn't have enough excitement for the tween.

   

   The toddler plays under the kitchen window (usually shouting orders for drinks and snacks) but her big sister wants to be out playing. When the weather is good she wants to be out on her scooter, bike or skates (which always scares me) but the tween always has the toddler snapping at her heels.

   

   We are lucky to live in a small development which is pretty much in the middle of no where and unless someone is purposefully coming to visit, then there is very little traffic, so it is quite safe for the children to play outside. So much to the chagrin of the tween, the solution to allowing the toddler to play outside is playing with her big sister, while I watch on from kitchen window.

   

   I know that when the tween goes to her friends for "playdates" or "hang out" (or whatever the cool thing is to do) that they are slowly now starting to play outside but I have no control over the traffic at her friends houses so I need to make sure that she remember the three Ws! Even as they get older and think they are independent it is important to make sure that they always tell you:

   Who they are going out with,

   Where they are going and

   When they will be back. 

   I was never allowed out to play as a child and whilst I want to protect my girls fiercely, I also understand that they need to learn independence and responsbility but in my mind, they will never be old enough for me not to watch over them.

   Do you allow your children to play out?

   

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3. Are you unstoppable? #LikeAGirl

   Posted on 9:37am Wednesday 8th Jul 2015

   Do you remember while you were growing up, falling over and crying ..... like a girl?

   Do you remember wearing pink and pretty things  ...... like a girl?

   Did you ever throw a strop ...... like a girl?

   Did you ever stop and think that girls are so much more than pretty pink dresses and girly emotions?

   As women, we all know that being "like a girl" is something much more empowering, so last year, Always launched the #LikeaGirl campaign, challenging the negative perception of what it means to do something “like a girl”, so often used as an insult. The video went instantly viral and has been viewed more than 85 million times in 150 countries and shared by more than 1.5million people around the world. Yesterday, Always launched the next exciting and ambitious phase of the global campaign, unveiling bold partnerships and long term commitments to the education of young people around the world.

    

    

   Always asked if we limit girls and tell them what they should or shouldn’t be? Do we box them into expected roles? 

    

   I want my girls to have the freedom and confidence to be who and what they want to be.

    

   I want them to paint their room blue, wear trousers and play with trains if they choose to.

    

   I want them to be fearless, comfortable in their own skill and ability.

    

   I want them to be strong and passionate about the things they love.

    

   I want them to be unstoppable ...... like a girl.

    

   

    

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4. Top tips for keeping children protected and cool in the sunshine

   Posted on 6:08pm Monday 6th Jul 2015

   There is no escaping the warm weather recently (not that I have tried to) but children don't seem to appreciate the effect that the sun (and the heat) can have on them. So after a recent bout of heatstroke with the tween due to a particularly sunny afternoon on the school playing field, here are our top tips for keeping children protected and cool whether you travelling or staying at home this summer.

   Stay hydrated

   This seem fairly obvious but even I can forget to keep hydrated when I am involved in work something interesting. Like adults, babies and young children need to drink plenty of fluids to avoid becoming dehydrated. Trying to get children to drink water can be challenging but you just need to get a little creative when trying to keep them hydrated. If they're over six months old and they are bored with water, try giving them a combination of very diluted fruit juice, ice cubes and homemade fruit juice lollies throughout the day. For older children, plenty of fruit and salad will also help keep their fluid levels up.

   Stay Protected

   Playing in a paddling pool is a good way of keeping babies and children cool. Keep the pool in the shade during very hot weather and supervise the children carefully at all times.

   

   I remember never applying sunscreen in the UK when I was a child but it is the same sun and Factor 50 is my friend. When applying sun lotion we tend to forget the scalp, hairline and ears - especially if we are blessed with a full head of hair - assuming that this will act as a barrier. This is not necessarily the case, so to ensure no embarrassing red or inflamed scalp burns, apply sun spray to these areas generously, or look for specialist non-greasy Scalp Protector products like Calypso Scalp Protector which offers instant protection to scalps and partings and can be sprayed directly through the hair onto the scalp.

   Cover exposed parts of your child's skin with sunscreen, even on cloudy or overcast days. Use one that has a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or above and is effective against UVA and UVB. Don't forget to apply it to their shoulders, nose, ears, cheeks and the tops of their feet. 

   You need at least 35ml of suncream to ensure you cover your entire body and receive the correct level of protection - reducing this quantity will leave you more exposed to skin damage. Finding the right sunscreen for your child can be like finding the right moisturiser for your skin, don't assume that one type will suit every member of your family.

    

   Stay Safe

   Children should be encouraged to adventure and be a child but it is always worth reinforcing caution. That paddling brook, river or even a pond may seem like a good idea to a small child but even the strongest swimmer can be affected by cold water shock, which affects your ability to control breathing. This can lead to gasping, panic and – in the worst cases – drowning. 

   Holidays and the summer months are a great time for children to learn swimming and water safety skills, I know my girls can't wait to get in the pool in this heat.

   Stay Cool

   Hang wet towels over chairs or windows when it's really stifling. The evaporating water will help the air to cool and if you can keep your child's bedroom cool during the day by closing blinds or curtains, this will also help keep the temperature down

   A nursery thermometer will help you monitor the temperature of your baby's room. Your baby will sleep most comfortably when their room is between 16°C (61°F) and 20°C (68°F).  

   And finally, make sure that any waterproof sheets are removed and only cotton ones are on the bed. Dress them appropriately for bed and keep your fingers crossed for a restful nights sleep!

    

   Would you add any other words of wisdom?

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