Hello lovely parents,
Islington-based dad here. DS will be starting year 4 in the autumn. We are considering applying for DAO and Latymer.
Given we have 2 years from now, I'm wondering when would be a good time to start the actual test prep in earnest. I've been holding back from introducing DS to the actual test materials up until now. This was partly to shield him (and DW) from the myopic insanity, and partly because I didn't want to rain on the innocence of his childhood.
However, given the super competitiveness of where we would like to apply, I don't know if I should accept test prep as a necessary evil which should start now rather than later (in the vein of little but often to start getting DS familiar with it). Would be very grateful to hear from recent DAO and Latymer parents with honest replies on when they started actual test prep in earnest?
As background, I'll share what we've done since the start of year 3. (How I miss those carefree mornings prior when DS and I would watch Bluey together before breakfast.) What we've done so far is largely consistent with what teachers from our (state) primary school advised -
- 30 minutes of reading time together with me in the morning before school. We started with some Roald Dahl books from school, but then found a cheap bundle in a shop of some timeless classics for his age (The Borrowers, Charlotte's Web, Annie, Dr Dolittle, etc). It has helped owning the books themselves because we mark them with a pencil as we go - underlining words and expressions which are unfamiliar to him. After finishing the book, I then spend time going back over the words with him. It helped that there were some movie versions which DS would look forward to watching afterwards. But he does consider this his "serious" reading time.
- Times tables - he knows them all to 12 and backwards. We used flash cards each night a little at a time.
- A daily writing journal - we've kept it open on whatever he wants to write about (for now). Just asking for 4-5 sentences each day as soon as he comes home. I then correct his spelling and grammar.
- Bedtime reading - DS gets to read anything of his choice for a bit with DW before sleep.
Since discovering this forum, we've started a subscription to First News. And been trying to get him to do some simple crossword puzzles - I made a deal that for each completed crossword we would deduct 5 minutes off morning reading time (up to 1 crossword a day). Also pondering if it would be worth getting DS a Kindle.
So... opening myself to the wisdom and blunt honest scrutiny of the crowd! Any suggestions (no matter how harsh) would be very welcome!
Islington-based dad here. DS will be starting year 4 in the autumn. We are considering applying for DAO and Latymer.
Given we have 2 years from now, I'm wondering when would be a good time to start the actual test prep in earnest. I've been holding back from introducing DS to the actual test materials up until now. This was partly to shield him (and DW) from the myopic insanity, and partly because I didn't want to rain on the innocence of his childhood.
However, given the super competitiveness of where we would like to apply, I don't know if I should accept test prep as a necessary evil which should start now rather than later (in the vein of little but often to start getting DS familiar with it). Would be very grateful to hear from recent DAO and Latymer parents with honest replies on when they started actual test prep in earnest?
As background, I'll share what we've done since the start of year 3. (How I miss those carefree mornings prior when DS and I would watch Bluey together before breakfast.) What we've done so far is largely consistent with what teachers from our (state) primary school advised -
- 30 minutes of reading time together with me in the morning before school. We started with some Roald Dahl books from school, but then found a cheap bundle in a shop of some timeless classics for his age (The Borrowers, Charlotte's Web, Annie, Dr Dolittle, etc). It has helped owning the books themselves because we mark them with a pencil as we go - underlining words and expressions which are unfamiliar to him. After finishing the book, I then spend time going back over the words with him. It helped that there were some movie versions which DS would look forward to watching afterwards. But he does consider this his "serious" reading time.
- Times tables - he knows them all to 12 and backwards. We used flash cards each night a little at a time.
- A daily writing journal - we've kept it open on whatever he wants to write about (for now). Just asking for 4-5 sentences each day as soon as he comes home. I then correct his spelling and grammar.
- Bedtime reading - DS gets to read anything of his choice for a bit with DW before sleep.
Since discovering this forum, we've started a subscription to First News. And been trying to get him to do some simple crossword puzzles - I made a deal that for each completed crossword we would deduct 5 minutes off morning reading time (up to 1 crossword a day). Also pondering if it would be worth getting DS a Kindle.
So... opening myself to the wisdom and blunt honest scrutiny of the crowd! Any suggestions (no matter how harsh) would be very welcome!
Statistics: Posted by Queensdad — Tue Aug 06, 2024 11:40 pm