Head in the clouds

Pooky

Not sure if anyone can help here but my daughter is driving me to distraction!!

She's 7 and has always been very "blonde" in her attitudes...she's clever enough just seems really dittsy when she basically cant be bothered. While this has been part of growing up we are convinced she's just not making the effort at the moment and her school work seems to be slipping slightly....she's got SAT's in May and I'm dreading it..not for the results because I don't belive they should be testing them so early anyway, but I can see that she's just going to hate the tests and Im worried this is going to put her off her school work for life.

She seems to find it hard to concentrate and remember things - there's no problems with her eyesight or hearing and when she tries she really can amaze me.

Any ideas on what I can do with her to help her concentrate more??? (She eats well so dont think she's lacking in any vitamins) I've heard about this "eyeq" liquid - fish based I think - that is supposed to help ...any ideas?????

mightymo_2

I'm not sure I can offer any advice - but would be interested in any you receive!

I have a seven year old boy who is just like your daughter. He is very bright -but only when he wants to be!

Be assured - you are not the only one! Perhaps its a seven year old thing?

Caz2_2

Hi she sounds lovely to me i'd swap her with one of my bolshy teens any day. Sorry just reminising. Are you giving her too many things to do at once in otherwords expecting too much and over loading her. Try one instruction at a time and I always found blackmail and bribery worked wonders with mine, they never forgot when their treats were due, their concentration was remarkable on those days. Seriously give her a break we can all be dippsy sometimes no matter what colour hair we have.
good luck

JayS_3

Hi Pooky

When it comes to SATs, remember they are a test of the teacher, not the child. The teacher should not be stressing the children out, but if your daughter is talk to the teacher/headteacher.

Don't worry about her passing or failing the tests, all she is showing is how she has progressed since starting school - I found that by telling my children this it took the stress out of the tests and they handled them well, I just told them to do their 'own best', and not the worry as they are testing the teacher, not them.

I think I am right, that you can take your daughter out of school on the day of the test if you think it appropriate (ie she is too stressed to take them or she may be off sick that particular day).

Hope this helps,
JayS

Queenie

In my experience it's a phase.

If you think about it, their little minds are being bombarded morning, noon and night and I think half the time it's just mental overload. They're in the classroom all day, (mine get homework - 9&10yo's) then, want to watch TV/console games whatever.

I've banned the console games and TV time is restricted - I want them to have times to daydream and just ... BE! Let their minds wander a bit.

My 2 are definately going through this phase and as I need to keep my ole grey matter focused and need to write lists for myself, we now write them together. It's helping.

Even if it's not a phase and that is the way she is, do not fret, you are able to give her the skills on how to remember things of importance.

Academically, I tell my kids they don't have "tests", they have "knowledge checks" and play them down; after all, we know what we know and no amount of pushing is going to make it stick any harder.

Savvy_Sue

It sounds fairly normal to me. Giving instructions one at a time rather than reeling off a list is usually helpful - even now that's what I have to do with my DH.

bylromarha

Kids of 7 love stickers...they'll do anything for them. You can get loads of them cheap from companies like http://www.brainwaves.net

Have you looked at her diet at all? Sugary snacks can make children high and low.

However all kids go through phases, especially when learning. Some things click immediately for a period of time, other things feel like wading through treacle to learn about it.

As for SATs I agree that kids shouldn't be tested at this age. However, if the school is any good, no pressure will be put on the kids. The reading test is very interactive and the rest, if phrased and performed correctly, will encourage children to do their best. The results mean nothing to anyone except the school...this is also true of Key Stage 2 SATs. The most use the school will have for the data is as a guide, along with other factors, as to their rough achievement level for their age and how good or bad personal progress has been since they started school (did you know the children also were formally assessed at the end of reception too?)

However the SATs data for the whole year group will show how well the school is teaching the children and how well they are learning what they're taught. It is certainly not a test of the individual year 2 teacher as this would be most unfair for the teachers who were allocated y2 and y6 classes. SATs are a measure for the school and OFSTED and, unfortunately, some pushy parents.

jellyhead

sounds like my nephew too. his report card said he needs a more mature attitude to his work - this was in year 2 where the children are 6 and 7 years old!! poor boy is clever enough but he never finishes his work and works really slowly, he knows what he's doing though and has understood the lesson. i think schools are harder on the children who seem to be clever but aren't reaching their full potential - some teachers think it means the child is being deliberately lazy. they are just children though and school is very difficult (and perhaps boring?!) for them.

if you're particularly worried about her 'blondeness' ask the teachers if she could have ADD. i'm a dozey mare myself, very scatterbrained but clever enough underneath it all, i used to drive my teachers insane. i've found that fish oil helps me an enormous amount, i wish i'd discovered it years ago :-)

pickle

Does the school have anyone who could look at it, like an assessor of some kind just to check she hasn't got dyslexia or anything like that? Having said that, it could be just a normal phase. I remember being very day-dreamy at school, it lasted until after high school! School was just really boring and there's so many more interesting things going on in the world. Or maybe something might be worrying her, is she having any problems (eg. with other kids at school?). I agree that 7 years old is way too early for children to be sitting such a test. Children develop at different rates anyway, so what can it tell? If you keep telling her that she's smart she'll believe you over the school. Sometimes i think preservatives and sugars eg. in sweets and cordials can affect concentration. Maybe it might be worth cutting out artificial products to see how she responds?

Pooky

Thanks for all your replies.....we've got parents evening next week - i'll see what the teacher says.

As for cutting out the additives etc..she doesnt really have any - she eats really well and really healthily but I do agree that all the rubbish foods can affect kids.

I guess reading your replies that I'm not the only one going through this and it has reassured me a lot!!

My elder daughter never seemed to have any of this - maybe it's all to come in her teens!! I know they are all different - just makes me really wonder how two kids raised the same can be quite so different!! The diversity of life eh!!

mini

Just to say this years SATS are different to previous years. This year they have a bigger window to do them in, they have to do less tests & the result is more to confirm the assessment done by the teacher over the academic year than just a actual result as has been the case in previous years. The idea is that the children don't know they're doing them, I'm not entirley convinced on that one!

I have 2 daughters, one has an incredible memory the other hasn't for many tasks but excels at different things.

I would say to ask at parents evening or your school should have an SEN (special educational needs) teacher you could speak too, I'm not saying she has special needs but it may be worth a chat, she may have encountered similar problems.


mini