Do I have too high expectations?

mcja

Thankyou all for your replies. I will try and go through everything but if I miss anything, apologies.

Firstly, I understood it that they learn 1x7=7, 2x7 etc. then they were able to mix and match them. When I say he doesn't know them in sequence I mean he loses track of the number he on in sequential order.
He reads like a bookworm and I know he understands punctuation but as he is not being pushed it has not been a priority for him to use it until Year 4.

He had just accepted his hearing loss, I didn't mean covered up as much as compensated for the loss of. He is in a VERY boy heavy class and they are all bad (my son inc.) at distracting each other through mucking about and talking. It seems every time a new child starts its a little boy monkey.

MrCow, I appreciate that I need to sort this out which is why I am asking for advice. I don't know what to do, and needed some input from people who don't know me or my son to be able to give me objective advice, which I have had.
He is a darling little boy and I just want the best for him, and am aware that at 8 if I leave it 'til he is 9 or 10 it will be even harder to rectify.

Thanks all so much for taking time to post advice, keep it coming, I need all the help I can get in this child rearing malarkey!!

Claire

Spendless

I've just got one boy, aged 13 and can identify with much of what ciderwithrosie says! My son has untidy handwriting too. He brought it to my attention when he was in yr 6 that he doesn't hold his pen corrrectly, which I thought wasn't helping matters, until my friend with a girl in his year mentioned her daughter didn't either but had tidy writing.

1-2-1 tutoring if you feel he needs a boost and can afford it, can bring on fab results in a short space of time. Though I'd personally be more tempted to put this in place (if you are going to do it) when the next academic year starts, rather than now when we are a few weeks off the end.

Ms_Chocaholic

I'm 4* (cough cough, 40 something) and I couldn't recite my 7 or 8 times tables, never have been able to but still quite good at maths generally (apart from algebra and fractions lol) and have got on well in life

mcja

Hello both. I think as an adult we compensate for not knowing things, but as a little 'un we don't have the knowledge to do that (we know 7x6 is the same as 6x7!).
He is such a clever little boy and I am so so scared that by the time he gets to big school we have a problem. I want to be able to nip it in the bud as soon as possible, bring him up to scratch - for where HE can be - and then see how he gets on in year 5.

If I didn't work in schools I may not know the extent he is behind but I do, and right know i wish i didn't!! I would love to be able to trust the teacher that he really is alright. If we scrape together the tutoring money, it would only be once a fortnight, after all as people say he is a little boy!! I think this would be enough to boost his confidence but not enough to overload him.

Honestly, thankyou all for replying.

pukkamum

I have never known my times tables and it has never hindered me other than being embarrassed at primary school, by sevondary nobody cared.
My ds is now in his first year at secondary school and still doesn't know his, despite us trying for many years to teach him.
He too is a bookworm and excels at English, literature and language in fact he is 11 and reading at age 18+, I think tables are one of those things you either can or can't do.
He is actually doing really well in maths now that it is more complex as opposed to just doing sums.
I would say don't worry.

notanewuser

Good old tick box education. :-)

I'm 35 and struggle with 7 and 8 times tables despite having an A level in maths!!!

mcja

Thankyou. Sounds like I am just being a fuss !!!, which I seem to do well. Will just keep an eye on him, practice tables lots and maybe get him some support to bring his writing up to support his lessons at school.

Thanks all. I knew I could ask here.

Xx

pigpen

I would possibly consider assessment for dyslexia/dyspraxia.. just to rule it out if nothing else. If he has made no progress in a school year then either the teacher is a total lemon or he has a reason he is not picking stuff up.. hearing loss adequately catered for isn't really a reason to make no progress.. if they are ignoring his hearing loss then that too needs addressing.

My 8 y/o didn't know what 'multiply' meant.. I moved her school!

If the teacher isn't assisting him knowing he has issues and the senco isn't interested.. speak to the head for a start.. write a list of your issues and take that with you to make sure all your worries are covered.

I'd be kicking up a storm!

barbiedoll

The times tables are learned easiest by "rote".....just practice, practice, practice with him. I used to use the walk to school/childminder to recite a different one each day. This was for around 10 minutes at a time, any longer and my DS's concentration would wander (typical boy!)
We also used to recite one at bedtime....I once heard him saying his times tables in his sleep!

If he's a bookworm, he will absorb a lot of grammar and spelling simply from his reading material, you're lucky in that sense, I wish my DS would read something other than gaming mags or comic books. Although all reading is a bonus....try to make sure that he is reading books at or slightly above his reading ability, it won't hurt to stretch him a little. If he doesn't like a more difficult book now, he will probably go back to it later on.

The hearing loss could well be a factor, I have quite severe hearing loss in one ear and I always found it difficult (and still do) to hear what someone is saying if there is a lot of background noise. Could you get him moved to a different class, even for just a term to see if he improves?

Try not to put too much pressure on him, keep encouraging him but remember that not everyone is academic, and a lot of boys are slow learners at this age. Terrible handwriting is endemic now, they aren't picked up on it at all until much later. Not that it should be a problem, look at any doctor's handwriting!

mcja

Thankyou both. Despite me telling her, his hearing hasn't been taken into account and he has only just been moved to the front of the class. There are links) between dyspraxia and glue ear and tbh I think he ticks a lot of boxes.

The teacher who has mentioned tutoring has said she will assess him, I think we will go from there. He seems to be meeting targets for numeracy, I THINK, but not for literacy.

His teacher is the SENCO, head is leaving for a year and deputy stepping up. He is good but I don't know what will happen. There is only one class per year, so moving within the school isn't an option. Moving schools isn't an option as local ones are all carp or massively oversubscribed.

I want to go in all guns blazing but I do know they are a hard class. There isn't a great deal of flexibility as there is normally for 1:2:1 time or moving children around.

I honestly could cry/scream/wallop someone but I just to make it as smooth a ride for him as I can. Probably won't do anything until he has his op in June, and see if that improves his hearing, and I may talk to the ENT team and see what they say about school. They are totes amazeballs!

Thankyou