Hi parents! How was Week One of your learning?
And I think my favourite part of Week One was actually quite simple:
I said no.
No to the TV.
No to the tablets.
And I stayed with it.
At the beginning of the week, it was definitely harder for my younger one. He would ask, and I would say no. He would ask again, and the answer was still no.
Eventually, though, they both realised that Mummy was serious. š
And once that happened, they settled into the routine I had planned for them.
So Week One wasn’t about sitting at a table every waking minute doing schoolwork.
Far from it.
It was really about creating structure, staying firm and being present.
Week Two With My Younger One: We’re Working on His Name
Because my younger one is still very young, he needs much more of my attention during learning time.
We’ve worked through the alphabet during the summer, and now one of our big goals is getting him to write his name independently.
And if you know his name, you know I haven’t exactly given the poor boy an easy starter name. š
So this week, we’re reinforcing letters he can already form and working on writing his full name.
I’ve created a traceable version of Zachariah, and he traces his name three times each day.
At the end of the week, I’ll test him without the tracing sheet and see how much he can write independently.
Most of these worksheets cost me absolutely nothing.
Sometimes I simply ask ChatGPT things like:
“Create a traceable name worksheet for the name Zachariah.”
Then I print it.
We’re Moving More Into Phonics and Blending
We’re also continuing with his letters and moving more intentionally into sounds, phonics and blending.
We already have Stage 1 phonics books at home because I bought them when my older son was learning to read, so thankfully I’ve kept them all and can use them again.
And do you know something?
I slightly regret how many books I bought the first time around. š
First-child excitement had me buying books here, there and everywhere.
Buy, buy, buy.
Meanwhile, the library existed the entire time.
So if you’re just beginning phonics or blending with your child, please don’t feel as though you need to go and spend a fortune.
Start with your local library.
You can use the GOV.UK local library finder to find library services in your area.
Oxford Owl also has a free eBook library for children aged 3–11, including phonics books and books from schemes such as Oxford Reading Tree and Read Write Inc. You need to create a free account to access the eBooks. Explore the free Oxford Owl eBook library
And if you’re trying to understand phonics, sounds and blending yourself before teaching your child, their phonics resources are genuinely useful too. Oxford Owl phonics help for parents.
With IXL, I Have to Sit Beside Him
Another thing I’m doing differently with Zach is how we use IXL.
At his age, I don’t think there’s much value in simply putting the device in front of him and allowing him to keep guessing until he gets something right.
I’m sitting beside him.
So, for example, if a question asks him to identify a sphere and he doesn’t understand what a sphere is, I explain it.
Then he answers.
For me, the point isn’t just getting a green tick.
I want him to understand why the answer is the answer.
That’s where I come in.
With My Older Son, It’s a Completely Different Type of Learning
My older child needs a different kind of support because he’s already an independent reader.
One thing I’m changing now is that I’m not buying loads of books for him either.
His school has a library.
We have a public library card.
So we’re going to use them.
If he brings home a book that’s around 200 pages, for example, he’ll usually read approximately 100 pages one day and finish the remaining 100 the following day.
Now, I know someone might read that and think:
100 pages?!
But this is important: that is what he can currently manage.
I’m not suggesting every eight-year-old should be reading 100 pages a day.
Children are different.
The more important thing for me isn’t actually the page count.
It’s comprehension.
Can he tell me what he has read?
Can he explain why a character behaved a certain way?
Can he retrieve information?
Can he predict what might happen?
Can he explain unfamiliar vocabulary?
We’ve used the VIPERS approach to reading comprehension for quite a while. VIPERS covers Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval and Sequence/Summarise. (literacyshedplus.com)
You can read more about the approach here: Reading VIPERS resources
After he finishes a book, I sometimes give ChatGPT the title and ask it to generate comprehension questions based on the book.
Then I question him.
If he’s unable to answer something important, we go back to the text.
Because reading quickly is lovely.
Understanding what you’ve read is better.
Even Our Journey to School Has Become Learning Time
This is probably one of my favourite little changes.
On our way to school, my older son might read.
He can sometimes get through 40 or 50 pages during that journey.
Other mornings, he’ll do puzzles.
And if he encounters a word he doesn’t understand, he’ll ask me.
If I know how to explain it simply, I explain it.
If I’m struggling to find an eight-year-old-friendly definition, we’ll ask Siri to explain it to us like we’re eight.
So the drive to school has quietly become part of our learning.
It was a good week until We Had Tears
Now let me tell you this because I never want these posts to make it look as though my children enthusiastically skip to their desks every afternoon chanting,
“Mummy! Please! More Maths!”
Absolutely not. š
We had tears this week.
My older son had quite an emotional moment around Thursday.
He cried.
He asked why he was working so hard.
And I stopped to listen
I explained to him.
We’re preparing for an exam.
And preparing properly for something doesn’t begin eight weeks before the exam.
It’s cumulative.
We build.
A little today.
A little tomorrow.
A little the next day.
Because I don’t want us to reach the months immediately before the exam and suddenly turn our house into some sort of military training camp because we’ve left everything too late.
I’d rather build steadily.
Will we have more emotional outbursts?
Probably.
He’s eight.
He’s allowed to find things difficult.
He’s allowed to tell me he doesn’t like it.
He’s allowed to have moments when he would rather be doing absolutely anything else.
But my job isn’t necessarily to remove everything he finds difficult.
Sometimes my job is to encourage him through something difficult.
And yes, sometimes my job is also to remain firm.
For our routine, I’m deliberately creating roughly two to two-and-a-half hours in the day when necessary to supervise, explain, listen, encourage, redirect and sometimes simply sit beside them.
That’s an investment of my time too.
I can’t expect a four-year-old to independently follow the beautiful timetable Mummy created on Canva. š
That’s not how this works.
You have to be present.
Disclaimer!!!!
So if you’re looking at our timetable and thinking, How am I supposed to fit this into my life?
Please remember that our lives are different.
Our children are different
Our jobs are different.
Our support systems are different.
Our priorities are different.
From one parent to another, I hope you have a beautiful Week Two.
And I’ll see you next week to tell you how ours went.
With love,
Ayo
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