4+ Exam Preparation and How We Can Support Your Child
/We have been preparing children for their 4+ assessments for over 12 years. If you choose online tuition for your child, you might have many questions regarding the lessons. I thought it would be helpful to write a blog post and answer as many questions as I can. These are questions that I’ve banked over the years through many hours of discussion with parents about their child’s tuition and their learning.
Reading consistently with parents is key
How can lessons work online when my child is only 3 years old?
This is the most frequently asked question. Many parents have been sceptical at first. They wonder how lessons will work when their child is so young. However, lessons work very effectively online and the value that we provide is certainly one that you will not find elsewhere.
Parents will of course need to be present and involved in the lessons. Lesson will not be effective if the parent is not fully engaged in their child’s learning. It is a three-way involvement between the parent, the child and the teacher. Some children take longer than others to warm up to their new teacher but you will be amazed at the relationship formed between the child and their teacher. The conversations had and the laughter throughout the lesson is something that is always such a pleasure to see.
Reading visually appealing phonic books
How will you engage my child in the lesson?
All children are different and all children learn differently. Therefore, there is not a one answer fits all for this question. All children will be engaged in different ways. Your teacher will get to know your child from the first lesson and identify how they best like to learn. If your child is a very visual learner, your teacher will provide bright images on the screen to capture their attention. If your child is a kinaesthetic learner, your teacher will provide activities that are more active and will involve your child moving around more. This could include for example a treasure hunt, where your child needs to find hidden phonics or numbers and then read them out. If your child is an auditory learner, there will be more of an emphasis on lots of discussion and speaking. Lots of singing will be see with these types of learners. If your child is a learner who loves to write, they will always have their paper and pencil and will be encouraged to take lots of notes in the lesson! Lessons at this age will never be more than 30 minutes at a time. In those 30 minutes, so much will be covered and we will make the lessons fun!
Daily Writing practice
What should my child be reading to support exam preparation?
Your teacher will provide your child with phonic books. You will read these books to your child and encourage them to follow along as you read. Your teacher will also provide book recommendations for your child in order to best prepare them for the assessments. Of course, the emphasis is on the assessments, however we encourage all of our younger learners to develop a passion for reading!
Here are some of our book recommendations for our younger learners:
1.We love all of the Bob books collections.
They are visually attractive and they are sequential in the sense that once your child can read with confidence the first set, they can move on to the next.
Here is the Amazon link, if you’d like to purchase these.
2. Usborne – My first reading library
Here is the link, if you’d like to purchase these.
3. Usborne - My first phonics reading library
Here is the link, if you’d like to purchase these.
What will my child need to know in terms of maths?
The 4+ assessments are different every year. We will prepare the children mathematically but we cannot predict what they will be asked in the assessments.
We will cover the following with your child:
Place value – Numbers to 10 and then to 20 (reading and writing them)
Addition and Subtraction – Adding and subtracting numbers to 20 using objects such as number blocks or objects that specifically interest your child.
Shape – learning simple shapes and being able to describe their properties (eg. number of sides and corners)
Measures – Discussing simple measure such as liquid and weight.
Length and height – Discussing language such as taller, shorter, tallest, shortest.
What can I do every day to support my child with their maths?
Having lots of discussions is key. Noticing maths in the every day. Eg. Which shapes can you see in our house? Practising for short snippets of time throughout the day. Your teacher will provide you with home learning that will guide you with how to support your child on a consistent, daily basis.
What makes you different to other tutoring companies who provide 4+ support?
First of all, all our tutors are fully qualified teachers who have at least 4 years of experience in a school setting. The majority of our teachers have over 10 years of experience and some currently work as head teachers, deputy head teachers and SENCOs. . We have worked in schools where children are prepared to sit these assessments and therefore have a lot of knowledge about what is expected in each individual school. We have also had a lot of interaction with these schools, including visiting the schools and seeing 4+ exams in progress.
