How...

can I be worried about this boy?

It was his parents evening tonight. He is struggling with the writing element of his English. If you ever met him, you would know what an articulate boy he is, a vocabulary beyond his years and he is a prolific reader. But, he struggles with handwriting, and the balance between time and neatness has not been struck, yet.

On top of that, it has come to light in the last couple of days (why not sooner I do not know) that in his year away from the school, he missed some key concepts in numeracy. Given that the KS2 SATs tests are 5 weeks away, that caused a panic in my head.

Reality check.

I am a PARENT at home.

The important question - is he trying hard, doing his best? Yes he is (I am told). So what more do I want? Nothing.

However, I fear that he is allowing himself to become stressed when he has to complete long writing tasks, and then he loses his focus and his purpose becomes fuzzy.

So, the teacher in me is fighting with the parent - and we have agreed on a compromise. Some time on KS2 bitesize, and a little bit of work on either writing or numeracy every night between now and SATS. After that, he can pootle on through to the end of the year.

Not pressure. Supportive. Trying to give him coping strategies and a familiar voice in his head that can coach him in the test, because, by his own admission, he would be very disappointed if he didn't achieve what he knows he is capable of.

Advice on motor skills / handwriting would be helpful though - I think somewhere, he has got muddled. He struggles holding a pen - he is right handed, but looks like he is a lefty (like me) when he holds the pen. He holds his cutlery in the wrong hands. He is struggling to learn to tie his shoelaces. I'm pondering on why?

Enough, I love him to bits and he will find his own successes, and I will be proud of his achievements, because his best is good enough for me.

But then, when the hormones stop raging for twenty minutes and I sit down and think about it, I know he will be alright.