The dreaded annual SATs tests are finally upon us for Year 6 pupils and I am sending out positive vibes to all taking part! Children will have been preparing for SATs exams for months now, but the end truly is insight, which will be a welcome relief for the pupils sitting the exams… and their parents!
Tips on preparing for SATs exams
- Remain calm – this goes for both children and parents! Children will pick up on how anxious parents are, so try and remain calm and positive to reduce any unnecessary stress.
- Sleep well – it goes without saying that a good night’s does wonders for concentration and energy levels, so make sure to get lots of early nights!
- Eat well – slow release carbs such as porridge for breakfast and bananas as a break treat will keep up energy too.
- Don’t stress – again!
SATS Books from Jumping Yak
Liv is still in Year 5 and already I am starting to feel the pressure, though there really shouldn’t be any. I am fully aware she is capable, the SATs tests are an indicator of your child’s educational progress against the average expectations of a child that age. They are also used as an indicator of how well schools are perfoming in school league tables.
There is only so much teachers can offer though and learning really does begin at home. We have been expanding on Liv’s learning recently (at home and even on holiday!) with the rather marvellous ‘Revision Fun For Clever Kids‘, a stealth revision book from Katie Knapman of Jumping Yak.
Revision Tips When Preparing For SATS
We all know revision isn’t fun. Completing endless worksheets isn’t fun… but who said learning can’t be fun?
Revision Fun For Clever Kids is just that, it’s fun!
Featuring a challenging collection of Maths, English and General Knowledge tests which are cleverly disguised as fun puzzles and tempting brain teasers. All made engaging with illustrations and colour codes pages – for parents, the answers are at the back of the book!
Aimed at children aged 8 – 11 years and priced at a very reasonable £8.99, this is a great stepping stone revision book to help your child with a gentle push. Helping your child revise for either SATs or the 11+ exam and encouraging them to aim higher, all without them realising.
SATS Revision Workbook
What’s great about the workbook is that your child can dip in and out of the 52 pages of challenges, in any page order they please. The inventive nature of the puzzles and challenges will keep your children hooked. With Liv choosing to pick the book up by her own accord and complete pages.
She really is enjoying checking out Revision Fun For Clever Kids in her own time, with no pressure. Helping to build on what she has already learned at school and expanding her knowledge base further.
So much of SATs preparation is serious, rigid and formal. So inject a little fun into learning along the way and watch your child flourish.
I had a fantastic phonecall with Katie Knapman, the author, who is so lovely and totally understanding of the pressures primary aged children are under. Really, I could have happily spoken to her all day long! I felt so reassured after speaking with her and couldn’t wait to introduce the book to Liv!
You have read my thoughts, but how about checking it out for yourself? You can pick up a copy of the workbook from Amazon, priced at £8.99! Katie is just about to release another Jumping Yak revision book, so expect another review and giveaway soon!
Have a plan. Break it down. Use post it notes and highlighters.
Revise regularly x
Get into a routine of revising early so there’s no last minute panic!
do a practice timetable
Lots of breaks and sleep!
Work out a revision timetable with plenty of breaks and make it fun
A good sleep, pin up information around the house to help you remember.
Don’t put pressure on your kids and encourage regular breaks!!
little and often
Learning at this age should be fun – STOP when the child shows any sign of stress!!
Take regular break to not stress.
Make a revision timetable and stick to it
Buy lots book to read it helps.
Start early doing revision little and often. Build it into a routine of doing a little chunk every day.
Revise throughout the year – not all at the last minute!
As a TA with 14 years experience, my advice is to do your best – that’s all you can do. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t get the level the government picked out of a hat as the level everyone ‘should get.’
Get plenty of sleep
dont stress over it
A strict bed-time regime and healthy eating. It’s important to look after the body when putting so much stress on the mind.
Try not to stress & if you are, then take a break
Try to make revision ongoing rather than just doing it before a test, as this makes it easier
Making revision fun and exciting so that they are more at ease
Don’t push the child too much, it’s counter productive
Revise in small chunks of time, take regular breaks, eat good nutritious food, drink plenty of water and get lots of quality sleep.
Take regular breaks
I believe in last minute revision
Revise little and often.
little and often – don’t cram!
Start revision early, plan some fun activities to give yourself a break from study every now and then, go through the assessment criteria so you know what they will be assessing you on
take lots of breaks
Start with a clean desk
Personally, I don’t agree with SATS, I think that they put too much pressure on young children #triamphanttales@_karendennis
My tip is to do little and often. I worry so much about the pressure on younger children in particular.
Give yourself time alone before an exam, you don’t want everyone else’s worries or differing views on the subject matter to confuse you.
little and often – the only way
a little and often works better than a mammoth session
Dont panic, revise in small chunks and dont try to do to much at once, sit somewhere quiet with little distractions, take plenty break!
Get plenty of sleep- you’ll be able to think more clearly
Make a schedule and also take regular breaks because if you try to do to much, you’ll end up achieving less in the long run
sticking to a schedule, having snacks and regular breaks
Digestible chunks of information and repetition plus lots of calming and confidence-building words from family.
Allocate time for breaks and fun! and stick to a schedule
Keep hydrated and fed. Start early and don’t cram at the end
revise little and often
make a revision schedule
20 minutes at a time revising and then something fun !
Great giveaway! Children get so worked up about SATs – our stepdaughter’s school didn’t tell them they were doing SATs until after they’d finished them all! #pocolo
Thank you – it really is such a fantastic revision book, children don’t even realise they are revising it’s that much fun! There is so much pressure on them these days, I like the way your school acted xx
Make it fun and stay calm
Start early so the whole thing is more relaxed
Make sure you still take time for yourself to do things you enjoy and try not to get too stressed
from the moment you start studying, take notes! Its easier to study with them than without
Don’t put your child under pressure. Help them write a revision timetable
Write everything you want to learn over and over again, whittling it down slowly to key words that will remind you of the answers – avoid panic once you get into the exam room, though obvs let panic drive you in there lol!!
Break it into bite sized chunks & write a revision timetable!
Get plenty of sleep to absorb the revision you have done so far.
Make a revision plan with breaks.
Take time to revise but also take time to have fun and relax
Start revising early and give yourself plenty of time away from the books to allow the knowledge and understanding to sink in xx
Start early, just a little bit each day, rather than trying to cramp in everything just before the exams.
Study for reasonable period of time, with breaks for meals, snacks, toilet breaks, treat of watching one tv programme, short walk, etc. As remember studying is part of life. Rest, exercise, treat, nourishment, etc also need to be part of liffe, and prioritised.
Do short periods of revision with a break. Don’t panic.
some good tips and resources here #pocolo
We record key facts, auditory learning is as important as visual
A quiet room and lots of colourful stationery for notes
Don’t put your child under too much pressure. Make it fun incorporating games where possible. Start early little and often making it part of their routine.
I always make little cue cards with shortended versions of info on and just keep reading through them
Always advise my students to do it in small bursts with regular breaks. Also revise the things you dont know instead of the stuff you do know. That uses the time ,more wisely
Don’t stress, what will be, will be
Arrive in plenty of time, relax and read the questions properly
Relax, take short breaks and find a quite place away from distractions
Start early so a little daily
Organise study groups with their friends
Use flow charts and diagrams as visual aids can be really helpful.
Dont try to revise everything the night before, take it off and have some fun, it will relax you
Don’t leave revision till just before the exams, spend time each week throughout the term going over your work to refresh your memory, anything that you struggle to remember make notes to refer to.
Revise in short bursts
I find little and often is better than loads in one go
Making revision fun and exciting, I’ve found children panic at the thought of tests so playing games that incorporate learning gets round that
Make a schedule and work out how much time you need for each subject. I found rescue remedy helped my daughter with the nerves
Take breaks and do not pressure your child. they will do their best. I was made to feel a failure by my parents when i failed some of mine so i would never do that to my children
Encourage break periods – healthy snacks – lots of reassurance and praise – you can only do your best and I’ll be so proud
Take regular breaks
Try to make it fun!
Make a plan of what needs revising, break in down into smaller sections, take regular breaks so it sinks in
take regulary breaks
Don’t leave it till the last minute
Revision notes are key, you have to write in bright colours and make rhymes to remember keywords