Estimated read time: 2 minutes and 36 seconds

Hey there,

Trudging down an Italian mountain a couple of weeks ago, I watched my newly three-year-old trying to keep up with her bigger cousins. Spoiler alert: she didn't manage it. (C'mon, they are all at least double her age!) But she did try.

As I cruised along behind her, descending from the cool mountain breeze into the thick 37-degree heat of the valley, I couldn't help thinking about the standards and comparisons we put our kids through.

Everyone was completely understanding of the toddler's little legs and slower speed: she'd been on the planet a bit less than everyone else walking down the mountain. But in other situations, I realised, we expect children to be able to do things exactly the same just because of their age.

And that led me to think about annual school reports. So this week's Noisy is about just that. 

This week I'm talking about:  

Noisy: Was it What You Expected?

Book: The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be

Club: Quiet Time

Noisy

Was it What You Expected?

School reports.

If your child is in school, you probably received one in July.

How was it?

Was it what you expected? How did it leave you feeling? Was there anything unexpected? Did it leave you feeling pleasantly surprised? Or concerned?

You know my beef with them? That they judge the children on all the same criteria.

Working Towards Expected, Expected, Greater Depth, Emerging...

How can you summarise a child's year with just one/two/three words? You can't.

There is a story behind those words. It goes something like this:

Alice is working towards the expected standard in Maths this year which is a huge achievement because she struggles with numbers. At the beginning of the year she found them totally overwhelming and would shut down in Maths lessons. Over the course of the year she has learnt to be really brave even when it's scary or confusing. She is now trying her best in Maths lessons and wants to learn. As a result, she is starting to improve her Mathematical knowledge!

This is the real assessment of how they are doing. Annoyingly, that's not how it always comes across on a report.

But please know that that is how teachers are really assessing children, whatever the written report might say. 

Don't get bogged down by one or two words supposedly defining your child. The picture is so much bigger than that. 

Book

The World Needs Who You Were Made to Be, Joanna Gaines (Tommy Nelson) 

This book takes a look at how wonderfully different we all are. A group is building a hot air balloon but everyone's approach is different. There's no right or wrong, just a whole host of preferences.

A great starting point for talking about how we might all be working towards the same goal, but we all take our own routes. Use it to open up conversations about how we all learn and work differently

Club

Quiet Time

Finding the summer holidays long? Being 'go go go' all day is exhausting for adults, as well as children.

My tip this week is to factor in some 'quiet time' after lunch. Just like in the good old baby days when lunch was followed by a long nap, use that post-lunch time to have a little quiet moment. This counts for you too. Everyone can read - together or alone. Or play a quiet game or have a snooze.

Put a timer on and enjoy a pause while you recharge for the afternoon.

Wishing you a restful time (however brief).

Becca

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Noisy Book Club, E17, London, UK