Middle School Entrance Exam Support 4 | A few months after joining a cram school. To parents who are feeling anxious now.
In middle school entrance exams, I think many families start attending cram school in earnest from the fourth grade of elementary school.
My family also decided, "Let's have our child attend cram school starting in the fourth grade."
I thought I understood the general flow from hearing stories from senior moms.
Even so, once we actually started attending, it was harder than I imagined.
Keeping up with the speed of the classes.
Completing the massive amount of homework.
Getting used to the weekly review tests and monthly public tests.
Clinging to the level of the advanced math course.
None of these were things that could be done easily from the start.
Now that a few months have passed since joining the cram school,
parents are also starting to see the reality little by little,
and isn't this the time when such anxieties arise?
"The homework is harder than I thought and we can't keep up..."
"The scores on the review tests are not stable at all."
"I wonder if they are really understanding the lessons."
"How much should parents help?"
This time, I will summarize what my family actually felt during the starting period of the fourth grade,
and the foundation building that I felt "really saved us in the fifth and sixth grades by doing it at this time."
Before attending cram school: Even though we received a V-class evaluation on the public test, actual attendance was a different story.
In our family's case, from October of the third grade before attending cram school in earnest,
we started taking public tests as pool students.
The first three times we received an S-class evaluation,
and on the fourth time in January, we managed to receive a V-class evaluation.
Thanks to this preparation period, I think we were able to gradually get used to the test format, such as "being conscious of time while solving" and "skipping problems we don't understand."
However, just because we received a certain level of assessment on the tests,
it certainly did not mean that attending cram school from the fourth grade was easy.
Once the master course actually began,
just getting used to the speed of the school, the amount of homework, and the weekly test rhythm
marked the beginning of desperate days for both parent and child.
The shock of the advanced math course. A little bit of 'stretching' changed my child
In the fourth grade, my child attended the master course at a classroom near our home, and the advanced math course in Nishinomiya.
In the advanced math course, we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be taught directly by the school principal.
However, the speed of the class was faster than I had imagined, and from a parent's perspective,
'I wonder if they really understand...'
'I wonder if it's too difficult and they might get discouraged'
I was often worried about these things at first.
Even if they thought they 'understood!' during class,
they would get stuck when trying to solve the problems again at home.
That was a common occurrence.
However, looking back, being exposed to a high-level environment at an early stage
and having the 'experience of desperately facing slightly difficult problems'
was a great stimulus for my child.
An environment where there are overwhelmingly capable children around
felt like it ignited my child's desire to 'want to be able to do more'
more than me telling them to 'try harder' 100 times at home.
Of course, overdoing it is forbidden.
Are they unable to keep up with the homework at all?
Is their physical strength reaching its limit?
Does my child look unhappy?
These are things that parents need to watch carefully.
However, by accepting that 'even if they can't do it perfectly from the start,
there is value in the act of desperately trying to keep up,'
my own impatience eased a little.
Fourth grade is not a time to 'raise grades all at once,' but a time to build the 'foundation of study'
When children reach the fourth grade, their daily rhythm changes significantly.
Classes, homework, review tests, public exams, and test corrections.
This cycle comes around almost every week.
I don't think there are many children who can handle this perfectly from the start.
Sometimes homework takes a long time.
Sometimes both parents and children feel discouraged by test results.
Sometimes you may worry about how much you should help as a parent.
However, I believe that in the fourth grade, a parent lending a hand is by no means spoiling the child.
In our home, we provided the following support to help our child get into their studies smoothly.
Checking the schedule together for 'what to do today'.
Taking on the task of grading to reduce the child's burden.
Marking incorrect problems to make it easier to redo them.
Creating an environment where memorization tasks can be checked in a short time.
Even if they can't get moving just by being told to 'go study',
if you say, 'Let's just do this page together first,'
or 'I'll grade it, so try solving these,'
the child will find it easier to get started.
I felt that for the fourth grade, rather than seeking perfection, it is important to accept that this is a foundational period for getting used to the cram school's pace and building the habit of doing homework.
Things change drastically in the 5th and 6th grades. The reason why you shouldn't underestimate 4th-grade science.
What I am glad our family was conscious of early on, starting in the fourth grade, is science memorization.
My son was the type who would dive deep into things he was interested in, but found it hard to focus on areas he wasn't interested in.
The structure of flowers.
The body structure of insects.
Classification of animals.
Names of plants.
Trying to cram this kind of knowledge all at once in 5th or 6th grade becomes quite difficult.
This is because in 6th grade, you run out of time faster than you can imagine due to tackling difficult math problems, Japanese essay writing, specialized training for target schools, mock exams, and entrance exam practice.
I have written about this in detail here
▶6th graders are busier than you can imagine
It is hard to find the time to redo 'basic science memorization' from scratch during that period.
The 4th-grade science textbook contained quite detailed basic knowledge, like an encyclopedia, on plants and insects.
In fact, even after becoming a 6th grader, I pulled out the 4th-grade science textbook many times to look back at it.
That is precisely why I feel it is important to build a foundation little by little, rather than ending it with the thought that '4th-grade science doesn't directly lead to scores right now, so I'll put it off'.
Memorization is not about 'learning it in one go' but 'repeating it many times in short bursts'.
To solidify the knowledge-based areas of science, in our home, we copied the key points from the textbook, blacked out important parts with a check pen, and checked them while hiding them with a red sheet.
For knowledge that was hard to remember, we made up mnemonics and repeatedly checked them during spare moments.
Review only the ones you got wrong in a short amount of time.
Being able to acquire this habit of 'recalling things many times in a short period' while in 4th grade was a huge help once he reached the higher grades.
While in 4th grade, there is no need to aim for perfection and force memorization.
'Do not leave unknown words as they are'
'Check the things you got wrong for 5 minutes after your bath'
'Even if you can't remember it in one go, try to recall it again the next day'
Those small, steady steps are more than enough.
What is important is not to memorize everything perfectly in one go, but to encounter the material repeatedly and recall it many times.
Short moments in your daily life, such as after a bath, while using a hair dryer, before bed, or before leaving in the morning, are perfectly sufficient.
As children reach the upper grades, the time required for math and Japanese will increase significantly.
That is precisely why building a 'habit of recalling in short bursts' for science memorization while they are still in the 4th grade will become a great strength later on.
In our home, we have compiled the science memorization method we actually used into a format that is easy for parents and children to use together.
Using mnemonics and illustrations, the content can be reviewed like a quiz in just 5 minutes after a bath.
The plant unit has a lot to memorize and many similar plants, so it is a unit where students often stumble when they first learn it.
It is a unit where students often stumble when they first learn it.
For families who want to build a science memorization habit little by little, precisely because they are in the 4th grade now.
In the Science Memorization Magazine series, we have organized content that frequently appears on exams and points that children find difficult to remember or prone to mistakes,
based on the study flow we continued at home,
thinking about 'what order makes it easiest to retain'.
thinking about 'what order makes it easiest to retain'.
Without wondering 'what should I start with?',
you can steadily build up science knowledge in just 5 minutes after a bath without any strain.
The Science Memorization Magazine series has been purchased by many people since its release,
and has been well-received. Thank you very much.
📖 Click here for the list of Science Memorization Magazines from a family that passed the Nada Junior High School exam
(Includes mnemonics, illustrations, and PDF)
Currently, the Insect Magazine and the Plant & Insect Summary Magazine
are available at a commemorative launch price untilAugust 17th.
If you are considering it, please take this opportunity to check them out.
Conclusion
Starting cram school in the 4th grade, the days are filled with homework and tests.
Feeling anxious, wondering 'will things be okay like this?',
is proof that you are truly dedicated to your child's entrance exam.
It is only natural for parents to feel impatient.
However, it is okay if everything is not running perfectly right now.
Trying to keep up with the classes.
Establishing a rhythm for homework.
Getting used to tests little by little.
Reviewing science knowledge multiple times in short bursts.
Each of these things will become the foundation when they reach the 5th and 6th grades.
Our family didn't have it easy from the start either.
We were desperate just to keep up with the classes.
We also struggled to get through the homework.
Science knowledge wasn't stable from the beginning either.
Even so, building a 'study pattern' and 'memorization habit' little by little during the 4th grade really became a great strength later on.
A few months after joining the cram school.
I want to convey this especially to parents who are feeling anxious right now.
There is no need to rush.
The experience of desperately trying to keep up right now is surely building your child's foundation.
Thank you for reading until the end.