Parent Reviewers and Mummy Bloggers

"The site is really easy to navigate (even if you're an 8-year old) and everything is laid out in a simple-to-follow order"

I am the proud owner of a conscientious 8-year-old girl with a thirst for knowledge. Keeping her busy with fun learning activities is often an exhausting task. My mum is a retired teacher so she does plenty with her, but I’m a bit clueless.

When I was approached to review the Education Quizzes website, I jumped at the chance. Finally, I thought, something that will entertain her, stretch her, and won’t take up all my time in planning!

"Education Quizzes gave me a great overview of what is covered in each subject"

Now I have to admit that I’m not the best of parents when it comes to letting my kids lose on my laptop, even when it’s for educational purposes, but last night I handed my laptop over to Little Miss C to let her try out Education Quizzes. As she’s in Year 1 at the moment I headed straight to the KS1 section and selected a few quizzes for her to try. Obviously she wasn’t able to do everything on offer as some things aren’t covered until Year 2, but there was still plenty to choose from. Divided into subjects we headed to the Maths and English sections and LMC tested out her knowledge of capital letters, shapes and days of the week. Each quiz had ten questions and she really enjoyed showing me how much she had learnt at school.

As a parent I sometimes struggle to know exactly what LMC is learning at school – after all, it’s all changed significantly from when I was at school! Looking through Education Quizzes it gave me a great overview of what else is covered in each subject at KS1 level. As well as being able to sit her down with the quizzes it also gave me some great prompts for what else she had been learning about.

"We love playing games on Christmas day and I think we may have a family challenge to see who gets the best score………..I best get revising!"

As we approaching a 3 week break for the Christmas holidays, much as I think they do need a break, I also want to keep their brains ticking over so getting them to do some online educational games is a happy medium.

Education Quizzes are perfect for helping children to be successful at school with easy and enjoyable quizzes set around school curriculums for Key Stage 1 (Reception to Year 2), KS2 (Years 3 – 6), 11-Plus, KS3 (Year 7+) and GCSE quizzes.

"We have found them to be a great little tool to help us, to help them"

We are very lucky that our school pays a subscription fee for all children to access online education quizzes like these ones here. They are divided up into all stages of the curriculum from KS1, KS2, 11-Plus, KS3 and GCSE as well as all subjects within each stage. The education quizzes have been written by teachers for all children of all levels. The quizzes are fun to complete and give the children their scores straight away. It’s great for encouraging them to try again to beat their score.

As parents we also have access to their scores to see where they might need extra help and where they are doing well. We have found them to be a great little tool to help us, to help them. Parents can subscribe to Education Quizzes for just £9.95 per month and this gives access to all the quizzes on the site. Your subscription can be cancelled at any time. It is also possible for schools to subscribe at a greatly reduced cost so if it is something you think would benefit your child then tell your school about it, it could be just what they are looking for.

"Kids love doing quizzes and these are both straightforward and fun whilst being hugely helpful at reinforcing the curriculum"

After a summer of fun I know the very last thing my kids want to do is buckle down and work hard but it is so important to keep up. To ease them back into school life I have been encouraging them to spend 15 minutes a day on Education Quizzes.

Education Quizzes is a wonderfully interactive website full of quizzes around the school curriculum for kids to complete covering KS1, KS2, 11-Plus, KS3 and GCSE. Kids love doing quizzes and these are both straightforward and fun whilst being hugely helpful at reinforcing the curriculum.

"It was really helpful for Lewis to take quizzes in his chosen options to reassure him, and us, that he had made the right choices."

It was really helpful for Lewis to take quizzes in his chosen options to reassure him, and us, that he had made the right choices. It was hugely beneficial for us to see in black and white that Lewis was excelling in History and Design Technology, two of his chosen options, and also really refreshing to hear that actually, he quite enjoyed taking the quizzes and agreed that he would find it helpful over the next three years.

"At £9.99 per month the cost is much cheaper than a tutor and more reusable than a printed test book."

This started an A-Ha moment. Maybe Abigail would be more interested in these quizzes as opposed the ones in a book. She climbed up on my knee and together we went through a KS1 Math quiz and an English Spelling one. With 10 multiple choice questions she easily moved through the quiz. When I say easily, 9 out of 10 in the Maths and 4 out of 10 in the spellings. We knew that we need to try harder with her on spellings so this wasn’t a surprise.

Working through these educational quizzes it is not only fun for our kids, its an opportunity to see if they need help in their progress. If we spotted Imogen or Abigail was struggling in a certain subject we have the opportunity to help them. The quizzes on http://www.educationquizzes.com/ not only test their ability they also reassure our kids that they are on the right track.

"I will definitely be sharing the resource with Jack’s school – they really encourage parent engagement with their child’s learning and this site really does help to get us involved in the learning process"

The quizzes are written by teachers and the objective of the site is to help children be successful at school. The KS1 section is fantastic – there are quizzes for pretty much every subject and each subject has a variety of quizzes within. Jack particularly loves the Maths section where he can switch between his 2D shapes, his 3D shapes and addition. Maths is probably his favourite subject so if he is eager to learn and find out more, we are keen to help him.

"I am a firm believer that learning absolutely does not begin and end in the classroom"

I am a firm believer that learning absolutely does not begin and end in the classroom, and one of the ways I’ve been preparing Elliot for the dizzy heights of year one is by engaging him in a few education quizzes. He’s got smarts, that one, and sped through a lot of the KS1 material, but that said, he also found some of it trickier to manage, so I feel there’s a nice balance there. It’s good to be able to gauge how he’s doing. And anything that’s managed to successfully lure him away from Minecraft and PopularMMOs videos on YouTube for a few minutes gets a thumbs up from me. For a few brief moments I was concerned his brain may have rotted to mush in the month he’s been off school, but not so. Colour me assured.

"EducationQuizzes.com is a vast website that includes quizzes on all subjects for ages from KS1 all the way up to GCSE, making the site suitable for all children."

The boys found the website really easy to use, and it’s great that the site is suitable for all of their levels with quizzes clearly labelled – such as within the KS2 section the maths was labelled as being suitable for year 3 or year 4 for example so that they can quickly identify the ones that will be best for them.

All of the quizzes on the site are written by teachers, and fit in with the national curriculum to help consolidate what children have learned at school.

"I particularly like how the website is laid out. It is clear and age focused so you know exactly how to access what you are looking for"

Each quiz is made up for 10 questions and though you need to think before answering, there are multiple choice answers to help. What I really love about the quizzes is that as you answer each question it tells you if your answer is correct or wrong and it also gives a reason for why it is so. So much easier the turning to the back of the book or waiting till the end of the entire quiz to get the answers. You know immediately where you’ve gone wrong and it is easier to take note of it and understand where you’ve gone wrong.

Best of all, since each quiz consists of only 10 questions the children don’t feel over burdened and are spurred on to do more. At least, that’s what I found with mine. They wanted to take more quizzes and were interested. They also found similarities to what they are learning in school.

"Aoife’s school use a similar programme to this but it only focuses on maths, Education Quizzes cover all the curriculum subjects, offering a bit more variety."

Education Quizzes is fantastic tool for encouraging school work. The subsection menu also shows when quizzes were last taken and the score that was achieved so that progress can be easily monitored by parents or the school.

Sometimes sitting writing or doing homework can feel like a bit of a chore to Aoife but she will happily sit and do these quizzes for ages, she doesn’t see it as learning, instead it’s fun – Funducation!

"The founders of the company really want to help all children to be successful at school"

I like the layout of the site and it’s simple, easy to use quiz interface. I like the fact that when you choose your answer, you know straight away whether you’re right and why you’re right. They’re tailored to each age group. I tried the KS1 quizzes too with Phoebe, which uses the same format, but the questions are easier. She chose the art questions, but I don’t think she’s covered quite what they were asking about yet, for the question: Painting watery paint onto paper or a canvas is known as what? – A clean she answered (it’s a wash). I’d use it again, particularly for my own understanding of the curriculum, a lot has changed since I went to school, or else I don’t remember. So often I feel that some of the curriculum is irrelevant, but I’m sure it all has it’s place. I’m pleased to see they have lots of life skills and social skills related quizzes as well as all the different religions.

"It’s a quick way to find out where there are gaps in your knowledge and improve on them."

When I was younger I used to love taking multiple choice quizzes to test my knowledge, it’s a quick way to find out where there are gaps in your knowledge and improve on them. Most children find quizzes fun to complete and will happily stick at them longer than written ‘tests’.

Being a mum to a soon-to-be 5 year old I decided to check out the youngest quizzes first, opting for art, it being a favourite of mine. There were quizzes ranging from colour mixing to famous artists, all easy to understand and in clear large writing.

"The quizzes are split into key stages, KS1-GCSE, and then by topic. They are fun, interactive and suitable for all children"

Florence came home from her first day at school and raved about the school having loads of computers and it dawned on me that this is how she will learn. She will use the internet to research whereas I went to the library or asked my parents. She will create work on the computer using various programs whereas I wrote an essay in my jotter pad.

The quizzes are split into key stages, KS1-GCSE, and then by topic. They are fun, interactive and suitable for all children – there’s even an ‘English as a Second Language’ section. It is suggested you spend around 30 minutes a day in a one to one situation with your child working through the various topics. I’ve had a look through the KS1 Education Quizzes with Florence and, despite being in Reception, she was actually able to make a good guess at the answer. It kept her engaged for some time as we discussed the options and I also let her use the computer to navigate the site. She became familiar with the colour coding on the site quickly and remember which topic was associated with which colour.

"it will be a valuable resource for any parents and children regardless of their age"

I was actually impressed by the amount of information on the site and the variety of quizzes. For me this means Olivia would be able to cover a lot of information quickly and with the answers being shown immediately, correct or incorrect, then even if she didn’t know the right answer before, she will straight away. You are also able to dip in and out at anytime. With the short quizzes it is easy to cover more and easy to complete quickly meaning you can learn more without actually realising you are

I’ve not really been focused on extra learning at home in the past but I feel this year Olivia needs a bit more help to prepare her for her SATS and I think Education Quizzes would be perfect for the girl who, as described by her teacher, is a great student if not a bit of a daydreamer who needs to focus more, pay attention and pick up the pace. If the girl was any more relaxed she would be horizontal!

"I really like how it is appropriate for all three of my youngest children, who are at very different levels"

I think this is a great site and well worth the money. I really like how it is appropriate for all three of my youngest children, who are at very different levels. I believe it will make it easier to target which areas I need to help them develop, whilst building their confidence to see where their strengths lie. I am particularly interested in the 11+ section because my Year 4 is already pushing to answer questions in preparation and I think this is a fun way to do it. I like how it doesn’t just train him to pass a test but gives him the tools for learning that he will need in his lifetime. This site is simple for children to use and for adults to help them find their areas of strengths and weaknesses to build on. Again I think it is great value for money for such a great tool.

"The website is a safe place where I can get the right information because the quizzes are written by teachers"

Although my children will not have to go through the same exams like the British kids I found the Education Quizzes website a fabulous resource for me and for them. We all do them together although Anastasia is too little for them. It’s all fun at the moment but I am trying to teach them as much as I can about the English language and life. For now my eldest, Kara is in a normal Romanian school but we might move her in the future to the Cambridge School in Constanta that works after the same curriculum as the schools in UK. Or who knows maybe at some point my girls will be keen to move back to UK and they will need to know as much as possible about their country and their roots.

I find the Education Quizzes website as a safe place where I can get the right information because the quizzes are written by teachers and I love the fact that they also made them fun, which is great cause the last thing you’d want is a quickly bored child.

"My two younger sons are screen addicts. I told them about Education Quizzes and they were keen to give it a try."

Hands up if after the first week of the school holidays, you are already fed up with grappling your children from screens. I am pretty sure that I am not the only parent with that problem. Thankfully, Education Quizzes may just be the answer, somewhere that combines screen time with learning time.

Education Quizzes has quizzes for children of all ages, from Reception age through to GCSE , including a section for the 11+ and even an ESL section for those learning English as a second language. Quizzes are separated into key stage areas with a range of subject areas in each one and the site is really easy to navigate.

"The whole website is worded in clear, non-confusing language making it easy to use for every learner"

I am of the view that the purpose of school is to provide a basic education to every pupil in its care, and the purpose of parents is to nurture those children and that education until they reach their full potential. That’s why websites like Education Quizzes are important. They allow families to access learning resources for and with their children which tie in with the UK National Curriculum, meaning all the extra work you do at home will contribute to and support their school education. The primary objective of Education Quizzes is to help children to be successful at school, right from the day they begin Key Stage 1.

Teachers write all the quiz content and so the content is current and accurate in each learning area. Parents can therefore have confidence that what they are learning and revising with their child will be the same as is being taught in school. Navigation of the site is pretty good. Study of the school curriculum is made easy and enjoyable with suites of KS1, KS2, 11-Plus, KS3 and GCSE quizzes. Simply choose your preferred Key Stage, then your subject, and then select the quiz you want to take.

"The quizzes are written by teachers so I could trust them – unlike the Christmas card I unwrapped to write today and found such a glaring grammatical error that I actually couldn’t bear to send it."

I could choose between the different key stages so I could make sure the quizzes I chose were appropriate to Pip’s ability but that I could also choose from KS1, KS2, 11-Plus, KS3 and GCSE to support older children if I wanted – it’s sometimes tricky knowing what ability level is appropriate so this was comforting I wasn’t doing anything beyond her ability.

"Personally I love the concept and it would work brilliantly within so many different care settings"

Recently I was made aware of a company called Education Quizzes that have been set up to do just what I am looking for. The sites primary objective is to help children to be successful at school with easy and enjoyable quizzes based on the KS1, KS2, 11-Plus, KS3 and GCSE curriculum that have all been written by teachers!

The website has easily displayed areas and so I was able to find the KS1 (key stage 1) area and then with the subsection I could see what quizzes were available depending upon subject.

"With quizzes from KS1 all the way to GCSE I know that we’ll be helping LP with quizzes from now all the way through to revising for exams"

Educational Quizzes have proven a great way to not just test her knowledge but also to supplement her education too. We’ve been focusing on English – the alphabet, word construction and basic sentences at the moment but I know that over time we’ll be able to help LP with other subjects too as her formal education continues.

With quizzes from KS1 all the way to GCSE I know that we’ll be helping LP with quizzes from now all the way through to revising for exams. It’s hard as a parent to know how to support your child’s learning – especially when you went to school so long ago and everything has changed so much but I now feel confident that we can help LP to learn without the pressure of needing to know everything ourselves. Who knows, we may even learn something too!

"Katie is in Key Stage 2, and there were a variety of subjects for her to work through. There are a total of over 400 quizzes, and she was pleased to see her favourite subjects included"

As the website was really easy to use, I left Katie alone to try the quizzes. Here is what she said about Education Quizzes.

“I enjoyed coming in from school and doing the quizzes on the laptop. They were fun and I liked that you could pick music as well as Maths and English. When I got an answer wrong, it gave me the right answer so I could remember this. As well as school subjects, there are also other sections such as Flags of the World and London. I tried the London quizzes but I didn’t get very many right. But I am excited that I am going to London with school soon, and hopefully my knowledge of our capital city will improve”

"I feel like I’m offering him a little extra support at home"

I’ve found a website that offers educational quizzes for all different age ranges/key stages, and if I’m careful, and catch Dexter in a particularly good mood, I can go through one or two with him. It’s something similar to what we did to prepare him for his 11+ exam and it worked really well. I just feel like I’m offering him a little extra support at home which, in turn, hopefully gives him more confidence at school.

It’s hard to go from the top of the class to the middle – to feel like you’ve dropped down the ranks just because everyone around you is bright too, and I’d hate for Dexter to feel like he hates school. He’s a little more settled now we’re nearing the end of Year 7 and I can only hope that continues, but boy, it’s been a rough ride.

"I find my boys are more willing to do any of their homework that involves using a laptop or tablet!"

As parents, I think the results of the quizzes can help us to ascertain where our children might need a bit of extra help educationally. Not just for exams as let’s face it they are only a small part of their education. It isn’t just about exam results, it’s what they take away with them from school. The extra knowledge, and even the confidence that can come from that.

"The younger children will need help to read the questions, but this means that it is something for you both to do together."

These quizzes do keep your kids entertained and keeps their mind ticking over, The summer holidays are approaching and it's a long time for them to not be learning anything so you could take out a subscription at £9.99 a month, and it will suit all of your children in different stages of their education, that is £2.50 a week to keep them occupied and their brain active. You would pay that much to hire a film for them to watch for one day over the holidays.

"There’s a huge range of topics – and I’m impressed by this"

When it comes to homework and/or anything that feels like learning, it’s a proper Kevin and Perry scene in this house. It’s a shame really that the boys aren’t old enough to know what Kevin and Perry are – perhaps some YouTube education is in order? I worry that I’m too much of a tiger mom or that I’ll look back and feel that I was hot housing the boys in some ways. I know we need to make learning as fun as we can, if they’re going to keep going with it, but making it happen is rather more challenging! I was therefore rather intrigued to see that Education Quizzes wanted some people to check out their site.

It’s interesting, having been a Twinkl subscriber for so long, to be checking out something that’s kind of similar, but different – this is a site where the premise is that you play a game online and there’s no printing involved. There’s a huge range of topics – and I’m impressed by this – this is KS2’s offering…

"We were really impressed with the range of subjects and the large number of quizzes available in each"

Both boys tried out the site and I had a go too. We were really impressed with the range of subjects (they had everything from maths to gardening) and the large number of quizzes available in each. The format is very straight forward with 10 multiple choice questions in each quiz and the result shown immediately at the bottom. The other big win from my point of view is that the child is given additional information under the question and a correction pops up if they get the wrong answer so rather than just testing knowledge it is actually reinforcing and teaching as you go.

The only down side for us was that for T who is 5, while the content itself was totally age appropriate, the language in the introductions and around the screen was beyond his reception level reading skills so he couldn’t sit and do the quizzes alone so we did them together.

"I was really impressed with the range of subjects and topics that the website covers."

Harrison is in year one, which is the first year in Key Stage One. Whilst he doesn’t have any formal homework, other than his reading books and some weekly spellings, we get daily updates from his school about what the class has been doing that day and ideas for supporting them at home. We’ve just bought him a laptop to use, so when we found out about Education Quizzes, we logged straight on.

"Education Quizzes appears to be the Holy Grail for parents like me who wish to monitor their children's development"

I’m really happy that this is available not only for my 14 year old but my 10 month old. Thinking that Bethany can get the support that she needs in a low pressure setting wherever she is whenever she wants. It also means that at each stage we’ve got Parenting pointers for how we can give them support and what we should be doing. I also think that we can up skill too! Maybe not physics again.

"Education Quizzes have quizzes for all school aged children from KS1 to GCSE students and the quizzes support the national curriculum"

We learn best when we are being actively involved in the learning, reading books is not the best way for most people to retain information and mind maps, playing games and quizzes help the knowledge to stick and therefore we often make learning fun and creative in our spare time. Most people love a good quiz and this is where Education Quizzes is a fantastic resource. Education Quizzes have quizzes for all school aged children from KS1 to GCSE students, the quizzes support the national curriculum but allow you to explore the areas of the curriculum which is frequently rushed through, due to time constraints.

The quizzes are superior as they have all been written by teachers which makes them relevant, fun and engaging. They can be used by the whole family in ways that suit you and here are just a few, I am sure you can see how it will fit into your routines.

1. Many of my friends often have family nights at the weekend, they grab a take away and play board games. These quizzes can be used to facilitate that quality family time.
2. If you are a grandparent that is looking after the children or babysitting this again can give you all something to do together.
3. As a teacher (I am doing some private tutoring) I will use these as a summary to a topic we have covered.
4. In the classroom I would use these with my tutor groups. During tutor time teachers do much more than take the register and these quizzes can be used with either vertical or horizontal tutor groups.
5. As a subject specialist they can be used as a starter or a plenary activity for the class.

"Family fun but also learning through play, which as a parent I try to encourage lots of – if they are having fun they don’t see it as work or as learning"

As a parent, I want to help Emmy and in time Harry get the best out of their time in school, while Emmy finds school work fun and exciting currently I know this may not always be the case, and we are already beginning to struggle getting her to sit down and complete her homework…..I completely get it – school work is for school and home time is for playing, and even at almost 7 she doesn’t see why they need to mix.

I have been having a little play around with a new website called Education Quizzes and Emmy has been joining in with some of the quizzes at home and we have been having great fun – family fun but also learning through play, which as a parent I try to encourage lots of – if they are having fun they don’t see it as work or as learning.

"They are quizzes written by teachers and designed for children of all ages (from KS1 up to GCSE) so it's a great resource for my children whose ages range from 5 to 14. Education Quizzes primary objective is to help children to be successful at school. "

The site is colourful and easy to use. We selected our learning stage, subject and topic then selected our quiz. We found Education Quizzes to be very informative as well as "quizzing". Children select their chosen answer, if it is correct they get a green tick and move on. If it is incorrect, the correct answer and an explanation is displayed (this is so useful!). At the end of the quiz, the results are shown and you have the chance to take the test again if you wish.

My kids love this site and it will be handy to keep them busy while I'm helping another child with their homework and learning. It will be especially useful for Danny as he now approaches his GCSE years (yikes- I feel like I only recently took mine!). It's also a lot of fun and quizzes can be printed off to keep kids busy when travelling.

"As a parent they give you a clear taste of what is expected of your child and what gaps they might have so you can support them better at home"

I’ve recently been introduced to Education Quizzes – a subscription site designed to help support children across the Key Stages from KS1 (which is Ben right now) right through to GCSE quizzes. The quizzes are written be qualified, experienced teachers and cover all aspects of the school curriculum. For once this isn’t just about maths and English!

The biggest plus points of for me are that the quizzes are short and sharp – meaning your child isn’t going to get fed up with them. As a parent they give you a clear taste of what is expected of your child and what gaps they might have so you can support them better at home. Oh, and the challenge of beating your previous score is always appealing – who doesn’t love a bit of competition, even if it is with yourself!

"It is a resource that can be adapted and played with to help parents help their children"

School, at the beginning, is all about learning through play. Play based learning. Using things that stimulate and excite children to teach them fundamentals. Maths. English. Science. So why not apply this principle once children graduate up to Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2, 3, GCSE, A Level, University. It has been said that we learn more when we enjoy what we are doing, when we are engaged and when we have support. Which was why I was delighted to discover Education Quizzes which supports learning for all ages from 5 through to 17. With fun quizzes designed by teachers to bring the fun back to learning.

With a wide variety of subjects covered from Geography to History, Maths to English, Spelling and Times Tables. It is a resource that can be adapted and played with to help parents help their children. Including technology, which we all know kids love, questions that are age appropriate and suitably pushing.

"The results of the quiz are instant and you can print off the results or try the quiz again"

The results of the quiz are instant and you can print off the results or try the quiz again. I like how the answers are readily available on screen once you have chosen an answer. I like how you can test the knowledge and know immediately where you are going wrong. There’s also a little explanation too which is useful and puts the sentence into context.

"We've been trialing the quizzes with our daughter and she's been really enjoying them, it's a great activity to do at the dining room table post dinner"

It is suggested that you spend between 10 to 30 minutes each day (one-to-one) with your child and do a reflective learning activity. Education Quizzes offers quizzes suitable from KS1 through to GSCE, this fun way of learning helps to reinforce the knowledge from the same subjects that your child is being taught in the classroom. For the same cost as a DVD (£9.95) you can get a month access to this wonderful resource.

We've been trialing the quizzes with our daughter and she's been really enjoying them, it's a great activity to do at the dining room table post dinner. They cover a huge range of topics from recognising uppercase and lowercase letters to quizzes surrounding the Battle of Hastings!

"There is so much variety, all subjects in one place, all levels in one place and all written and approved by teaching professionals"

It was clear within a few minutes though that the free websites he has found are not a patch on the Education quizzes. There is so much variety, all subjects in one place, all levels in one place and they are all written and approved by teaching professionals. JJ was particularly made up to see there are 450 Spanish quizzes as this is the language he is learning at the moment.

"It cleverly mixes learning into challenges and of course being on a computer screen instantly makes it appealing to kids"

lets be honest, sitting down and writing out letters and words, or addressing number problem solving etc can be seen as boring by many children and, lets be honest, who wouldn’t prefer to be at home playing, being outside bouncing on their trampoline, riding their bikes or watching TV instead after a busy day of learning at school?

Nowadays, learning is much more varied and interesting compared to when I was at school because children have on line resources at their finger tips to aid them and make learning more fun. Huzzah!

Education Quizzes is one such online aid, and it claims to be the UK’s number one revision site. It cleverly mixes learning into challenges and of course being on a computer screen instantly makes it appealing to kids – and my two are no exception. They will do anything for some time on the iPad or being allowed to play on my phone, and being the mean mummy that I am this is a rare occurrence because otherwise they won’t get off these devices, at least happily! However, I am more likely to allow them screen time if they are actually benefitting from it educationally, and they do not even see that, as they just think yay! Mummy is allowing us to use her computer! Aha! See? Clever!!! *winks*

"There are SO many quizzes on such a variety of topics that they don’t get bored"

Back when I just had one child at school, I was organised Mum, spellings were meticulously learned, homework finished early and I was generally on top of everything I needed to be and fully able to spend the time needed helping my son at home. Fast forward 3 years and the story is a bit different, not because I want to help any less, just because I have less time. Spelling sheets get put in a pile for ‘later’ or even worse lost and ‘later’ never comes. Three lots of letters and homework isn’t easy to manage, especially when you work and have extra curricular activities most nights. I am lucky in that my eldest doesn’t need much input from me apart from actually making him sit down to do the work, and my daughters are so keen and eager that they will happily sit and write or do an occasional worksheet. However, I do feel a bit of a failure at times, as I would like to do more at home, but equally want my children to have some downtime, with that in mind I am always on the lookout for fun ways for the children to learn that require minimal input from me, allowing me to spend time with another child who might need my attention more.

Why my children like Education Quizzes

• They get to use the computer.
• They like the satisfaction of getting questions right and trying to improve on their previous score.
• The competitive side of a quiz really appeals to my children and encourages them to keep trying.
• The quizzes are short, allowing them to complete a couple even when we only have a small amount of time available.
• There are SO many quizzes on such a variety of topics that they don’t get bored.

"The site is totally advert-free, which is something that appeals to us massively."

I love the fact that we’ll be able to monitor Sausage’s progress as well as the fact that this type of extra curricular learning will be totally convenient for us. Not only do we live well out in the sticks (much further than most tutors are willing to drive!) we’re also usually pretty busy with something or another, but with Education Quizzes we can fit it in wherever, and whenever, we need to. I also think that the online aspect will be appealing to Sausage – let’s face it, most kids would rather look at a screen even if it’s for something educational, so at least we know this will hold her interest!

I’m excited to see how Sausage gets on with the site.

"Most children love quizzes, my boys certainly do. They also like to be competitive, enjoy a little bit of sibling rivalry and also like getting things right, so I'm all for an additional way to learn at home that is also fun. "

The boys thought the quizzes were fun and repeated them to improve their scores too. I asked if it was what they were learning about at school and they both replied yes, although they found some maths that they are about to start learning so it is definitely following the same topics as the curriculum which is reassuring.

"They love it, and although common sense tells them they are learning the fun element of it takes over and pushes that thought to the back of their mind!"

Within education, it is easier to be a more hands on help. Academically I want my children to push themselves to be given the best platform of choice in their later years. But whilst they are still in primary, it is important to all of us that learning is a fun and not a forced activity. In addition, I dislike that in recent years, primary education seems to focus on literacy and maths over any other topic. At home we enjoy more of the other topics not so heavily covered in the overwhelming curriculum that makes up the recipe for the end of primary SATS.

From a parental point of view, the (Education Quizzes) site is user-friendly and easy for kids to navigate through. They love it, and although common sense tells them they are learning the fun element of it takes over and pushes that thought to the back of their mind!

"Freddie has actually really enjoyed being tested on subjects he enjoys"

Both children break up from school/preschool within the next few days, and blimey, do they need the holidays now. Freddie in particular is really tired, and I know will benefit from several weeks of being able to switch off. BUT (and this is where the ‘but’ comes in), I’m always torn between letting them chill out totally for the whole of the holidays, and still keeping their little brains ticking a bit with continuing reading/doing some fun number exercises etc. I’ve read about ‘learning loss’ over the holidays, and why some teachers would prefer shorter summer breaks so as the children don’t forget a proportion of what they’ve learnt and have to start with it all over again come September.

In my opinion, great learning, especially for younger children should be made fun so as they don’t really know that they’re learning at all. Freddie has actually really enjoyed being tested on subjects he enjoys (ask him a question about train routes or the London underground and you have a child in his element), so I was interested to try out some fun KS1 quizzes by ‘Education Quizzes’ in a variety of topics to see if this would be something he’d enjoy doing over the summer (and not even realise he was keeping on brushing up on school work, natch).

"The quizzes are written by experienced teachers and are a fun way to help your children learn without realising they are doing so"

The Education Quizzes website is full of hundreds of educational questions with multiple choice answers. These are all broken down into sections split by topic and by key stage age (with a very helpful explanation if, like me, you keep forgetting the difference between KS1, KS2, KS3 etc). Other subject areas include 11-plus, English as a second language, and Specialist topics - questions on a variety of subjects, such as Flags of the world, Nature and Art.

The main subject headings are then broken down further, so for example within English quizzes are on Adjectives, Alliteration, Comprehension, Nouns, Spelling.... and the list goes on. Hundreds of areas for your children to delve into - mine found that they wanted to check out those that they felt confident in first, and then try some of the others. There's no time limit, or necessary order, just lots of quizzes for your child to dip in and out of to help underpin their school learning.

"It would certainly be a useful resource for me as a teacher to use as either a lesson starter, or a plenary at the end to test understanding of the work covered. "

I have a lot of pupils who enjoy making beautiful, colour-coded spider diagrams of their revision notes, and whilst there is a place for this in revising for their exams, effective revision does have to be active. You need to test your learning, so you understand what you already know and remember, and what you need to focus on. Trying to replicate a spider-diagram from memory is a good way of doing this. As are flashcards for learning key definitions. I often get my pupils to make up quizzes for each other – that way they are revising as they are making up their questions and answers, and then being tested as they attempt the quiz that another child has made up for them.

Alternatively, Education Quizzes provide a huge range of quizzes for children all the way up from KS1 to GCSE. I was really impressed with the breadth of the curriculum content in the Biology section (which is my specialist subject), covering not only the topics needed for the GCSE exams across the examination boards, but also areas for “How Science Works”. It would certainly be a useful resource for me as a teacher to use as either a lesson starter, or a plenary at the end to test understanding of the work covered.

"It is great to see them enjoying taking the quizzes and they don’t hate it like they do with their homework"

I was recently introduced to Education Quizzes where the kids can find quizzes online that are suitable for their age groups. They can select the subject they want to study and get started straight away.

Alison is really enjoying reading and spelling at the moment and is in year 1 and with over 100 spelling tests in the Key Stage 1 area it will keep her busy for a while.

Elizabeth on the other hand is in year 3, hates English but loves Mathematics so the Key Stage 2 maths quizzes are perfect for her. It is great to see them enjoying taking the quizzes and they dont hate it like they do with their homework because they can choose what to do and when.

"You will be able to support their learning while away for whatever reason"

I’ve been having a look around and something that was recommended to me by a friend is trying out educational quizzes on the computer or his iPad. A place like Disney requires daily down time because there are going to be so many nights when we just won’t be in bed until after 11pm, which is not something that is a common occurrence for my kids. They are in bed by 6.30/7pm every night (usually so I can splay out on the sofa and think about how productive I could be if I *just* had the energy!) which means that they will be exhausted so the plan is to have at least 2-3 hours in the mid/late afternoon to just lounge by the pool, sleep in the buggy or chill out in a bar/cafe somewhere. I know for a fact that Roo will ask me for stories and his iPad at this point, so we will be taking it with us and I will also have my laptop to do some work, even though it will be minimal.

I love the idea of uploading educational quizzes that are relevant to his schooling – so many apps (most of which he has or has tried out) are all about one aspect like phonics or basic maths, but these quizzes include everything that could be relevant to do with KS1 (year one learning stage). In fact, it doesn’t matter what stage your kids are, every key stage has a subsection, so you will be able to support their learning while away for whatever reason, and if you just ask the teacher what topics they will be covering whilst away you can alleviate the pressure on them too. Think of it as homeschooling on holiday – it doesn’t feel like work, it doesn’t feel like you’re doing stuff to educate your child, but with every passing minute you ARE!

"The quizzes consolidate classroom learning and help children feel more confident about reaching the top of the class"

One of the things Ross and I have been very keen on is to ensure that we support Grace whenever it comes to her school work. Education is paramount to her success and, if it is something we don’t take an interest in, then we know that she is the kind of child who will likely lose interest herself. This is one of the many reasons Education Quizzes comes in handy.

The quizzes are written in such a way that they meticulously follow the curriculum guidelines so you can be confident the quiz subjects match what is being taught at school.

"When I first heard about this site, I thought it was a great idea. I've always learnt really well from this kind of method and had it been around way back when during my GCSE's I know I would have seen an improvement in my grades."

I think this site is a really useful well priced learning tool.There is a vast and impressive variety of subjects and quizzes available. Although this will help a large age group, I think this would have been most useful for me during my GCSEs where I had a 'if I don't know it now, I never will' approach to swatting before exams. Sitting these quizzes would have been far more interesting. There is no stone left un-turned in terms of subject matter and I'm sure pretty much everything has to be covered in there somewhere.

"Although there was some (ok, a lot) of resistance from Little Balders initially at the thought of having to do anything vaguely like schoolwork, he quickly took to it and I even caught him laughing out loud!"

What blew me away was the provision for parents like me – parents who have learnt in a very different way from that which their kids are currently being taught. There’s a “Parents 999” section that actually has quizzes for us!

It’s this in particular that impresses upon me the fact that the site’s content really is written by teachers who care about helping students (and their parents) to learn and understand.

"Whatever age your children are, there’s a section for them. From KS1 in primary, right through to GSCE age. These quizzes offer a quick and easy way to address those school report issues. The quizzes are also written by teachers themselves."

It’s lovely to hear within a school report how well your child is doing, but we learn most from our mistakes and developing skills to address and understand them. Therefore, I always feel we should relish those parts of school reports where we can see a “gap” in a child’s learning. These gaps are screaming out as learning opportunities for the summer holidays. The quizzes from Education Quizzes are perfect for this.

"Overall Education Quizzes could be a really useful resource for parents and teachers alike."

One of the great things I found about Education Quizzes was how diverse their material is; if you have several children of all different age ranges, studying many different subjects, a subscription to Education Quizzes could be really invaluable.

"It is very easy to browse the Education Quizzes website. Everything is very clear. The quizzes are written by teachers that know the National Curriculum very well."

We have been trying the quizzes with Bella and she has enjoyed them. She thinks the quizzes are fun and she actually liked doing them. She doesn’t see them as homework or related to school. She sees them as way to keep her entertained and perhaps have some fun time with mummy although sometimes she does it on her own.

"Each click immediately reveals if your answer is right, and corrects you if it isn’t, so children are either getting that instant validation, or continual reinforcement of the right information (I tried one, by the way, and it was really quite fun)"

I’m a bit funny with homework; I understand the need for it, but don’t agree with kids putting in a full day at school, then being laden down with extra work once they get home – to me, that’s the time they should be playing with friends and putting on concerts in the back garden, and just being kids.

However, I genuinely wouldn’t mind getting Big Sis to run through one or two of these quizzes when she gets home, because they’re quick and fun, and they just don’t feel like work. In fact, she and I did one together on Ancient Egypt and she loved it (and she got more answers right than I did. Awkward.).

"The quizzes being on the computer or Ipad really help with this as the photos help contextualise it for Arlo and him doing ‘grown up’ work on the laptop/Ipad adds to the novelty of it for him."

One site that is helpful is Education Quizzes. It’s packed full of ‘quizzes’ for all curriculum levels and topics from key stage one right up to GCSE. The quizzes are written by teachers in line with the curriculum. I’ve been having a look at KS1 for Arlo which showed me really clearly how much better he is at maths than english. He was able to answer so many more of the maths questions to the literacy ones. It’s a really useful learning tool.

"It instantly seems like less of a chore when you are on the computer and also lets E get used to using a computer rather than using tablets all the time."

It’s based on the National Curriculum and aims to support learning at home through a variety of fun quizzes that are written by teachers and tailored to curriculums different Key Stages. Once you have clicked onto the correct stage for your child (E is Key Stage 2), the website is then broken down by subject. For example, Art and Design, English, Geography and Maths.