Concerned?? About ds.

[geordieminx]

Not sure whether I belong here, but thought I would stand the least chance of being flamed/labelled a pushy parent/PFB

Ds is 3.8, and tbh has always been bright? He picks things up very quickly, remembers things, preferring to "do" things rather than "play" at home, although does play a lot a nursery.

Ok, so now I feel a bit but, I am worried about just how clever he is. He knows all of his numbers up to 100, can add up, and is just about reading, and can spell reasonably short words.

I'm worried because he doesn't actually go to school for another 18 months, and if he can do all of this now, (although tbh, I'm not actually sure whether any of this is unusual), how much more is he going to learn before then, and what is he going to do once he gets there?

Obviously it's great that (if?) he is bright, but I am concerned that he is so far ahead of the game that it will create problems?

Apologies for the ramblings, and if I have come across as a complete twat, I'm not, honest, it's just I have no real experience of what is normal and what isn't IYKWIM?

[Al1son]

What you describe is a small part of what children learn in school. They learn to question, explore, experiment, discuss, negotiate, explain and predict and many other important skills through lots of different play opportunities so there's no reason he should feel understimulated.

It's lovely that he's so motivated to learn about these bits of literacy and numeracy but there is a great deal more to the reception year than what he is already doing so I really shouldn't worry.

[rabbitstew]

Both my dss could read fluently before starting school (as in reading chapter books to themselves, with expression and able to summarise accurately what they had read). They could also count until they got bored, recognise numbers in their millions, tell the time, add up, subtract, work out number sequences, understand basic fractions, work out your change for you in a shop etc. Ds1 wasn't bored in reception, but there was loads he still couldn't do, as he was behind socially and emotionally, and also physically as a result of a connective tissue disorder, so still found the year a struggle. Ds2 was advanced in all ways, but still loves cooking, model making, drawing, colouring in, PE, playing in the playground, play acting, learning about different topics, being Mr Independent Schoolboy... He certainly doesn't come home crying, asking why he isn't being given more intellectual stimulation.

[madwomanintheattic]

no, it won't create problems. yr r teachers are used to dealing with children who don't recognise their own (written) name, as well as those who are reading fluently and have a good grasp of mathematical concepts. each dc is assessed over the first few weeks/ months to make sure that any more 'formal' work is differentiated appropriately, as well as achieving less academically tangible and more rounded goals.

ds1 loved to play with coins at three - it wasn't immediately apparent unless you asked him, but he could tell you how many different ways there were to make a given total, and calculate shopping costs and 'change' in the same manner as rabbitstew's. we just thought he was playing with coins

that said, ds1 is your classic 'work until death if it interests me, but a rocket won't motivate me if it's boring' child, so less fluffy and more formal early years would have knocked some of that out of him i think.

dd2 taught herself to read very early. she has cp, so for most of her schooling we have been balancing obvious academic potential with poor motor skills. since yr r she has two ieps running, one for her more able status, and one alongside her statement of sen.

there are all sorts of kids in yr r. honestly, he'll be fine.

[geordieminx]

Thanks so much.

I guess my concern stems from the fact that I am english, and if we were living in England he would be starting school this year, but as we live in scotland, he won't go till next year, by which time he'll be 5.4, which seems quite late?

[madwomanintheattic]

we move every two years, so mine have been in the english system, the scottish system, the canadian system, and back again a few times.

here in canada they don't start until pretty much 6, and i am always appalled (with my english head on). dd1 is in her fifth or sixth school (i lose count) and moving again this summer - i think that they fit in with their peer group very quickly, wherever they are.

you might also be interested in the fact that i found the scottish system much faster at getting more formal academic learning established. she moved from p1 into yr1 in england and they were amazed at what she had covered. (she's the only one that hadn't taught herself to read before school lol)

[cory]

Geordieminx, I went to school in Sweden where they start even later: by the time I got to school at
nearly 7 I could already read fluently, spell pretty accurately, bake my own cakes unsupervised, do cross stitch embroidery and read simple sentences of my first foreign language. There was still plenty for me to learn and do at school.