Best things to do with DS to prepare him for reception?

[waitingforCOD]

I am really not sure what will will be expected of DS1 (4 in august) when he starts reception in September. We are moving to England from Scotland in 2 weeks so he is now starting school a year earlier that he would have been. He has attended a year of pre-school here and is quite a chatty, confident boy so I think he will be okay socially but I am not sure what he will be expected to be able to do with regards to literacy, numeracy etc. I am also concerned about the fact that he has to wear a proper shirt with little buttons and he can't do them up by himself.

Any hints/tips on helping him prepare or ideas of expectations?

Thanks.

[TooTicky]

Let him practise buttons but don't make it a chore. Literacy wise, they shouldn't expect anything really. Recognising his name will help.

[TooTicky]

Can he visit the school before the holidays start?

[waitingforCOD]

Oh that's good - he does recognise his name so that is a start. I will try and get his to practise the button thing - just thinking about changing after PE.

[waitingforCOD]

The school closes for holiday the day before we arrive We were supposed to visit this week but the annoying man in our new house keeps changing his moving date {angry]

[TooTicky]

I suppose you're not close enough for a day trip?

[GrowlingTiger]

Practice buttons and putting on and off shoes and coats (for playtime etc). Independent toileting including using a urinal and handwashing.
Being able to use a knife and fork/being able to open and close lunchbox, drink.
Being able to overcome urges to call out, to take turns and to share.

[waitingforCOD]

lol we are 7 hours away and DH had the car down there already! He had to start his new job and is staying in a hotel until the 21st when we go down. I am really sad he has missed his induction and now the visit we scheduled.

[waitingforCOD]

GrowlingTiger - useful thank you.

[TooTicky]

What a shame. I'm sure he'll be fine though - reception classes are very relaxed and friendly on the whole.

[LIZS]

They like them to be able to identify their name but other than that very little academically is expected although in reality many will already know letters phonetically, count up to 10 or 20, maybe have some basic understanding of maths concepts such as shapes, patterns , money but that is all covered during Reception anyway. If you look at the Foundation Stage/Early Learning goals threads you 'll find links about what is expected at the end of Reception.

In the meantime focus on the practical skills such as dressing , eating lunch with cutlery/opening box and drink if needs be, listening and concentrating, sharing and playing nicely. Can you get hold of a list fo other chidlren in the class who you codul make some conatct with once you move ?

[Mercy]

The teacher and Nursery Nurse still help the children quite a lot, especially in the first term.

Will he be having packed lunch or school dinner?

[waitingforCOD]

I am sure you are right - He is confident and fairly bright (IMHO ) and we will practise a bit with the practical stuff. He is really looking forward to it so I suppose that is the main thing. Thanks for your help.

[waitingforCOD]

x posts!

LIZS - sounds like he will be okay then. I don't have a list of names but I do know someone down there and am attending a childrens party soon after we arrive so may meet someone with a child DSs age.


Mercy - Good to know they get good support. I think we are opting for school dinners - he is quite a good eater so probably the best option.

[waitingforCOD]

grumpyfrumpy - he is okay at getting dressed apart from shirt buttons! Why do they make reception kids wear shirts anyway?? A polo shirt would be better! We will have to practise the bumwiping a bit though!

[muppetgirl]

Don't worry about the buttons thing too much. I was always more than happy to help with those (receptions mostly have teaching asisstants as well) I still did 'top buttons' in year 3 (when It's cold outside they find top buttons really hard)

Shoes/coats are good to practise but again, help will be there. Make sure he can toilet on his own, hold a knife and fork -the one thing that always astonished me was how the little ones reacted to being in the school hall as it was so large for them!


Our school used to offer a coffee morning (morning was a little grand but you get the idea) where once you had dropped lo off, you were then invited to stay and chat with the other new mums. This they always said they found helpful to aleviate fears, network ect. I wonder if your school does this?

[suezee]

my daughter has a polo shirt and a jumper,she has 2 teachers and 2 nursery helpers, i was worried at first about her going to school as she was quite peevish,but she got her first school report last week and shes doing great......so dont worry about it he will adapt better than you think.

[waitingforCOD]

Thanks for the reassurance. I can't believe my little boy is off to school.

[suezee]

i know how you feel i remember talking about her going to school when she was a baby,it just goes way too fast.

[suezee]

i know how you feel i remember talking about her going to school when she was a baby,it just goes way too fast.

[Smithagain]

The thing that caught my friend's son out was that he was expected to carry his school dinner to the table, on a tray. He'd never even carried his own plate before.

But Reception teachers and dinner ladies are very good at helping little ones find their feet. I know for a fact that DD1's teacher has been known to feed children in her class (including DD1), to help them keep up!

[ChazsBarmyArmy]

My DS, 4 in Aug, will be starting reception soon so this thread is useful for me too. He was really struggling with buttons so I used to wear a cardigan with bigger buttons when it was time to get undressed or dressed. We would have race to see if he could do my buttons before I did his (strangly enough he always seemed to win ). This did help his confidence with buttons. As he will be taking packed lunches I thought I would do a few practice packed lunches at home at least that way I can see if anything causes him real problems.
He's another one that needs some bum wiping practice I think, I will also stick to pull up trousers as belts and trouser buttons are too much for him and I don't want him to have an accident just because he can't get his trousers undone.
I assume that the main classroom skill needed is the ability to stop and listen to what you are supposed to be doing - something that might need a bit more work.
I hope the OP will forgive me for joining the request for advice but my DS also seems so little and I want make the transition as easy as possible.

[Anchovy]

I would add that although these things are what all schools would like the children to be doing, in my experience it is far from the case that all children can do all of those things. Even at the end of DS's Reception year I think there are some very variable levels of self dressing.