Things you need to know / do if you have DC starting Reception this year

[Toadsrevisited]

I sailed through my eldest going to reception last year courtesy of MN advice, so thought I should pass it on....

Don't stress about academics.

Do, to the best of your ability, make sure that your DC can

• put on their coat
• open their snack boxes
• use the toilet independently (including asking in time)
• know a few key phrases to socialise (e.g. what's your name, can I play)

Some children will not be able to do that yet, but the more children who can means we can really help the little ones who need it most.

Don't buy laces.

If they need to change for PE, practise taking off their clothes and putting them back on from the inside-out tumble!

Label EVERYTHING.

Don't build it up too much. Don't even mention it if you think they're getting overwhelmed.

Keep one shirt back so it is sparkly clean for school photos

Buy iron on labels, a laundry pen, a sharpie, waterproof labels for lunchbox, and a self inking laundry stamp.

Name everything multiple times!

Buy a distinctive keyring and attach it to book bag

If you haven't already found it, the Primary board on MN is fab.

Don't do a whole class party minus 1 or 2 children.
Don't do an 'all girls/boys' party minus 1 or 2 children.
The parents of kids with SN are often very isolated, as are their children.
Children will learn to read at different rates, don't fret.
However, do reading practice, it really does help. Try mornings if they are too tired in the afternoon.
Don't get into arguments with other parents, you're going to see them for another 7 years.

If you see any dressing up stuff cheap in the sales, buy it now, ahead of world book day / dressing up. Versatile items like cloak, hat, wand, random animal costume all useful.

Find out who the super organiser mum is and make friends

Buy velcro shoes and elastic plimsolls.

Laces are evil

Get school coat from ebay. Cheaper and less sad when it gets lost or painty. Second hand boden is great.

Try to get a parents WhatsApp or Facebook group. It's the only way you'll piece together what's happening and what they need to bring in. Communication from schools about stuff can be late notice and feel disjointed (not blaming schools, there are a lot of plates to keep spinning!). In a group you'll hopefully have parents with older children at the school who can also fill in the gaps about how things work.

Following as dd starts reception in September

Thank you so much for this thread. Following with interest. First timer here. Little nervous about getting everything right. I'm good friends with some nursery mums but none of them are going to the same school. Hope I can make some new friends as well as dd!

Do try and make effort to get on with some of the other parents in your kid’s class, if circumstances make it possible.

These people will be very useful in the years to come - for things like finding out what the letter from school that your child has already lost said, to helping you work out who your child’s friends are especially when your child wants to invite them to their birthday party.

Do get onto the parent Facebook groups etc for your school.

Make sure your child can answer to their own name and can go to the toilet by themselves. Everything else will come in its own time!

Bake a load of plain nuns and freeze. Buy selection of coloured icing stuff. Defrost six at a time and ice for whatever crack pot fundraiser gets thrown at you at last minute eg book theme, topic related cake sale etc.

Make sure that they are able to eat at a table (with cutlery if having school dinners) without throwing food on the floor. Our catering staff have to deal with a horrific mess every day, and it's massively worse in the packed lunch section...

*buns not nuns.

Frozen nuns unnecessary

Keep a little pot of £1 / 50p coins for the random, short notice 'wear red and bring in £1 for comic relief' stuff.
Check the bookbag every day for letters / invitations.
Expect your child to be exhausted, (even if they have done nursery), and then be pleasantly surprised if they aren't.
If you have a long walk home, consider bringing a snack at home time to give them a boost.

Get £10 in change and hide it from husband. Will be needed for bun sale,non uniform day etc.

Don't ask 'what did you do today?'
Instead try more specific things:

• what did you do for lunch
• did you play with anyone new at lunchtime
• did anything funny happen

Don't be surprised if, according to them, they did no literacy or numeracy. These things happen in the morning and can also be sneaked in without them realising.

Following, thanks this is really useful

Get all dates in your calendar straight away with full details. They'll probably be rearranged anyway, but it can be hard to keep track of how communications were sent to double check.

Similar with party invitations, save details like the parents contact number.

Get more uniform than you think you need. YR is much messier than nursery, plus spares for the cloakroom floor.

Mums of summer born boys - did your DSs struggle with reading/writing/phonics?

DS (2020 starter) is fine with toileting/dressing/making friends but has 0 interest in drawing/writing compared to the little girls we know.

Just wandering if I should make an extra effort to do some pre-reading and pre-writing stuff with him this year.

I use a company called woven labels for stick on name labels. They go on everything and survive dishwasher and washing machine and dryer.
Mine are still going after reception and year one x

My fourth and final child starts in September
I agree with most things said here but will add
Buy a calendar (or use phone) and write everything down
Check school emails everyday (ours are a bugger for "can everyone bring an empty loo roll tomorrow")
WhatsApp groups are good but obviously can be a bit pingy!
Do a nit comb once a week
Seems a bit taboo on mumsnet but I've made some really good mates through school.
Never compare kids there will always be one who is free reading Harry Potter in reception

Laughing at the frozen nuns. Definitely unnecessary