What games/toys/books to help reception aged child

[OnceuponaRainbow18]

My son is in reception and I started a new intense job the same week he started school. I assumed they would just play in reception… however, we had a parents eve last week and it’s become apparent they are actually learning and he’s not getting it too easily.

What games/toys are out there which may help with simple reading and simple maths? I’ve had a look and got the orchard mountain maths game which we’ve played and he seems to like, which includes some easily counting.

So mainly looking for games where there’s some learning involved but is fun!

Thanks!

Honestly, don't stress. Children at that age learn far better through play. Your child will get there in their own time.

Read lots. Read Read Read. Bedtime stories, just because the weather is vile and you want to snuggle stories. Read. Read and chat about the book to help develop understanding.

Prattle on about your day like when they were a toddler.

Orchard toys games can help support developing maths skills. But they also make adults lose the will to live so....

Bake and cook together, get them to help weigh, to cut something in half etc.

But really don't worry.

@OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea

Thank you! Do you mean I read to him? It’s all a bit overwhelming!! Games wise my parents have him a lot whilst I work and they are super patient so was going to keep them at their house 🤣

Orchard games are great for all kind of things. As is reading to your child (our head of literacy stressed not to stop reading to them even if they can read Harry Potter by themselves) and working with the school by practising what they do.

DD loved reading signs, street signs, bus stop, signs in shops. We had magnet letters for the fridge and foam ones for the bath. We baked a lot, that's great for maths. You can easy include lots of things in daily life.

Otherwise, don't stress. At that age they are very different in their path of learning and they learn through play, don't underestimate it.

What exactly is he struggling with? Different things will help with different areas. Does he get homework?
Letter formation - lots of drawing, colouring, playdoh.
Phonics - try teach your moster to read app.

Did he go to school nursery?

Highly recommend getting hold of the Five Minute Mum books (Time For School would be ideal or Give Me Five), or checkout her website/socials as she posts lots of the same things there. Fab games that include a bit of letters/numbers/phonics by stealth under the guise of a game. I discovered her in lockdown and my boys (almost 6 in Year 1 and 3, due to start school a week after he turns 4 ) both love the games and I'm sure it's really helped.

From an education perspective the best we can ask you to do is read and talk a lot! Schools understand the pressure of being working mums with intensive jobs as most of us do it ourselves too. Don't put too much pressure on yourself.

Some things to try.

Narrate your activities Together ask questions encourage answers. Listen and model language and new words. Count as you pick things up or tidy away. Scaffold play together. Can you find me...? How could that...?

Empty the tumble dryer together and count the socks, point out letters and sounds you see. Read stories at bed time and never go without it. Look at pictures and retell what's going on. Talk through programmes. Why/how etc. audio books/ stories in the car

Orchard games are incredible. I played these a lot with mine. They do memory games and number ones. Shopping list games are great.

Please don't buy books or worksheets to do.

Read to him. That is the best thing that you can do for a child. Lots of different books. Talk about the story and the pictures, link it to his real life experiences, ask him questions about the story, about the characters. Encourage him to wonder about things… “I wonder what the Gruffalo’s house looks like” Books with rhyme are especially good, Julia Donaldson or Dr Seuss.

I've got some math link cubes (part of a number blocks game but you can get them cheaper by themselves. Easier if you have a set of lamenated numbers to accompany so you can do number bonds. Number blocks math link cubes game or these are just the math link cubes on their own

The Oxford Reading tree read at home series was given to us by a friend who'd child had grown out of it. I was grateful as I was about to buy it myself! ORT read at home

We have a "tricky word" bingo game from amazon. sight word bingo

And a couple of match and spell games I prefer this one out of the two I've linked.

I've got some white boards from b&m and white board pens which we use for number, letter and sentence formation. I prefer them to paper because there's nothing to recycle.

Phonics flash cards set 1 and set two

And we read, write and do maths and or/phonics practice every day prior to school, we read together most nights, and if I can get him to, both weekend days.

If your DC has a tablet, reading eggs is a brilliant app.

I am not a pushy mum, my DS has sensory processing issues, so can struggle to concentrate and take everything in when in class. So we do a lot of home practice. His school have a lot of expectations with regards to academic achievement, I don't want him to fall behind the class level.

Wow so many fabulous ideas! Thank you 😊.

Will see what I think he’ll like and try a few, it’s just finding the bloody time as by the eve he’s too tired and I think trying to do something learny won’t work!

He hasn’t been given any homework yet so that’s one positive I guess!

@CorneliusBeefington

Thanks for all the links, looks great! Those books are pretty expensive- may look in charity shops for something similar

Talking teaching clock, abacus(place value), lego(dots to represent numbers, great for addition and multiplication), wooden blocks9shapes) for maths. Pay attentions to numbers, counting how many something when out and about. Sharing some sweets etc for concept of division. Just generally include some maths in everyday life stuff.

Watch the cartoon with subs for reading.
But regular reading to/with him is most important, imo.

@Fallagain

He went to nursery then the nursery preschool from 10 months -reception

He doesn’t get any homework, but may bring a book home once a fortnight- I think they can do this much more often but he’s reluctant

he appears to be struggling with - confidence, mixes up sounds and letters, can’t pronounce L, ch, W, R, F and J, can’t add

They did say he was polite and caring though!! So that’s a win!

Polite and caring is lovely!

Simple old fashioned games like Ludo, Frustration and Snakes and Ladders can help with counting and take away. Also Dominoes, with learning to put two sets of five etc together.

Play I Spy when you are going on a car journey. Choose easy things that he will likely get, to encourage confidence.

Do a simple treasure hunt type thing at home, eg fetch me three yellow things, two things that begin with the letter D, five pairs of socks etc.

Count the stairs out loud when you are going up them.

School who go to school nursery van be further forward than private nurseries but private nurseries should have been following EYFS. Did nursery not raise any concerns?

When DD1 was in reception the first books sent home had no words and they just hold the story from the picture (pink level). Is he on these books? Can he blend? Ask school about their reading scheme. And ask about homework to make sure your not missing it on google classroom.

If he is struggling with pronouncing letters then he needs a hearing test and a referral to SaLT.

Number blocks and Alphablocks on ceebies are good tv programs. If he can blend then made him treasure hunts with one word eg mat, bed, car.

@Fallagain

His nursery were extremely relaxed, in hindsight maybe too relaxes they didn’t seem to do any structured learning at all, I assumed this was the norm but maybe not!

He waited 1.5 years for salt then when he started school the nhs salt who did his initial assessment said school would take over but nothings happened, I don’t do many drop off and pick ups so maybe I’ll email tomo.

He’s never had a book with just pictures, ones with about 3-4 words per page like: I am a cat

[quote OnceuponaRainbow18]@CorneliusBeefington

Thanks for all the links, looks great! Those books are pretty expensive- may look in charity shops for something similar[/quote]
They are, we were given them so really lucked out. Have a gander on World of books at regular intervals to see if they're on there. It's mainly just reading and repetition of the same key/tricky words though rather than specifically the ORT scheme.

Has he had a hearing test? Phonics are difficult if you can’t hear the sound.

Good nurseries are receptions make learning look like play.

Definitely chase up with the class teacher/senco about his SaLT. Is he one of the younger ones in the year? Don't discount some of it being developmental maturity.

He’s one of the oldest ones!

His hearing test was cancelled during the first lockdown, so I’ll chase that as well. Although he seems to hear well, especially when I open the biscuit tin in a diff room!

I'd speak to the school. Ds2 is also in reception. The teachers email a "learning web" each half term, showing what they are focusing on. Ds gets 2 reading books a week, (both fir the week) and a phonics sheet for "homework" which has sounds they are focusing on, plus short words and sentences.

@ThePug

Highly recommend getting hold of the Five Minute Mum books (Time For School would be ideal or Give Me Five), or checkout her website/socials as she posts lots of the same things there. Fab games that include a bit of letters/numbers/phonics by stealth under the guise of a game. I discovered her in lockdown and my boys (almost 6 in Year 1 and 3, due to start school a week after he turns 4 ) both love the games and I'm sure it's really helped.

Came on to say the same thing, the five minute mum Facebook page is especially good.

Agree with a previous poster, games like snakes and ladders teach counting, simple addition and subtraction, plus how to win, lose graciously! We moved on to using 2 dice as DS liked to try and get doubles, and it increases their addition skills up to12.

If you are worried, and can't see the teacher easily due to work, it really makes a big difference if you have a meeting and speak to school/teacher about your worries, and establish way to keep in touch.

My dc started school under slt. I had contact with teacher very often, meeting, chat with teacher after school. In reception, I've spoken to teacher almost every week.
My dc started school as a very shy, selective mute child. Ended reception as a very confident child, that yr1 teacher couldn't believe what he was like.