To expect my reception age child to be doing at least a bit of 'work'?

[Hmmmmminteresting]

I may have this wrong as he is my first born. But dc is in reception, prior to this he was at nursery post lockdown till end of Aug.
I wouldnt say he is particularly clever, but he enjoyed learning. He was very good at phonics, numbers and rhyming. He could do basic adding and subtraction up to 30 eg. He could do 27 take away 4 etc. Since he has started school he does nothing, they just play.
Don't get me wrong I am all for them doing this and would much rather they play than sat all day 'working'. But they are literally doing nothing. He keeps telling me its boring. I feel like he has taken 5 steps back.
I asked his teacher briefly if he was correct and she said yes, it's a transition from nursery to year 1 so its focused on play and not school work. I didnt push further but I've come away feeling really deflated.

Aibu to expect them to teach them something?!

@elephantnose backwards children. ???!!!!!

Fucking hell

My DS was quite advanced in Reception (and his peers have caught up now they’re in Yr3 and he’s no longer “advanced”)

And his Reception teacher focussed on resilience and making friends - as DS was behind in those areas.

As long as he’s happy

The teachers plan activities that help learning without the kids realising.

For example- the water table is increasing strength in hands and arms in preparation for writing. The Lego is strengthening muscles that will come in use for holding a pencil. The supermarket set up in the play area is set up to practice number skills (5p please!) (2p change!)

There's usually 2 adults and 30ish kids so it takes time to get to know the kids. About half-term ish I would expect some lessons in phonics and numeracy.

@mediumperiperi oh yes I forgot about that! DS also did certain “play” activities to help him improve his pencil grip!

I'd suggest helping him learn to read asap as then he can lose himself in books - this transformed one of mine from a bored miserable child to a happy one. It amazed me that the idea that my daughter was happier sitting reading than doing some of play activities was seen as quite ridiculous by the teacher.

I know people seem to think every child who reads early or is interested in more academic stuff are shy little book worms who can't do anything physical. When DD started school she could swim, ride a bike, hold her own with 3 brothers, did gymnastics and dancing. She was a happy enthusiastic child and school squashed that.

Schools vary, teachers vary as do children, I don't understand why people seem to find that so unbelievable.

I get you, OP. I have a bright child who was well stretched by a fabulous nursery and found the pace of early primary school a bit slow.

@TheKeatingFive

I think this is relevant - all children will have come from different environments and had different educational experiences to date. My son’s very young so I’m nowhere near this point but I was talking to a parent of an older child who used to go to our nursery the other day and she said virtually all the school starters who attended our nursery have been a bit bored in reception (and she wishes she’d kept her summer born son in nursery for longer rather than sending him to reception just after he turned 4 because contrary to popular wisdom she thinks nursery stretched him more).

That’s not because they’re incredibly bright children, it’s not because the school or teachers aren’t very good, but it’s just because the nursery/pre-school is really excellent. Most of them go to school able to write their names and count to 20, for example.

So I’m sure the teachers know what they’re doing, but they do have to try to cater to the needs of a very diverse group (part of the challenge of teaching) - children aren’t all the same and they start at different levels, so it’s perfectly plausible to me that a child might find reception a bit tedious.

When DD started school she could swim, ride a bike, hold her own with 3 brothers, did gymnastics and dancing. She was a happy enthusiastic child and school squashed that.

@ancientgran

Why did school squash that? Is your daughter ok now? Your poor DD!

I've worked in Reception, trust me, your child is learning. At that age its very much learn through play and for things to be child led. There will be input sessions, short to begin with and gradually get longer through the year. You don't need to worry

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland
This is the sort of attitude that is prevalent in the UK.that it is impossible that some children are simply more able.

that is not what I said at all. None of my children are especially gifted, they are great, but they are ok. Their friends are of similar level: they like the same books and so on.

I can't tell you how many posts I have read about an "amazingly gifted" child who is so clever to be reading x or y at his age... when that book was a favourite among others kids at least a year younger - who not only understood but could discuss the book so clearly could genuinely "read".

No one is denying that some children (or adults!) are exceptional, just that in many cases the kids are just plain average, as half of the others are at least of the same level if not higher.

I put a Venn diagram in a uni essay and my lecturer thought it was wonderful and said he'd never seen one before.

It's part of the curriculum where we are at that stage and a big part, too. It goes with all the sorting, you know.

FunDragon she had a teacher who was very inflexible so DD who was an avid reader spent weeks on books without words or books with a word on a page. She walked past the library at least 4 times a day but when she asked if she could get a book to read she was told off, when they started doing some numbers or writing she would race through it and was told she was a nuisance. We realised it really wasn't her not remembering what had happened when her teacher was off sick for 2 weeks and she was so thrilled because the supply teacher brought in some work specially for her because she could see she was bored.

I think there was a personality clash as she appears very quiet but can be incredibly stubborn and persistent if she thinks something is wrong and she was happy to tell the teacher when she was wrong about something, I can't remember what exactly but one was something in history that the school was doing a project about, different years doing different things and her teacher got the Queen's name wrong or something and my daughter got yelled at for telling her the correct name. I can imagine it probably is annoying when you get something wrong and a 4 year old points it out but it is appropriate to yell about? We actually said to her it is probably best not to tell the teacher she got something wrong and she was just puzzled and said that would just confuse everyone.

She is fine thanks all grown up but didn't enjoy school until she got to 6th form. We home schooled (actually we just let her do what she wanted with reading, numbers, computer) for 4 years and if I regret anything it is that we didn't keep her off longer.

I am not anti teachers, two of mine are teachers, my other 3 liked school and had some brilliant teachers and she also had some great teachers like the supply teacher who she adored but some aren't great and they can do so much damage to a child, I really think if she hadn't been stubborn she would have started to just conform to what the teacher wanted. I know some teachers aren't particularly good with children with learning difficulties or behaviour issues but I think people find it harder to understand a teacher having issues with a child who is bright and very keen to learn.

I suppose if you think about it I had 4 children with 3 of them having 14 years at school and her with 11, heaven only knows how many teachers and we got one bad one so statistically that is quite small, just unfortunate that it was her first year at school.

This thread is pretty long now so I might be repeating what others have said. I thought it might be helpful to set out what my Dd did in reception. She's now in yr1. She had a few weeks of settling in. They they did phonics, a letter each day, teaching them in a set order, eg set 1 is S, A, P, T. They process through in a given order, same everywhere, I'm sure you'll find it online. They also learn 2 letter combos (digraphs) such as 'oa' 'oi' 'oo', three letter combos (trigraphs) such as 'igh', and set 'tricky' words to learn by sight such as 'the' 'me'. Before they get to the end of the set letters and sounds (graphemes) they will begin to blend sounds and read cvc words (consonant vowel consonant). The kids learn all this technology terminology too. This was all covered before the first term. Dd was bringing home short sentences to read and X2 phase 1 phonics books per week when lockdown hit, so that's a lot covered Sept-March! Then I think she should have revised it all and processed on with more reading. They move on according to individual ability, my Dd is a reluctant reader, other kids were on level 2, 3 or higher by this point. Maths wise by end of reception they are supposed to be able to count up to and down from 20, start writing number sentences so understanding + - = and using correctly, lots about shapes etc.

In comparison yr1 we're getting x3 books a week, using doodle maths at home, up and down to 100, and 2, 5 & 10 times tables. It's quite a step up, having missed so much of reception.

I didn't know any of this before Dd started reception, I had to learn it when lockdown hit. So I can understand you asking. You'll probably find that school runs a phonics evening for parents in a few weeks and you'll get more info there.

He must be very bright if subtracting the numbers you say at such a young age. The activities set up in reception are planned for learning through play and children say we just played but don’t understand that the playing was also a learning activity. A simple example would be if he was playing snakes and ladders he’s learning to recognise numbers and adding and taking away . If he’s very able he may play a game using 2 dice etc

We had exactly the same problem with our eldest. She’s now 15 and exceptionally bright.
I wanted her to play, I fully believe in the learning through play mantra.
But...what I found continuously frustrating was that amongst that play there was small 20minute phonics lessons and 20min maths. Her teacher confirmed this. But it was always verbal, always on the carpet with the teacher for a group session and always aimed at a basic phonic level. Likewise, the maths was the same with little videos and bears or something and chanting. DD could read before starting nursery and after 3wks in Reception they gave her a few green label books and told me to work through them at home!

I remember going to parents evening in the autumn and asking if the phonics and maths could be differentiated and being told that wasn’t possible as there was only the teacher and the TA and the had half the class each and apparently it wouldn’t be fair to other children to veer onto topics they didn’t understand. Not was it logistically possible nor in the curriculum.
I felt frustrated and resentful that other children were learning and being challenged and DD wasn’t. They didn’t understand why it bothered me as she was so far ahead.
It improved slightly the further up school she got but at primary there really was never anything challenging. For some reason they seemed to see me as pushy and thought sending four sheets of HW home rather than one or two that other kids got was them differentiating. It never occurred to them that one sheet of something more complex would have been better.

In our case it changed dramatically when she sat and passed the 11+ one of the highest performing grammar schools in the country. She’s still top set but she’s pushed and nurtured in a way that primary school just failed to do. So much so that we sent our younger two to a different school. Neither of them knew more than basic phonics/common words and numbers to 50 but it was the school’s attitude that always upset me.

My son was also very strong with numbers and so I asked the teacher in reception to focus on social skills with him and started music lessons in the January so he had a different challenge out of school (he had been asking for them for over 6 months so it was his idea). The teacher was soon aware that he was ahead with maths and did a bit extra to give him some learning but I think the other components in reception are so important.

It doesn’t sound like bragging and he doesn’t sound unusual in his abilities. I think most children can count to 50, do basic sums and know the alphabet and phonics by the time they start reception. I know friends’ kids in reception who can read and write simple sentences! Others who love adding, subtracting and multiplying. Some have memorised the name of every planet in the solar system or every dinosaur by that age!

But yes Reception is play-based Learning so he might be bored. You can always bring him on at home if you feel he’s not learning enough. Mostly though, the teachers want to make school and learning fun. They want kids to want to keep learning. Not burn out or lose interest.

My DC is academically advanced compared to some (thanks to nursery not me) but all the new friends, games, songs, routines, PE, responsibilities and just being in a class of 30 kids the same age is stimulating enough.

I would say that on average in my classroom there are no less than 15 different open ended activities specifically set up against learning objectives. Not tailored for the lower ability children. Easily accessed and made more challenging for everyone. Ranging from writing, reading and maths to sand, water and construction. On top of that there are numerous trays of learning based maths and writing resources which the children have free access to. Plus an outside space with a slide, climbing, mud kitchen. There are always masses of books in a reading area. They also have a Maths or English input, Phonics and then Music/History/Topic every day on the carpet, cross legged, hands up, good listening. That adds up to at least an hour of carpet based ‘traditional sit and listen and join in’ teaching. There really isn’t time for anyone to be bored. It takes me a good hour to prepare my classroom each morning.

@anothermother3.
As a very experienced teacher, I can say with certainty that most children do not know basic phonics and are not able to count to 50 by the time they start school. Perhaps you think this because many children around you can do these things, but this is not representative of the population as a whole. Us teachers would have a much easier job if it were!

As a general point, I would also say that children who know these things on entrance to reception aren't necessarily as far ahead later in their school careers. Some children click later and others plateau. Some of these apparently able children, when you delve deeper, actually lack knowledge of basic concepts and skills and others who have this deeper knowledge overtake them. But yes, there are those that will always be ahead. I don't think we can really predict how we'll children will end up doing when they enter reception.

It may be worth researching around the early years, particularly how continuous provision (children will know this is 'choosing time' or play) is used as a learning tool!!! It's such an amazing year, learning through play!! Children see it as playing which is wonderful because they learn so much without the pressure. He will have all that to come later on, trust me! Just go with the flow - it's a fantastic year! ! X (Reception teacher, if you could tell 😂)

Absolutely agree with previous posters. The Reception year can offer so much more than you realise. It is about Learning for life...play gives children opportunities to problem solve, negotiate and collaborate with their peers. Good practice is to focus on Characteristics of Effective learning which promote high quality learning and teaching through play. It is a myth that play cannot be challenging. Almost everything can be taught through play. What's more it is really confidence building and children are happiest. Teachers in Reception are often very skilled at cleverly combining a learning focus or challenge with play which really motivates a child. As Einstein said play is the highest form of research- don't knock it! There is no reason why your child cannot build on the skills they already have through this approach. Maths and Phonics are taught alongside the continuous provision and threaded through the opportunities. Reception must provide an EYFS curriculum which is broad covering 17 areas of learning. It is not the National Curriculum with core subjects and often this is forgotten. I would be worried if the school were pushing a lit of formal learning especially in the first couple of weeks. It isn't even Oct yet so they are probably doing a lot of initial assessments and getting to know the children. Structure builds through the year and they make huge progress. Many start as non readers and really become fluent by the Summer term.

@Bunkumum, your classroom does indeed sound busy and stimulating. However, I’m wondering about your input bit. Because if you read my post, 3 above yours, that was where my frustration lay. If you had a child like my DD in your class who was reading fairly fluently at the beginning of YR and was finished the 13 or 14 colour bands by the start of Y1 and by that time writing in a fairly structured way (she’s now 15 and predicted 9 grade 9s). Would you ever aim the input to get level? Because we felt at no point in YR especially but really throughout the infants was the input ever aimed at her level. So we felt it was unfair as those children at that level were benefitting from input at their level every day and DD never was. Sure, in maths at least there’d be the odd question (from Y1 not in YR) that the teacher showed us she’d asked DD to ‘extend’ her but it always felt like DD just had to sit and listen to that bit. Certainly in phonics and maths.

It just felt to us that the progress made by others in her class that year was fabulous and I’m sure a lot down to those ‘input’ lessons whereas any academic progress DD made was at home. She undeniably gained from the play and social interaction but then they all did. Yet she missed out on her teacher taking her starting point and ever teaching to that. She didn’t ever get that until Y7 at a highly selective school and with it she just came alive which made me sad for the 7yrs she’d spent at her primary school.

@NellyJames in our FS we are fortunate to have enough staff to differentiate phonics 5 ways. Our top children are very extended. However, this most definitely does not happen in the first 3 weeks of term when we are doing baseline assessments.

@Bunkumum, thank you. That’s sounds better. I was told by DD’s teacher that phonics was just two groups, hers and the TA’s.
I wasn’t specifically talking about the first 3wks as DD is 15 now but I know the OP is. Maybe things have changed in the last 10yrs but I don’t feel like my academically gifted eldest got much out of primary school, academically whereas her two younger siblings definitely do. DD’s birthday is 1/9 and I often wonder if she’d have been happier if she was born the day before and thus went to school the year before.