Preschooler and Extended Learning (Reception - KS1)

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DD is 3 yrs 4 months.

Preschool teacher informed me today that they would like to start something called Extended Learning with DD as she is apparently ready for KS1 learning materials.

I’ve always known that my DD is bright but with this confirmation from a professional, for some odd reason, I’m starting to feel anxious about this, going forwards.

AIBU? TIA.

What makes your children "bright," please? Asking out of curiosity as people say my 3yo is also bright.

I would want confirmation that this would be taught through play based learning. EYFS is play based, KS1 isn't. I absolutely wouldn't want a 3 year old sat at a desk being taught formally. Extend her learning in a play based style and based on her interests sure, but it doesn't sound great if she would be taught with the expectations of a 6 year old.

Just to confirm, in terms of the votes, do 88% of you feel that I am being unreasonable to feel anxious about this going forwards? This isn’t clear. Please clarify. TIA

I wondered this OP. I voted YANBU meaning ‘YANBU to be anxious about this, I don’t think it’s a good idea’. The high number of votes of YABU don’t match the subsequent posts though and without exception they’re advising against it. So I don’t think they mean ‘YABU to be anxious’, I think they mean ‘YABU to go ahead with this’

There are so many play based ways to make sure children are delighted and enthusiastic about learning. There’s a world of ways they can still stretch and stimulate your DD in age appropriate ways that don’t involve the KS1 syllabus. I think you are right to be wary.

How long has your daughter been at the preschool, and how often does she go?

I agree with the posters saying you should be wary about this. The sudden jump from EYFS to KS1 material is ringing alarm bells. She may be bright but there are plenty of ways to extend her learning without introducing work / materials from the KS1 curriculum.

@RoseGoldEagle

I wondered this OP. I voted YANBU meaning ‘YANBU to be anxious about this, I don’t think it’s a good idea’. The high number of votes of YABU don’t match the subsequent posts though and without exception they’re advising against it. So I don’t think they mean ‘YABU to be anxious’, I think they mean ‘YABU to go ahead with this’

I see. Thank you for clarifying this for me @RoseGoldEagle and yes, I am apprehensive of going ahead with this based on all the advice.

Your child only has limited time to play all day, explore and be free - just because they are bright doesn’t mean they don’t need this crucial development time. Don’t rush them - formal learning will come all too soon and there will be much less time for valuable play.

Yes I used to get this too.

Are you saying that your nursery aged child will be starting year 1 learning? This is very impressive and you must be super proud of her. Can she read and write?

My oldest son is in Year 1 and slightly ahead of his peers in reading, maths and English. He’s reading book band brown at the moment which is year 3 I think. Maths is also very good and writing with correct spelling is good too. Once he finishes his work, he either gets golden time - he can read a book, choose to do an activity or he gets extended work. Which is basically a challenge with a little bit of difficulty.

Starting year 1/KS1 materials, are you sure they don't mean reception?
Can she skip count by 2s, 3s and 5s to 10, can she count to 20 and backwards? Addition and subtraction within 10?
Can she write simple sentences? Go on Google images and search 'reception writing' as an idea as to whether or not she is there. Have you taught her to write in print or cursive? Most, if not all schools, do cursive from reception. How is her spacing between words?
What sort of books is she reading?

They actually aren't allowed to stretch children too far ahead of the National Curriculum these days, so unless it is an independent school or home education once she's school aged, I would have concerns about her being bored and cresting behavioural issues.

This is the handwriting most schools teach. Has she mastered all of these and can she write simple sentences with them?

@WhatsOnYourToast

Starting year 1/KS1 materials, are you sure they don't mean reception?

They said Reception and Year 1 materials.

Can she skip count by 2s, 3s and 5s to 10, can she count to 20 and backwards? Addition and subtraction within 10?

She can’t skip count but she can count from 100 backwards. She can add and subtract within 10.

Can she write simple sentences?

She can write “my name is ”, “daddy’s name is ”, “mummy’s name is *”. Although not in cursive.

She can write her ABC’s (not in cursive) in lower case letters but not upper case letters just yet.

Thank you for posting that photo showing cursive writing. I have saved it to my photos.

Sorry for the typos with the bold writing in the wrong places. Hope you got the gist 🙂

This, this and this again.

Honestly she's 3 years old please just let her enjoy being 3. 3 year olds should be playing and making new friends not writing sentences and doing timetables.

If this is honestly what her nursery think she should be learning I'd be moving her, they clearly know absolutely nothing about young children.

You’re right. I feel like I want to keep doing 3 year old activities with her because at the end of the day, she’s a very young child. I don’t want her to be force fed materials and activities “just because she is ahead of her years”. Thank you for this clarification and advice.

Dont get me wring, she sounds bright for preschool, but she is nowhere near ready for Year 1 work, so I would be quite concerned about them pushing that in her. She has not completed the things expected in Reception, it would be bonkers to start her on year 1 work. It doesn't sound like a very good nursery. Why an earth they'd suggest this for a child who is clearly not ready for this is beyond me. Sometimes they dabble into reception topics but teachers and the children usually find it frustrating because they have to teach writing all over again to very young child because they've been taught to write in print.

She is not able to skip count, can she count backwards and forwards from any given number within 20? There doesn't sound like that much she is off at for reception maths. But for literacy, it doesn't sound like she's completed phonics stages 1 to 4. It sounds like she has memorised and enjoys writing a few specific sentences, but not free writing. (I.e. something brand new and spontaneous that is phonetically plausible with some exception words spelt correctly). Reception children would be able to write the capitals by end of the year and understand to use them for words like I and the beginning of sentences, for names etc.

I would decline the offer and just leave it be, or perhaps just gently support her at home when she wants too. I know CGP does phonics and maths books for 3-4 which she may enjoy before working through 4-5. But ultimately I would definitely reconsider if this is the right environment for her? I could maybe understand doing play based activities within the Eyfs which is where her skills certainly place her, but year 1 for where she is would ring alarm bells for me. What is their goal here? Why expect things of a 3 year old that she clearly can't do?

i hope this doesn’t come across as blunt, but you’ve taught her the alphabet as opposed to phonetic sounds and this will be at complete odds with what she will learn in reception.

she won’t know the red & green words etc and she will be “wrong” for reading a letter as Ay Bee Cee Dee etc
the Y1 phonics check will test phonetical knowledge and not whether they can read & say the alphabet.

Does she know her number bonds to 20?

My sons school explained to us at the start of reception that it would feel that they are taking things very slowly but, like building a house, it's important to make sure that the foundations are really solid - otherwise a few years down the line, the house could collapse.

Your job, and nursery's job, is to ensure readiness for school but I think beginning to teach material that forms part of the curriculum could cause some problems down the line, so tread carefully.

I personally don't see the problem. My daughter was very similar in nursery and she just wanted to learn. She could read alredy read to a year 2/3 level, count to well over a hundres, talked in complex sentences, had amazing comprehension etc. In nursery they put her in the year above to join in with the phonics classes and she loved it. This continued for the next couple of years until the class no longer did phonics. She got to meet children in other year groups and work with different teachers. It ws a very positive experence from start to finish