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Education

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Original poster

Is this 'normal' for a child in Reception?

12 replies

Beauregard · 16/02/2007 20:58

Whenever school is mentioned or she has to go she usually says "I hate school it's boring".I know that older children may voice their opinion in this way but a 5 year old?
DD is very arty and will spend hours drawing etc but seems to show no interest really in reading/writing despite us encouraging her.Is she just not academic or is it something else ?

OP posts:

Ladymuck · 16/02/2007 21:01

No, not normal ime. In reception there isn't even that much reading/writing. I'd plump for the "something else". Has she made some friends?

eviletc · 16/02/2007 21:02

pelvic you could be writing about my dd (though she is 4.8)

she regularly tells me she wants to go back to playgroup as she didn't have to do work there. she too loves to draw and will spend hours doing that or "pretend" play.

i'm pretty sure she is normal, though have posted about it before. everyone who answered my post seemd to think it was normal too.

so difficult not to worry i know, but it isn't just you honey

feedmenow · 16/02/2007 21:09

Pelvic, my ds in Reception spent the first term saying he didn't like it, etc. But luckily he is more settled this term - has been to some friends for tea and is doing a couple of after school activites which I think has helped.....

Jimjams2 · 16/02/2007 21:12

ds2 is in reception and says lots of things are boring. Sometimes says school is although he loves it, more usually it's home that;s boring, or eating dinner- things that take time. I think it comes from mixing with older children

Original poster

Beauregard · 16/02/2007 21:12

She doesn't have any really close friends that we see out of schooltime but she has friends that she plays with during school .She does have a tendency to make a beeline for playing with the older ones though.
I really do hope that it is normal behaviour eviletc.

OP posts:

Jimjams2 · 16/02/2007 21:15

Bet it is just from playing with the older one. At ds2's school they encourage a lot of mixing between the years (which I really like) but it does mean that ds2 does come out with all this older stuff-

eviletc · 16/02/2007 21:43

well we have parents evening in 2 weeks so i guess we'll find out then whether its normal or not....i'm sure if there's anything to worry about then the teacher would have wanted to talk to you by now?

that's what i'm telling myself anyway...

misc · 16/02/2007 21:48

talked to friends about this recently and seems fairly normal to me my dd 4/12 and says it a lot but accoeding to teacher has a whale of a time when she's actually there. I think it's because younger bro doesn't have to go maybe?

loopybear · 16/02/2007 23:12

Hi Pelvic. I'm a reception teacher and parents often come with similar concerns e.g. we jus played today etc. We did nothing etc. Why don't you talk about what she enjoys doing at school. About her friends etc. Having friends over to play seems to make children must more comfortable with school. I have children who everyday choose to do painting, making etc. and others who always choose writing, reading activities. Most children spend upto Easter in their comfort zone with the activities they prefer.

On the other hand your DD may actually find school boring because it is for her. I'd like to say all reception classes are creative, structured learning through play environments but well some at times are boring. If you have the time maybe volunteer to help a couple of hours a week and then you can see what happens in class.

Smithagain · 17/02/2007 10:09

My DD1 started saying Nursery was "boring" in her last term. I thought it was just a word that she had picked up from older friends, but she has totally stopped using it since starting school.

In retrospect, the stuff she did at Nursery was pretty repetitive and not very stretching and I think she was probably right.

Can you concentrate on demonstrating why reading/writing etc are so useful (recipes, shopping lists etc), but avoid pressing her to do anything she regards as "work" for a bit.

Original poster

Beauregard · 17/02/2007 21:07

Thankyou all for the advice.
Loopybear-It is parents evening soon so i shall make a point of discussing this with her teacher but if it is as rushed as it was last time then i may not get the opportunity .Failing that i shall make an appointment for another time.
The thing that i dont understand is that she is a very bright child and mature for her age but just doesn't seem to 'get' the reading /writing so i think this is maybe why she says that it is boring?Perhaps i have answered my own question, i dont know but i am sure i shall find out

OP posts:

MorocconOil · 18/02/2007 16:33

My 2 ds reception and Year 2 both say school is boring and that they don't want to go. The younger one is interested in making things and his teacher has to coax him off the creative table to do literacy and numeracy. He hates having to do his reading and makes a huge fuss about it. At parents evening she said he is very able but will not do anything he doesn't want to which is slowing his reading down.
DS 1 was just the same and his reading has only just taken off at 7. I think alot of emphasis is placed on getting children to read, write and be numerate before many of them are ready. When they would be much happier exploring through play and being creative, they are forced to sit still and undertake structured tasks.
I suppose it is difficult to allow 30 children to just do what they, but I think my 2 Ds find it boring being told what to do all the time. Who doesn't?

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