is Reception supposed to be play? have noticed on many threads on here that it is....

[dinny]

so why do they have to know the 45 sight words by end of it? and all the letters sounds?

I have a few nieces and nephews in reception who all attended nursery and they all seem to be finding it a bit boring! They seem to have covered quite a lot in nursery and are finding reception repetitive. Is this generally the case?

did they go to a different nursery from the school where they are now? Our nursery is at the school and the planning is done across nursery & reception by the same team (echoed across the key stages). So we didn't "learn" any words/phonics etc until reception. And as other posters, we only get the words through the reading books not as stand alone lists.

The only ones that found reception boring were the ones whose parents did a lot of work with them at home with reading and writing.

But I'm not entirely sure you can compare learning to read English to learning to read the majority of other European languages. All of the ones I know anything of have an almost completely transparent phonetic code. English has a much more complex phonetic codes.

So the literacy levels may not be so much to do with learning to read earlier as to the inherent relative difficulty of learning to read English. On the other hand, it may be.

I don't think anyone has done any substantial studies with groups of learners starting to read different languages at different ages.

wow, just had parents consultation and dd got such a fab report from her teacher - am well delighted

sorry, not really relevant execpt I was stressing about these fecking sight words when she's been doing amazing things, such as written addition and subtraction independently (soooo proud)

F & Z - thank you for that post. Very informative. Recently I started a thread objecting to the fact that my DS (aged 3.3 and in the nursery attached to the school) was being expected to do homework - in the form of a PACT book being sent home every week. I don't believe he needs this and that nursery should be just about PLAY. I have an older child who is doing very well with her reading, so am perhaps a bit more chilled about this by some others. However, I was jumped on by lots of Mnetters who disagreed with me. I was told I was "an idiot" by someone who has been reported today to Mumsnet by someone else, for saying she was "daft".

I don't think I'm an idiot. I think my son will learn to read just fine without having it forced on him when he is still more than a year away from Reception.

I think Reception should be mainly about play, in response to the OP.

Well done to your DD dinny

twoisenoughmum - I remember your OP and I agree that homework at nursery is ridiculous and totally unnecessary. Nursery should be completely about play, and yes - they will pick up some learning through that, but tehey should not be made aware of it!

twoisenoughmum I find that genuinely shocking tbh
wtf happened to childhood, eh?

Ah, twoisenoughmum

education is a very very emotive subject and one I would only advise you to enter into wearing hard hat and thick skin

I saw custy getting reported for saying "daft" earlier! I appreciate her blunt style myself, but it can be hurtful to have one's heartfelt opinions rubbished I agree

We have been lucky with ds's nursery who ONLY play and do no formal work at all. I find it really sad that this is wildly unusual in an environment for 3 year olds

I must say I was very cheered at the reception area for our local school, which has a sandpit the size of my bathroom

a local nursery has a walk in sandpit

my son thinks he does no work at all. They have a 'job' to do every day. He is reading fantastically well, knows all his key words and more, and still no idea he is learning! They don't sit at a desk, except for an activity. They wander round 'choosing' activities'and playing. in y1, much stricter, they sit at desks, and not much time for play - it's a bit of shocker!

Our nursery has a huge eco-garden, with twisted willow walkways and bramble tunnels and animals and gorgeous wooden play equipment

ponce

Oh greeny it HASN'T

Message withdrawn

ours has a concrete yard and some planks and tyres

but I heart it

dog shite
or cow shite?
organic?

Message withdrawn

PONCETASTIC

Message withdrawn

No really, Franny, it has!

yes yes dear

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