Did your child find it hard going from reception into year 1 ?

[laughalot]

My ds was 5 in july and has just gone from reception into year 1. He has always enjoyed school but we had tears this monrning.

He is finding the whole thing a bit much. He is a bright little boy and is above average for maths however he struggles with his reading and writing. He had a grip on his pencil last term to try and assist him.

I think because it is more focused on work and not as much play in year 1 he is just finding it difficult. He has never really enjoyed drawing or writing.

I guess I just want to know im not alone and that in time it will get better .

Thanks

Anyone ?

You are most definitely not alone! My ds is a little older, he was 5 in March, but is hating Year 1.

Didn't help that he was separated from his friends either.

Talk to his teacher so she/he knows what's going on, it will get better honestly!

Thanks web I fear the worst is to come before it will get any better. This parenting lark is hard .

My ds's y1 teacher said "We hate our class until Xmas, that's when they settle in". Not exactly nice, but I got the jist of what she was trying to say.

Was told this morning that year 1 is all about the transition. I was wondering how long it would be before I was 'asked to come in' He managed 7 school days. Now he is collecting pebbles - up hill all the way for us I am afraid. I knew before he even started school that I would be getting to know his teachers quite well.

Laugh - you are describing my son! I decided over the summer to not stress about this, there is no point in twisting myself into knots, we meet the challenges as they come. In fact some of his antics make me laugh but I don't let him see, I quite admire his spirit cos he won't go down without a fight, but then again I am not looking after 29 other children.

Yes my ds is not coping that well either. He was 5 in December. The classroom is about halve the size it used to be, he can't stand craft, drawing, reading and writing. He has no desire to learn to read and I have sat for hours on end with and have bought Ruth Misken books and flashcards which is the phonics system the school use. He has just started on his first ever school book. All he wants to do is play. I wish we were somewhere foreign where they don't start school until 7, he might actually be read then.

His maths is fine.

He has a male teacher this term and I guess in reception they got spoilt with cuddles ect and of course there is none of this in his new class.

I understand he has to grow up and learn but that years difference between him and his peers is so noticeable .

I am so proud of everything he has achieved but I hate to see him cry it breaks my heart. I am at college studying to be a teaching assistant and have placement at his school so I guess once I start there I will get a better understanding of how difficult it is for the transition.

Us mums have alot to deal with, the stroppy 2 year old at home is a different story

I have a DS who has just gone into year 3, when he went from reception to year 1 he did find it quite a jump up, the emphasis less on play based learning and more on actual work. He was a sad boy after school too, and it broke my heart also, he really noticed that 'others were better than him' but I soon nipped that it the bud and told him NO NO NO. He needed lots of TLC in the 1st half of year 1 and I foun not oo much emphasis on school work helped, like reading books he had chosen together that were too old for him or he could not read.

He was the same as your DS, found it hard to star with, but slowly and I mean very slowly he gott to grips with it, at his pace and I can't strongly say enough HIS PACE. Ignore what all the other kids are doing, hard to do, but just concentrate on your DS, they all all different and getting caught up on this, does you or him no good at all!

It is such early days now, just let him relax and be when he gets home, it the teacher has any concerns, she will talk to you soon enough. But if in a 3-4 weeks you still feel concerned go and arrange a meeting for a chat.

Year 2 was a great year for my DS (he was 7 and really found his stride, confidence, not so much on writing but we are on the right road), year 1 not so much, I think kids are like wine and develop their richness and strengths at different times and they need confidence and stability to go on the right path, and comparing and contrasting is a very bad idea. Don't get me wrong I do it still on bad days, but now have learnt to stop myself.

Play when he gets homes, let him watch TV, they need space and to zone out in year 1, especially as their brains are working overdrive.

Bless them and please don't worry. xx

My ds is yr 3, his birthday is at the end of July. Yes, he found the jump from reception to year 1 very difficult, it wasn't helped by his teacher going off long term sick.

He is left handed and had difficulty with writing (still does, but improving). He would cry at school if he couldn't find his hat, for instance, and used to get upset about being taken out for small group work.

I took a hands-off attitude and he only read his school book when he wanted to and he didn't want to practise handwriting, so we did drawing, I just thought that when he wanted to put pencil to paper it was a bonus and stepped in a encouraged him. The worst thing I could have done was put him off.

Now he's year 3, so far so good, he's happy going into school and had a smiley sticker today from the Emotional Literacy Support Assistant for doing so well.

My ds didn't find it hard (although he moaned that they didn't play as much ) but it was clear from the playground and other mothers that an awful lot of children did. I think Y1 is a funny year for all of them because there is the transition from play to work and they find that hard. Ds has just started Y2 and it has been a lot easier for all of them, although he did come home and say in a scandalised tone 'there's no train track in Miss X's class!'

My DS is a mid August boy, who went straight from his Private Nursery into Yr1, which was a shock!

We were lucky in that academically he was very able and held his own, but emotionally he was still young and used to get very upset if things didn't go his way eg if the teacher told him off for "shouting out" when he knew an answer if she didn't ask him immediately!

I think it took until about Yr3 for the emotional differences to balance out.

Interesting to notice that three of us have seen they have settled down more emotionally at school by year 3.

so far she doesn't seem to have noticed

Thanks everyone for your views. He came out of school today a happy little chappie,they had the theatre at school today so he enjoyed that.

I hope to be back in a few months time saying things have improved xx

Am having a complete and utter nightmare with ds who is June born. Doesn't want to go to school, nor do homework. Hasn't got a lot and I reckon it would take him 5 minutes at the most to do. Instead we had meltdowns lasting 2.5 hours Monday night and 2 hours last night. He also refused to get out the car on Monday at school (had to be dragged in). It has to get better as I'm not sure that I will make it to Christmas at this rate.

My DS and a lot of his friends at school in his class are all struggling with the transition: fewer toys, more work, homework, subtle streaming and therefore slightly more focus on competition. It is hard for them they are so young. Added to which, they've just returned after a long summer break and it's hard to get back into a different mode, I think and all the kids are very tired from a full day's concentration. I skip baths and try and get him into bed early. Not helped by the days getting shorter. Hopefully they'll perk up a bit after Christmas. Tis tough though and I just want to protect him so much. Planning on lots of fun trips over half term.

in dd's primary the y1 curriculum changed quite dramatically last year to be much more play-based, and a much more seamless transition from reception - we were told this was in line with new national guidelines (don't know if any teachers can throw any light on this?)

typically, dd was completely ready for something much more formal and it didn't really suit her (unlike my boys who'd have loved it...)

but anyway, I was under the impression that the y1 curriculum was being changed across the board precisely because so many children found the jump from reception much too hard

It shouldn't be any different in Y1 this term. All the guidance states that Y1 should be organised (and run) like reception at least initially.
Continuing the Learning Journey publication from the DfES

Totally agree with children settling down in year 3 I've had my ds's teacher come out to me 3 times saying how grown up my ds has become and what a star he is, i'm in shock. He so struggled in yr 1, so much so that he almost repeated reception as they are in a mixed class and he couldn't read and hadn't learnt his phonics. He had support all the way through yr2 with extra reading help, but is finally making progress and loves going to school. Just got to do it once more with dd4 who has just gone into rec.

My DS1's school is clearly following those new guidelines. The transition so far has been very good. My son's reading is OK but he is not a writing enthusiast (plus left handed). At the moment he's really enjoying it and doesn't seem at all bothered that his best mates can copy triceratops easily while he can barely write his name.

It's all a huge relief so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he carries on enjoying it.

We have just started running Y1 in much the same way aas YR, with structured play and outside learning. This was particularly important with our new Y1s who are very immature. However the teachers are floundering a bit with the planning for structured play with 2 teachers, a TA (sometimes 2) and 60 children. That was a plea! Anyone here running a curriculum incorporating play in Y1 willing to share their planning / organisational ideas? Any links we can look at? Would be much appreciated! We are thinking that they should probably split classes and take turns with the activities rather than have 60 children to deal with at once.

Have also extended the outside learning into Y2, which the children are really enjoying.

trickerg try www.lancsngfl.ac.uk/curriculum/early_years/getfile.php?src=32/Mixed+Stage+Planning.pdf

Dd has just gone in to yr1 and also moved up a class. (her school is small so class 1 and 2 are mixed)

She has been fine, luckily though her teacher from class 1 has moved to class 2 with her, that was my main concern, she had grown attatched to her.

Her best friends have stayed in class 1 and I think she was dissapointed, but they still get play time together.

It must be hard for them to go from play to work, Dd has brought homework home already!

reception to year one seemed very very hard - if it's any comfort, year 1 to year 2 was as smooth as can be!