That's better! Now I'll post again . Not sure if this is the right thread, but any help much appreciated!

[funkimummy]

Hi,

My DS is 4, 5 in January and won't go to school until January.

We know he is exceptionally bright for his age. He learned how to sing the alphabet on his second birthday with a toy that sang the song and has a vocabulary that people comment about on a daily basis. His numeracy is also very good. He asks questions about global warming FGS!

His pre-school and nursery both say that he is ready for school now and that really he should go in September. Their concerns are that the children he goes up school with in January are not on 'his leve' (their words not mine!) Also they have told me to keep a watchful eye as he will get bored easily because of his brightness.

Should I be concerned? He's my eldest and I don't like to be a pushy parent, and am not. I am a bit worried that he will get bored easily at school and might not fare as well because his mind is racing ahead!

Does anyone have any opinions/thoughts/experience of this?

Any thoughts would be gratefully accepted.

[roisin]

I think formal education, and especially Reception Year can be quite tricky for bright children, so if you have the option to keep him out of school I would do.

DS1 did not start school until after he was 5, and with hindsight I wish I had done the same with ds2.

[Beetroot]

TBH I would not start a child early at school. If he is bright then challenge him at home, taking for walks, talk nature, let him have fun. You say he does not sit down long enough to write - well that is becasue he is a baby still and needs to be free. They have a long long time at schooll and if he is bright and the school is good then he will get on.

sing with him, count, play act, do experiments

[snorkle]

trouble is KerryMum, for every child like your son, there are probably some that show early promise for whom early advancement isn't the best route. It's very difficult to know in advance what is going to be best for any individual child.

I'm not entirely clear if we are talking about funkimonkey's ds ending up a year ahead or ending up in the same year group according to when he starts, but I'm thinking that if the nursery are thinking he might be bored at school, why rush him into that environment sooner? If he's a quick learner he'll have no problems at all catching up after starting a term later, and in fact, that might help him be less bored initially (ie covering the reception curriculum in 2 terms not 3 and doing more fun stuff at home first, could be the better option).

[wheresthehamster]

Have I got this right funkimummy?
Your DS will be 5 in January and won't start reception until then?
I thought that schools with two intakes for Reception normally took children with birthdays up to mid Feb in Sept and those with birthdays after mid Feb started in Jan.
Perhaps it's up to the individual school.

[funkimummy]

He goes to pre-school 3 mornings a week and nursery 1 full day a week. We put him in nursery because we felt pre-school was stimulating him socially, but not 'academically' so to speak.

Yes DS is the same, adds up and knows numbers in the hundreds etc. His writing skills do need work, and yes the issue simply is that he's ready to start formal learning in September really.

Thanks for the advice though. I think trying more at home with him is the best plan.

[cornsilk]

I was told by my ds's nursery teacher that he was ''streets ahead' of the other chn. He now has a reading age about 2 years behind his actual age, although a very high IQ! Not trying to worry you but nursery teachers only see a snapshot of a child.

[singersgirl]

The thing is, however bright he is (and I don't doubt he is!) if he's not reading fluently and writing well, then he will be learning a lot in Reception. He may well learn it more quickly than other children. I can see that the issue is more that he is ready to start more formal learning in September rather than waiting until January.

Is he only part-time at preschool? Why not teach him to read and write yourself next term? That will keep him stimulated until January.

DS2 started Reception aged 4 years and 2 weeks reading fluently, adding, knowing numbers into the 100s etc, but he wasn't very good at writing, so that was a big challenge for him.

[Enid]

dd2 says that about other kids being 'babyish' and often plays on her own

tbh I don't like it when she says that and tell her to be more tolerant. AND I don't believe her either, I think she says it when she can't cope with them or they don't want to play with her! I am hoping that school will encourage her to rub along a bit better with other girls especially.

[Enid]

well if you can go in September, do

If you can't, then I promise you it won't make any difference

if it is a good primary then they will be able to encourage him academically

dd2 (4) can read most cvc words and write all letters and numbers - you may find that others in his class can do the same and he will be stimulated by them. Believe me, it is important to learn to sit and listen, to socialise and just, well, fit in at school. Hopefully that will occupy him at some level. He does sound like a bright child and hopefully he will enjoy school and it will bring the best out in him.

[funkimummy]

Enid, 'miles ahead' are what his pre-school and nursery think. I'm just looking for info and or advice on the subject.

[Enid]

sorry - but if he cannot read or write then I fail to see that he is 'miles ahead'

send him in January and do other stuff with him until then

[funkimummy]

True, true. Thanks for your input growlingtiger, and everyone else who has posted. I felt a bit silly for posting this thread, but if you don't ask for information, you don't get!

[GrowlingTiger]

Certainly I would talk to the school and see why you're only being given the option of a January intake and find out whether you have the option of a September date. If there is no option then you're stuck, but it is only a term at the end of the day.

[funkimummy]

Yes that's exactly my worry. He does get bored, and if he finds it too challenging to play with a child at pre-school because he feels they are too 'babyish' (his words!) he'll play on his own instead

[IsabelWatchingItRainInMacondo]

BTW, DS can read and has the math skills of a Y1 child, he is not meant to start reception until January according to local guidelines, however, his independant school has only one entry to reception in September so he is starting in a couple of months.

He may be intelligent enough to cope with the challenge, but he looks like a baby compared to the other boys in his class

[funkimummy]

I know growlingtiger! I find it really odd too. All the other schools in the area take them at 4! Most of the children he goes up with in January will be younger than him, and there will be children who are but a few weeks older than him who go up in September.

We live in a relatively small community but do have two schools to choose from in our vicinity. The other would take him in
September?!? The only troube is, it isn't a very good school!

[GrowlingTiger]

I think that I'd be more worried that he would be bored in preschool for the first term to be honest, as he'd be with much younger children.

[GrowlingTiger]

I hadn't realised he was that old - ds2 who is 4 months younger than him will be in fulltime school from September. Why is he not starting until January - that is fairly late isn't it? Most LEAs want them in school asap for funding purposes? Is Essex different?

[IsabelWatchingItRainInMacondo]

I would wait until january.

My sister and 2 of my friends were moved up a year as they could read, write, and ask complex questions since they were very young. They have done well in school, they were the best in their years but they all complain that they were not emotionally mature enough at the time they had to take more complex decisions at certain points (like choosing a degree to study being 15, etc)

The other day I was talking to one of them who told me her girl was following her same steps and already getting a bit bored in school. I mentioned that in the worst case scenario she will be moved to next grade which didn't seem too bad to me. She said that she wanted to avoid that as much as she could as she didn't enjoy being always the small one, even if she was intelligent enough to put the older kids to shame.

[funkimummy]

Oh I appreciate that growlingtiger. I didn't mean he was G & T because he could recognise words. Was just answering your question!

Just wondered if anyone had any experience / thoughts on the subject as a whole

[GrowlingTiger]

Without wishing to burst your bubble in any way, many reception classes will have at least a couple of children who can read prior to starting school - and I mean "read", not simply sound out phonics. We had one boy who was already on chapter books. And in terms of writing, girls especially are often writing prior to school - several girls in ds2's very ordinary pre-school bring in letters for the teachers - some random spelling admittedly. Writing is an area where boys tend to lag behind. My ds2 (4 in May) can write his name - but I don't think that that puts him in the top 5% or whatever. (though of course I think that he is bright - I have never met a mother who doesn't think that her 4yo is bright!)

[Tommy]

he sounds like my DS1 who is just coming to the end of Reception. If it is school policy not to end them til Jan, they obviously have a reason for it and they may not take him early anyway. Not all Autumn term children will be on "his level" either but there may well be some brighter ones in Jan intake of course!

If the school is any good they will challenge him enough to stop him being bored as it is in their interests anyway to keep him occupied and well behaved.

I wouls just let him go when he should in Jan and make sure you keep him busy until then

[funkimummy]

He's very good with phonics and understands the non-phonic association of letters too.

His reading skills - well he loves books of any shape or form, although being only 4 he doesn't 'read' but is beginning to recognise words.

He's always been a bit to fidgety to sit still long enough to write his own name but has started to do it in the last few months and has picked it up very quickly.

[GrowlingTiger]

Skipping a year is now very unusual in UK state schools due to the league tables. But there is typically plenty of ways in which a brighter child can have extension work within their usual class.

How confident is his reading and writing? If he is a fluent reader then he may find some of the class activities a bit tedious, so it might be worth finding out how the school approaches that. There tends to be lots of phonic activities to start with. But the more able boys still did the phonic activities but spent more time working on writng activities.

If he is writng confidently then again have a word with the school to ensure that he is using their style of letter formation - schools approach some of tyher letters differently and it is confusing for some boys to have to re-learn their letters.