Getting ready for school

[Blessedbethefruitz]

I'm asking a year in advance as my 3.5 ds is a little slow with change.

What are the essentials for being ready to start school? Obviously toilet trained&wiping, changing clothes and shoes. But regarding trousers, are uniforms typically zip and button, or elasticated waists? Is zipping up a coat essential? What happens if they have a toilet accident?

My ds really lacks confidence in some areas so we need to work on holding a pencil properly, but does he need to be able to write more than a few random letters or numbers? I assume most reception starters can't read?

He attends nursery 2 days a week (4 when I'm back to work from maternity v soon), and they're getting them used to bringing a pe kit and plimsolls etc. He's had a hard start to life health wise and I'm keen for him not to be behind as soon as he starts.

What would anyone further into parenting recommend for a smooth conversion from nursery to reception?

Thanks in advance :)

Don’t worry about any of the academic stuff. Lots of activities that use fine motor skills like play dough, drawing in sand, painting helps get fingers ready for pencil holding. Definitely work on getting dressed independently. Choose the easiest clothes that fit your school’s uniform list.

DS is the same age, nursery have said from September he will be part of the school prep group, this is more structured learning (although he did some this year because he's nosey and wanted to join in and went up to the pre school class at 2.5 rather than 3.5) , more focus on holding a pencil properly letters, numbers etc in return form, general prep eg getting in and out of outdoor clothes , answering a register, putting hands up to ask questions during a 'lesson' (very short sessions initially).
I'm sure yours will do the same kind of thing

Written

Daughter and sister of reception teachers here - my mum and sis always moan about parents (who aren't early years experts) that have tried to teach their DC to read/write but haven't bothered to help their child learn to put on socks!! Although to be fair my sis says the main purpose of the first term of PE is to learn how to get dressed/undressed!

And they say kids who think every adult is at their beck and call struggle (as do parents who expect a full run down of every sniff/cough/wee/poo/food eaten etc). The ratio of adults to kids is v.different in a classroom to pre-school/nursery.

Uniform varies from school to school. My son is about to start Reception and it's joggers instead of proper trousers there so nice and easy.

You definitely don't need to 'work on him holding a pencil'. He's far too young and pushing that kind of thing early can actually cause set backs. The teachers will focus on fine motor and gross motor activities which help establish a good foundation to build on and then move on to holding a pencil. A good trip to the park and simple fine motor activities (loads on Pinterest) will do your son far more good than anything pencil-related.

Your child doesn't need to be able to read anything upon starting school. Zipping up a coat is handy but not essential. Relax and enjoy your child. I used to be a Reception teacher.

Kay so I used to work as a TA in reception. Kids come in at various levels of readiness. If he can dress himself then that's a great start. Zips are not an essential but a nice bonus. I was zipping up coats well into the spring term.

Some kids can read coming into reception - it's rather rare. More often we had kids that could recognise their name and a few single sounds and the rest were taught to them across the year. There's no need to teach them to write anything but if they can recognise numbers 1-10 then bonus.

Essentially as long as they can feed themselves, dress themselves and toilet themselves then they're exactly where reception teachers expect them to be. And regarding toilet accidents - we deal with it. If they're prone, pack extra clothes. Hope that's helpful 😊

This is the list we were given:

Put my own coat on and zip up
Dress myself
Use scissors safely
Tell an adult when I need something
Follow instructions
Play outside safely
Share with others
Go to the toilet on my own
Wash my hands
Wait in a line
Hold a pencil or crayon
Cut up my own food and feed myself
Recognise my name (verbally and on paper)
Tidy my things away
Put my own shoes on
Say please and thank you
Count from 1 to 10

Amazing replies, thanks! I think we've been lax on fine motor skills in general so I will definitely see what I can find that might hold his attention for longer.

Socks and cutting up food are things I'd forgotten, a year is ample time to start working on these :)

I'm not looking for him to be advanced, he is himself and has his own (often changing) interests! I just don't want him to be incapable of the bare basics and face more confidence issues.

Aww I am sure he will be fine. I remember one day in reception my DC came out wearing all their clothes back to front or inside out. 15 years in they're now top set for everything and doing generally ok in life 🙂

@holidayhonesty yes that sounds about right for my ds! He is bright but also has some glaring gaps in everyday capabilities, as many of them do I guess!