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What should a child know after reception year??

8 replies

Poko · 25/07/2008 04:22

I am new to this messaging so not good on the language. Just wanted to ask if anyone knows a website or knows what a child who has attended reception year (at 4-5 years) should know. numbers until what / should they be able to write anything, read anything. I am living overseas and hoping to return to the UK shortly, unless attending private school children are not expected to read until 7 years and at 4years have just learnt 1- 20. any help would be welcome, don't want to be too far behind when we return

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
bluenosesaint · 25/07/2008 11:36

This website tells you what is expected of children in the new EYFS by the end of Reception

hth

juuule · 29/07/2008 08:49

I know this isn't really what you are asking but it sprang to mind when I read your post. As you've already had the answer to your question, I thought I'd post this from another website anyway Hope you don't mind.

"What should a 4 year old know?

Childhood shouldn't be a race.

So here, I offer my list of what a 4 year old should know.

  1. She should know that she is loved wholly and unconditionally, all of the time.
  1. He should know that he is safe and he should know how to keep himself safe in public, with others, and in varied situations. He should know that he can trust his instincts about people and that he never has to do something that doesn't feel right, no matter who is asking. He should know his personal rights and that his family will back them up.
  1. She should know how to laugh, act silly, be goofy and use her imagination. She should know that it is always okay to paint the sky orange and give cats 6 legs.
  1. He should know his own interests and be encouraged to follow them. If he could care less about learning his numbers, his parents should realize he'll learn them accidentally soon enough and let him immerse himself instead in rocket ships, drawing, dinosaurs or playing in the mud.
  1. She should know that the world is magical and that so is she. She should know that she's wonderful, brilliant, creative, compassionate and marvelous. She should know that it's just as worthy to spend the day outside making daisy chains, mud pies and fairy houses as it is to practice phonics. Scratch that-- way more worthy.

But more important, here's what parents need to know.

  1. That every child learns to walk, talk, read and do algebra at his own pace and that it will have no bearing on how well he walks, talks, reads or does algebra.
  1. That the single biggest predictor of high academic achievement and high ACT scores is reading to children. Not flash cards, not workbooks, not fancy preschools, not blinking toys or computers, but mom or dad taking the time every day or night (or both!) to sit and read them wonderful books.
  1. That being the smartest or most accomplished kid in class has never had any bearing on being the happiest. We are so caught up in trying to give our children "advantages" that we're giving them lives as multi-tasked and stressful as ours. One of the biggest advantages we can give our children is a simple, carefree childhood.
  1. That our children deserve to be surrounded by books, nature, art supplies and the freedom to explore them. Most of us could get rid of 90% of our children's toys and they wouldn't be missed, but some things are important building toys like legos and blocks, creative toys like all types of art materials (good stuff), musical instruments (real ones and multicultural ones), dress up clothes and books, books, books. (Incidentally, much of this can be picked up quite cheaply at thrift shops.) They need to have the freedom to explore with these things too to play with scoops of dried beans in the high chair (supervised, of course), to knead bread and make messes, to use paint and play dough and glitter at the kitchen table while we make supper even though it gets everywhere, to have a spot in the yard where it's absolutely fine to dig up all the grass and make a mud pit.
  1. That our children need more of us. We have become so good at saying that we need to take care of ourselves that some of us have used it as an excuse to have the rest of the world take care of our kids. Yes, we all need undisturbed baths, time with friends, sanity breaks and an occasional life outside of parenthood. But we live in a time when parenting magazines recommend trying to commit to 10 minutes a day with each child and scheduling one Saturday a month as family day. That's not okay! Our children don't need Nintendos, computers, after school activities, ballet lessons, play groups and soccer practice nearly as much as they need US.

They need fathers who sit and listen to their days, mothers who join in and make crafts with them, parents who take the time to read them stories and act like idiots with them. They need us to take walks with them and not mind the .1 MPH pace of a toddler on a spring night. They deserve to help us make supper even though it takes twice as long and makes it twice as much work. They deserve to know that they're a priority for us and that we truly love to be with them."

Littlefish · 29/07/2008 09:05

Lovely post Juuule.

mrsruffallo · 29/07/2008 09:14

I like that J.

TotalChaos · 29/07/2008 09:26

Hmmmm as a parent of a child with speech/language delay I take issue with point 1 of Juule's post. Problems with language can have huge knock-on effects with learning and the social aspects of school.

I imagine that the link to EYFS that bluenosesaint linked to will be of rather more help to the OP.

WhereTheWildThingsWere · 29/07/2008 09:31

Oh Juuule thats lovely, I'm going to print it.
Thanks for posting.

jollydo · 29/07/2008 11:25

juule

onwardandupward · 29/07/2008 19:59

that's gorgeous, Juule

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