more reception questions

[wobblypig]

Can someone tell me how reception deals with children of different initial ability.

My DS will be one of the older ones in his class - November birthday and a very normal 4 year old but can read reasonably well now and his writing is improving and still has 6 months before he will start reception.

A friend of mine's DS has started school in September and told me that they are spending time learning 'phonics' and if they already know them children are asked to help other children. I wondered whether this was correct and generally what happens?

I get the impression that most children end up at he same level by the end of reception but DS can be very easily bored and distracted if not actively engaged in something.

I can't know what it is like at the school your DS will go to but my DD could read and write before starting reception and is very much flying now. They did go through phonics which she joined in but direct phonics teaching is a small part of what they do at school.

Phonics will take up a very small part of his day from now until he is 11 and there will be so much more going on in the classroom there is little danger of him becoming bored

Thanks - very hard to imagine just what does go on in school. IMO he seems to young to go to school even though he will be one of the oldest. He keeps askign me if they have toys at 'big school' I dont; even know that.

From my experience (DS1 now halfway through reception), first year is nothing but play and they have lots of toys! First term was spent dressing up and playing firemen, trains, aeroplanes, policemen (you name a small boy favoured activity and they had a week themed round it) in the playground (small one, only for reception classes), this term has been spent playing dinosaurs, cars and other more indoor pursuits (but the doors are open for free outside play at set times on all bu the foulest days). DS1 could read on arrival at school, tells me he finds phonics boring (I have had a whinge about this before...), but on the whole is fairly keen on school. I have tried and failed to find out what they do in numeracy, as DS1 is also quite able with numbers and would relish a bit more challenge there too. For the moment, we've settled for accepting that school is for socialising and we do reading/ numbers/ life the universe and everything at home.

Would be very happy with a mainly play-based reception would suit DS perfectly.

wobblypig why don't you ask to to go in and have a look at a reception class?

You may be pleasantly surprised.

It's not called FS2 for nothing - in other words, FS1 is nursery, your DS's current setting (playgroup, preschool, whatever) and FS2 or school reception is (should be) a continuation.

IME a good teacher wil easily extend the curriculum to bring on those who are further forward. None of my 3 could read on starting school; but I did a month in an FS2 class of older children and many had started school reading. None looked bored in class to me

My dd1 started school able to read quite well and write a fair bit. For certain tasks they grouped the children so they were working with children at a similar level. She's now in yr1 and certainly hasn't been bored - although for her the structure of yr1 works better than all the free play in reception, but I appreciate this is probably not the case for most children.

Dd2 is due to start this Sept and I am slightly panic stricken as she is an August birthday and seems way off being ready for school.

In my experience they don't "end up at the same level at the end of reception" - the range of what is considered age appropriate is huge, but whatever level your ds is at, he won't be the only one.