What do they do in Reception?

[RueDeWakening]

Hi,

I'm genuinely curious - what do the kids do in reception? Free play vs formal stuff, writing, reading, PE etc? My DD just says that she can't remember what she's done , occasionally we get things like "played with the trains", or today she "writed footsteps and chair in my special book for doing writing and drawing". Yesterday she said that the French puppets were there but nobody played with them, later she thought she might have said bonjour to them (is she learning French, then?!). We always find out what she's had for lunch though :o

We've got a meeting with the teacher in a couple of weeks, and I'm not so desperate to find out now that I'll ask, but was just curious. Can anyone enlighten me?

DS nevers tells us -but he has a structured timetable from what I can see .

DS appears to do a lot of craft-type stuff based on what he brings home. Twice a week he reads to the teacher; he has P.E and Outdoor Games and music ; religious education and hymn practice on Wednesday. French on Thursday - also with puppets and songs .

The teachers tells us through e-mail that last week they were looking at senses but the real detail remains a mystery.

I'm glad it's not just us! DD doesn't bring anything home from school except her reading books and her home-school diary (which has never yet been written in by the school ).

I know she has PE twice a week, possibly French on a Tuesday (based on what she said yesterday), and her class goes to the school library on a Monday. Other than that, not a clue :o

DS is learning a sound a day - they come home with it in a book to practice writing the sound of the day for homework every day. DS can already read so he is reading to the teacher daily (I have had a comment in his reading record daily so know that to be the case). According to him he did writing in school today and numbers (he had a sticker for the numbers so definitely did them). He has PE twice a week, one morning is structured outdoor learning. He learns about 3-5 welsh phrases a week (learning Welsh as a second language). They go to assembly on a Friday. I had an A4 sheet from the teacher about all the topics they will cover this term in all aspects of the curricululm. I know that he is meant to be foundation phase so learning through play, but his school have decided through experience that completely free choice wasn't working so they are implementing it in a more structured manner - when DS1 was in foundation phase several years ago he only ever made junk models, now they have to have a go at everything.

DD has just started reception and her day looks like this
Assembly
Literacy hour - learning a new phonic every day, practising writing
break time
Numeracy hour - no idea what happens here yet
Singing/music for 30 minutes
lunchtime
Either structured project work e.g. talking about bones in bodies, making drawings and sticking straws onto card to make skeletons, or some sort of cooking or PE twice a week
Break
Playtime - they get to pick which toys to play with
story time then hometime

This is my DD's 4th week in Reception (but only second week full time) and I have NO IDEA what she does, apart from play in the home corner mostly. I get very detailed accounts of who is naughty though

They do not seem to have started ANY phonics at all (she already knows her alphabet phonetically and a few diagraphs so I'm not too worried about her yet, but what about the others who don't). She has had ONE wordless reading book home. She claims they have done no work on numbers, no writing (though we did get a sheet of correct letter formation home), P.E. has not started yet, no art work home or evidence at school. Not even a hint of a topic discussed.

On the other hand she seems happy and has made new friends. She is no longer wiped out after school and she is enjoying school lunches.

I understand the learning through play bit, but am concerned about the play to learning balance. Fortunately there is a curriculum event next week or I'd be getting seriously worried.

my ds started reception this year the only thin he has really told me without any major pushing is "thomas was sick on the carpet - it had tomatoes in". I think he may have been doing some sort of phonics and my older dd assures me that he has eaten lunch or at least been in the lunch hall but thats pretty much it.

My DD is also in week 4, and has yet to go full time

They have PE on a Monday. She has brought home sheets for numbers one and two; 3 wordless reading books; and today a huge phonics book that "we are only allowed to do S".

Her bag is getting ridiculously heavy and her "homework" is eating into more and more of her time at home. She won't be 5 until March.

The teacher does put a board out every morning telling us what they are going to be doing. We have had some obscure things like "Washing a baby", "playing in the big playground" and "discussing parts of the face".

When I ask her what she's been doing she either can't remember or it's a secret.

Our school very usefully gave us a timetable. You could ask for one! It's good to have!

There is about 30 mins to an hour of phonics and 30 mins to an hour of numeracy, then there is a lot of CHIL (child initiated play- we would call it playing which is called "Inside/outside play" to the children), there is PE, music, ICT (!), assembly, topic based activities, writing skills.

Oh yes, and they had a special drama workshop and a special science lady. I'm quite impressed so far ;-))

DD has had cookery, a drama workshop, singing, phonics, counting and produced numerous artistic 'masterpieces'. She's only doing half days at the moment but will start full days soon. They have a topic which is currently 'getting to know each other' and have been talking about their families.

They seem to do a new letter and a new number each day. She knows most of these but they all come attached to songs which she is really loving (but I am a bit sick of already).

Dd started phonics (one sound a day, I think) this week.

She knew letter sounds ages ago but did tell me "you may know the letter, mummy, but you don't know the action".

I get updates in short bursts from mine, nothing on some days. Apparently they've been doing sounds, tricky words (like "at" and "as" ), counting and a song that the teacher taught them to help them count to 100. Then of course loads of playing and games.

I have no clue, I know she does PE once a week on a Monday, but that's it. Apparently they didn't do that for long cause the boys all needed the toilet!!

Would really have appreciated some info from the teacher on how they are teaching phonics, what sounds they are doing etc so I could use them at home with her. DD started in reception at the beginning of the mont - straight into fulltime, so is absolutely shattered!

She doesn't have a diary, she takes a book bag in each day but hasn't brought a book home yet. May have to ask the teacher what she gets up to!

Onlyaphase literacy hour? numeracy hour?

Most children say "nothing" or "just playing"

Thanks for this thread. I have deferred ds starting Reception and did wonder what he might be missing, since they only do one intake in September in our LA so I doubt they'll be especially making allowances for ds starting later.

It is helpful to get an idea what is being covered.

Mrz we were given a detailed timetable at the start of term, so I know what they're doing during the day, so can extrapolate back when DD says what she did that day. Also we have phonics books that go back and forth and a pretty detailed home school diary book.

Onlyaphase my shock is at the appropriateness of a literacy and numeracy hour not withstanding my surprise that schools actually still do this.

What's wrong with a numeracy and literacy hour?

Boredom?

My son has been seriously impressed by the sunflower seeds at Reception. They've looked at them with microscopes, looked at sunflowers and he has come home with 100s of them in his pocket. He talks about nothing else.

A young child has an attention span of a minute per year plus or minus 5 minutes StarlightMcKenzie, so even when the literacy hour was introduced it was not considered appropriate for reception children and there has never been a numeracy hour in any year group (officially it was 40 mins)
Good practice in reception is for a number of short inputs throughout the day.

The only other thing I've got out of my son is that they get a pebble to put in their jar when they are good. He told me that it means that they only need to be good when the teacher is watching ;-)

We've had books with words this week and shedloads of flashcards to go through. He has read to the teacher twice a week and I know that they've done lots of craft, from the amount of glue on his school jumper. He has been doing lots of potato prints, and he taught his little brother how to do them this afternoon, and I definitely noticed a change in the way he speaks. He sounds very authoritative now, I suspect his teacher is influencing him!

I am dribbling with longing at the thought of having a child who only tells you one or two important things about their day. DD is a mad over-talker and I swear I have lived through every school day with her, maybe a few times a day, over the past three weeks. It is so detailed that she actually recites entire conversations that she's had with the TA or her friends to me. I now know exactly who wasn't paying attention during the singing of 'snake in the grass' because she asked Mrs B. Then DD sang it again, four times. I suppose I should be grateful that she seems to have such a good memory for detail. Though not, it seems, for things like remembering to bring her cardigan home.

"Shedloads of flashcards to go through"

Goodness. Is this usual?

GalaxyWeaver Literacy hour at my ds's school is learning the jollyphonics system!

For an hour?

I've taught Jolly Phonics for 17 years (almost since it was first published) and never taught a literacy hour in reception because it is extremely bad practice. My children leave my class reading and writing to a very high standard so why would they do it?