August 31st birthday

[lonnyandpolly]

starting school a few days after his fourth birthday - any tips please?

My DD is 22nd August and it does feel strange when they start school so young!

The general tips on here for primary starters are good;
make sure he is confident going to the toilet by himself (wiping etc)
Can recognise his name (for labels etc)
Can put a coat on by himself (buy one that is fairly simple to do up)
Putting shoes on (I did the tip from here to draw half a smiley face in each shoe so when the pair is together correctly you see the whole face)
I also got DD's lunchbox early and gave her packed lunches at home for the summer so she was ok opening things by herself and getting used to it.

DD has coped brilliantly and is doing very well. Does he go to nursery now? How do you feel he will cope?

My son is four on 18th August and also starting school in September. We've agonised about whether to delay him until January, but for several reasons decided for September. I have a September born daughter who is 6, and we made very little effort in preparing her for school as she was so mature when she started, and was almost 5. However, for my son, we're concentrating on getting him to dress himself, wipe his bum and generally improving his independence. Neither of my children have great fine motor skills, so we're going to try and develop this (there's a great recent thread on here for this). I think it will help him when he is encouraged to write, as at the moment he's a bit defeatist and just tends to scribble! I wouldn't bother with phonics etc, unless your child is really interested as they will do a lot of this in school. It's more about coping in a larger group with lower ratios of staff:children, and the independence/stamina that requires imo. Good luck. I'm going to be a nervous wreck when mine starts- perhaps we should have a support group?!

Don't worry too much! My son was 4 years and 2 weeks when he started and seemed to do little during the year except play in the water tray! He came home with wrinkled hands and soaked clothes but showed little interest in anything remotely connected to learning! He was very tired after school, even though he had previously attended pre-school, and also very hungry! So he had a snack and a nap ( but only a short one!) and seemed Ok with that! He only began to show an interest in reading/maths in year 1 but soon caught up. So don't get sucked into the "competitive reading race" because you probably won't win!
( But my son is now off to Uni in September with a predicted 3A's (fingers crossed!) , so it hasn't done him any harm!)

Marking place. DD2 is 28 August.

My DS is also 4 on August 31st and am feeling a bit apprehensive about it all! He can do shoes and coats and recognise/write his name. Going to the toilet alone is a bit hit and miss (generally to do with aim...!!) am most concerned about concentration and his attention span - he's much more the running around being a dinosaur/monster/super hero type!! :)

Yes another August born dinasaur here too- with lots of roaring,...... I guess they'll be a few of them in the class- I can't believe the kids who are born from about April-August will be that different, so that's nearly half the class. Or so I hope. My daughter was so grown up, she struggled a little socially in reception tbh as her peers were generally much more immature. I think we're going to be on the other end of the continuum this time...

Thank you. So helpful, he does go to nursery and loves every minute, so fingers crossed!

Marking my place too as DD is 13th Aug (although she is still only 20 months!

Of course he doesn't have to start in September, they just have to have started by the time they are five. I think if he's happy at nursery he will be OK. My DD has just turned 4 and if she had to start school tomorrow she'd love it.

My daughter is August 31st at 11 pm!

My friend has August born ds who had speech difficulties. She got him put back a year (took a fight). But if he is ok generally then I think he'll be fine.

Cickey that is quite hardcore - up in Scotland we run March- Feb so oldest kids are nearly 5.5 when they start in August - added to that most jan and feb birthday kids defer for a year so they are over 5.5! We call the reception year preschool and it is very much a nursery year - no phonics or anything.

Excellent advice from snowball3

My tip is (am trying not to launch the sideline huge debate) do not compare to academic attainment of others in the same class. Especially not in the first 4 years or so of primary. If you compare by actual age, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Agree with ragged my DS (31st Aug at 11.37 pm and 2wks early is now in yr2).

For the most of reception he struggled with everything academically (I remember sobbing at home after his first parents eve ) but by the April/May of reception year he just "clicked" with his reading and now in yr2 is in top sets.

He is still more immature/smaller than all the other kids in the top sets (they are sept/oct birthday) but the gap is decreasing.

I think being prepared for the tiredness is the biggest thing I can mention. My daughter is 26th August and started full time in September.

In many ways you wouldn't guess that she was so much younger than some of the others but, despite having done full time nursery (8-5:30) before starting school, she steps out utterly shattered. She does totally lose it and melt down several times a week at pick up and I wasn't expecting that as I thought the shorter day would actually be easier for her.

ragged couldn't agree more.
DS1 28th Aug was behind until the end of yr3 and has now caught up.

DS2 is also Aug birthday and in YR he does get tired and hungry.

My tip would be don't plan any after school activities or large weekend activities for at least the first term as he will be tired in the evenings and need the weekends to relax (a trip to the park would be fine but a big day trip especially on a Sat is a misery with a tired and stroppy 4 year old). Neither of mine did any after school activities at all in YR and playdates were fairly limited too.

I have a friend with a dd with a late aug birthday and she delayed her starting school by a year to start reception she she's the oldest in the year.

You are allowed to do this....just a thought.

True words ragged.

My daughteer in YR is currently a book level or two behind where her December born brother was at the same stage of school year, but then I realised at the same actual age he hadn't even started school and could barely read more than a few words so she is actually way ahead.

Dancergirl- you are not allowed to delay entry into reception by a year, unless under very very exceptional circumstances- almost unheard of. You can however delay start so they go directly into Y1 the following year- see recent separate thread on this. I really wish what you say was true, but sadly not..

Agree with tiredness. DS is end Aug birthday and with hindsight I should have given him a couple of duvet days in the longer half-terms. Like Chazs DS, he didn't do any after school clubs or even have friends round for a play after school for first couple of terms because it just would not have been fair on him.

27th August birthday here now in yr 1. Agree with what others have said, expect him to be utterly knackered, and don't plan for out-of-school activities until you're sure he doesn't need downtime. Also don't be too alarmed if reception year is pretty rough - ours was but things have improved a great deal in yr 1. Don't draw any conclusions on the basis of what happens in reception re. his school prospects / experience in general as there is so much maturation still going on. Good luck!

DD was prem and so technically younger even than 31/8. We have been surprised how non-tired she has been, he might surprise you. Don't expect miracles and try really hard not to compare with the twice as big, twice as confident, twice as neat at writing types!

Aug 30th now strapping yr4.

Your Reception child will be tired, will find the day long. They will probably love it though as still loads of learning through play, dressing up, outdoor play, etc

As others have said make sure toileting is sorted and dressing and undressing. Polo shirts and velcro shoes!

Don't compare with others - your child is unique not just a future SAT's statistic. Will not necessarily be behind older classmates in attainment - it is not a given. But they are a year younger than some classmates and that is MASSIVE when you've only been on the planet 4 years.

Relax.

My DD is a 31/8 birthday and started recption last september - 5 days after her 4th birthday. Her school start full time from day 1 so there was no settling in time at all. Hor the first half term she was exhausted (a couple of time she had to have naps) and was also starving when she got home - she has school dinners. She was very tempremental and there were many more tantrums and tears than normal which was just down to tiredness.

After the october half term she really settled down, the tiredness went away and so did the tantrums. She's doing really well despite being the youngest - she had the role with the most lines to learn in the nativity and her reading is coming along in leaps and bounds. The first term will be tough for them but after that it does get better.