Please reassure me that I'm doing the right thing.

[wigglywoowoo]

My DD(only child) is currently in reception at a state school. The children are grouped for sounds, numbers and reading and she is in the top group for all three. She is bright and has been described by the teacher as one of the more able children.

I've discovered; only because they thought I was doing the same; that a few other parents are sitting down and going through workbooks with their 4/5 year olds. This has got me in a tizz and i'm wondering if i'm doing my DD as disservice as others seem to be overtaking her. The only thing academic that we do at home is read a lot.

I'm honestly quite shocked at how competitive even reception stage seems to be. Is this level of competition normal in reception? and should I be doing more?

Note to self: it's only a competition if you're in it.

As a reception teacher, I'd agree with you that reading is the key. I'd also agree that spending time with your child doing practical things (eg baking, shopping) is much more valuable than ploughing through workbooks.

My DDs were very like yours in Reception, OP, and we did exactly the same thing as you - read a lot, talk about life, the universe and everything, have fun.

They are now in Yrs 4 and 6 and have never looked at a workbook outside of school. They are voracious readers, they like writing stories and poetry, they enjoy researching topics they are interested in. They are also both very ahead indeed.

So if you have a bright DD, let her be and go with what works.

Thanks all.

I was in WH Smith yesterday and found half price workbooks staring me in the face but I resisted.

Well done!

Now go and find some half price word searches.

If you want to do something new and creative with a small educational element, try some of these - or just Google 'Mandala colouring pages' and go from there. Your DD can colour beautiful things, recognise patterns and stimulate the mathematical side of her brain without a worksheet in sight, and they're free.

My DDs love these. Oh, and Crayola glitter gel pens just add the perfect finishing touches.

Agree with the first reply. Those parents are not normal at least in RL, they may form a little club on MN.

the best things you can do with/for your dcs is to encourage a love of reading, to spend time with them and talk to/with them and listen to them. To talk about things they see and hear, and listen to, and value their questions and try to answer them as best you can, but feel comfortable in saying "I don't know, I'll have to look that up on MN."
Encourage board games, card games, word searches, sudukos, crosswords and other stage appropriate puzzle books, and joke books and 'knowledge' books (Children's encyclopedias / World Book of Records / How to Avoid a Wombats Bum / etc. as they get older).