What extras does a child get in private education reception year?

[MrsNouveauRichards]

We can't afford to send our dcs to private school, and we are close to a good primary school, DD has just started reception there.

DD loves school and is relatively bright and has managed everything they have done with ease (according to her teacher) I don't want her to do more school work, but feel she needs more something

She has expressed a wish to start recorder club, but they can't start until year one, there are no school clubs available to reception at all.

My DH was educated privately, and has said he remembers being very busy at 5 with extra clubs (music, sports etc) as well as fairly packed days in school.

Is there anything I can do with her myself that would have the same effect? We already read together, go to the park, swimming, play games etc.

Ballet
Gymnastics
Swimming (lessons/club rather than just family swimming)
Singing
Art

are the sorts of extra-curricular classes my DD and her friends did when they were 5.

Thank you. I am looking at starting DD back at swimming lessons after Christmas and she has expressed an interest in French lessons - there is a club run at the school by an outside teacher.

If I were you I would try to find all about what is going on in your area and try to take a look, meet the teachers etc. My DD didn't like going to classes with children she didn't know at that age, which is another thing to bear in mind. What do your DD's classmates do outside school?

Holiday courses are really good at this age - a one-week bash at art or swimming or gym can be great for getting them going. Drama also good for little ones.

At dd's they offered music, dance (as a class lesson as well as extra curricular), swimming lessons (as a class lesson as well as after school), library/storytime, French club. Most of the after school clubs such as ICT, sports, tuition for musical instruments, choir, board games club etc started in Year 1.

Brownies/Rainbows
Private music classes
Speech and drama

There are loads of things for that age.

Ballet
French
Music lessons
Golf
Tennis

I reckon piano and/or Kodaly-type musicianship lessons and gymnastics. Both good foundations for other things later.

She didn't really take to ballet, she did swimming last year but we didn't want to book anything for her first term at full time school as we didn't know how she would be. This was a mistake I now realise as she bounces out of school every day and by Sunday night she is literally bouncing off the walls despite spending most of the weekend outside.

I also would like to do more things with her that will help her become academically more rounded, not just more reading/writing.

I had always half thought of home educating her, but being at school and preschool has done wonders for her social skills.

I think lots of people advise against too much reception year as think kids be too tired and lot state primaries dont offre much clubs at infants/keystage 1.

My dd as never tired she did

rainbows halfway through recpetion started when she was 5
gym after school
cheerleading on a friday evening so not too bad,

her old school did do 6week scince club-outside provider which was ok
knitting club-never did that

but then they did no afterschool clubs.

shes now year 2 and bored

so we moved her extra curricular/enrichment big reason.

I have 3kids so easier for me to pick her up bit later than pick her up drag her ad her siblings to another site.

shes rcently staryed at small village school half size old one and in year 2 she has choice of 3 clubs at keysatge 1 possibly soon.
she wanted to do art but that was cancelled

she does multisports on mon-run by teacher so free :)
tuesday theres libary club-too much with rainbows she doesnt wnat to do it.
wed drama-charagble but she doesnt wnat to do it but be easier for me if she did that day.

friday they hoping to start dance outside provider.

year 3 she can join choir, play an instrument, netball, football, junior art, junior drama.

I too contmeplated homeschooling last term year 1 as dd was unhappy. Even put in felexischooling propsal to the head that she was at home 1day a week which they rejected.

I must admit, even though DD's school is seen as a good one and she is happy there, I see it as an 'IKEA' school - very basic, everything is extra, nothing included iyswim? :o

Even PE is supposed to be twice a week, but often happens only once, and that is in the hall.

I want my dcs to have as many opportunities as I can give them.

I would recommend that you consider a drama group for her, children of her age really respond well to drama activities and helps boost self esteem and general social skills, many are held on a Saturday morning, generally very popular!

If you think DD may like rainbows (girlguides) get her name down asap - they take from age 5 but some areas have long wait lists. They playgames/craft activities - my DD loves Rainbows.

What do her friends do?

Off the top of my head - things DD did in reception or classmates went to (we live in a small northern town)

Rainbows, swimming, ballet, gymnastics, ballet+tap, streetdance, trampoline, french, football.

I bet the school would bite your hand off if you offered to run a lunchtime club for R

Until they realised my feral 2yr old would be joining me :o

I took my 2 year old when I started R lunchtime Lego club! (liked it so much that, now my 2 year old is 7 I am a R teacher! )

creativity?

At ds's pre-prep no clubs ran for reception aged dcs as they figured the school day was enough. Clubs started in year 1.

Mine would love a Lego club ninah!

Our school offer YR yoga, ballet, explorers club (forest school essentially I think), football , bollywood dancing, speech.
French (mother tongue teacher) is part of the curriculum from Nursery Class upwards, as is Music.
My children didn't want to do all of them btw!

Wow that is a lot!

Lego club sounds amazing.

My son is in reception at an prep school, and during his normal school day he does:

French
PE twice a week
Choir
Music

There are before/after school clubs where he can do recorder/violin/gymnastics/chess/puzzle etc

A Board Games or chess club is good as a more academic type club

Our 5 have gone to private schools from that age (as did I). I lke to get them home quickly at that age as they are very little and tired. I don't think at age 4+ private school pupils do stay very late.

In the normal school day as said above they would though tend to have things like choir and lots of sport and when a bit older some after school clubs.

Perhaps if your husband wants her to have his kind of class/background though peversely the best thing you can do is whip her home quickly from the undesirables and spend a lot of time talking to her in the right accent and at the right academic level for a bright child of that age.

More seriously though for me we wanted selective education at 5 so only those bright enough to get in at the school which is not so much about class as about IQ.

undesirables?

Careful Xenia, you're turning into a parody of yourself!

I have to say though, that having things like ballet during the day is good- the children can relax after school, and weekends are freer.

@HanSolo - I'm guessing that you don't see many examples of irony in your part of the country. Xenia was being ironic ... I think.

Swimming...drama...bollywood dancing...craft...lego club.... the list can go ON and ON....
Ok, I'm going to be radical here and say you don't need those things... your daughter (OP) is at school all day, that is a long time to be away from you and out of the house... so why opt for MORE out of home activities? You may think it is giving them opportunities to do new things and become 'more rounded', but it has a downsides too:

• firstly if children roll from one activity to another all day, they just learn to depend on these activities for their entertainment - it is all so instant and they therefore don't need to use their imaginations to create or learn how to spend time alone, entertaining themselves. This is so important for children - especially in a culture where everything is very immediate.
• secondly, if your daughter is out all day from 8.30 until 3.20 ish at school and then goes to a club after that, there is just enough time for supper, story and bed - not only is this reducing the time she has to create her own games but also it is really reducing the amount of time she is in the HOME - and children need HOMES. We all agree on that, but often clubs etc prevent children from really spending quality time with their parent (s) or siblings. Doing fun things at home, mean time to chat, to play together, to really talk about school, life, friends, things that are important - whilst creating a nurturing culture in the home environment.

This doesn't mean no activities - what about a different thing to do every day after school - perhaps a 45 minute activity (cooking together, something creative, making hot chocolate and snuggling up with some good books, puzzles, singing to a cd or piano etc, then she would have at least 45 mins of play before supper and bath.

Just an idea but I think it is all too easy to think that sending our children out to activities every day is the best for them. Yes, some clubs are fun and good, but not totally necessary.