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Original poster

What grammer do they learn in reception?

53 replies

carriedawayannie · 10/05/2013 19:31

DD has told me today they are learning full stops and I feel awful that I haven't really been encouraging any grammer in the written things we do together. I've been letting it go as I thought she was to young.

The only things I've been doing is capitial letters and finger spacing.

What will she be learning at school?
What should I be doing with her?

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Wigeon · 10/05/2013 19:35

My DD is in reception and she has learnt:

Full stops
Capital letters (they've only recently introduced that.

To be pedantic, those are really punctuation, not grammar...I can't think of any actual grammar which she has learnt at school.

Er, think that's it so far!

I don't think you should be doing anything specific really, apart from helping her read her reading books, and encouraging her to read and write as often as she is interested and in all sorts of circumstances (eg writing a friend's name on a party invitation, reading parts of the school newsletter, writing labels on pictures she draws etc etc).

Original poster
carriedawayannie · 10/05/2013 19:38

I knew grammer was the wrong word when I typed but stupidly couldn't think of what else to put Blush

Thanks for the suggestions Wigeon. I do most of that so it seems I'm doing ok

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learnandsay · 10/05/2013 19:38

It's grammar, (not grammer) and yes, you're right, Reception is a bit too young for formal grammar. But parents have been teaching it since the children were about two:

It's not I don't want no more sausage; it's I don't want any more sausage.
It's not I want sausage; it's please may I have some more sausage?

And so on. I'm not sure if Reception teachers correct all such mistakes but children who shout: oi, Miss, gimme paper! probably do get corrected.

Original poster
carriedawayannie · 10/05/2013 19:39

Oh god I might just ask for the thread to be deleted. Its a disaster. And to think I'm talking about teaching my daughter how to write correctly ...

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mrz · 10/05/2013 19:49

We teach sentences and connectives (coordinating conjunctions) introduce determiners, prepositions, adjectives and adverbs

Original poster
carriedawayannie · 10/05/2013 19:51

I'll need a dictionary for that mrz Grin

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finickypinickity · 10/05/2013 19:56

Seriously?

Can i sneak in and ask if they do all of this with a child who has only just learnt all of the sounds or is the puctuation thing for just the advanced children in reception?

Would the children be expected to know this at the end of reception?

Panicking Mum alertBlush

Sorry for the mini hijack Annie

mrz · 10/05/2013 19:58

we teach it in the context of their writing Wink

Original poster
carriedawayannie · 10/05/2013 19:58

Finicky the way I've been handling this thread, you can do more than hijack - you can take over Grin

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Wigeon · 10/05/2013 19:59

I don't think my Reception DD has been taught in school any of the things mrz says (although we're not at the end of the Reception year yet, so maybe they cover that all between now and the end of the summer term?!). I would say she is doing better than average but is not by any means outstandingly advanced with her reading - there are children who are reading better than her.

Original poster
carriedawayannie · 10/05/2013 20:00

So you teach them the correct way to write whatever it is they have written?

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freetrait · 10/05/2013 20:02

DS learnt a tiny bit about capital letters and full stops in YR, and had just about got the hang of writing a sentence or two with said things and finger spaces by the end of the year. Now in Y1 he can write stories that span several pages and use that stuff mrz talked about. Our school was kind of laid back re writing in YR and then went for it in Y1.

finickypinickity · 10/05/2013 20:03

You are doing just fine with the thread Annie Wink

I will follow with interest and intense panic!

Nishky · 10/05/2013 20:04

I never taught my children anything. I left it to school and the ( trained)teachers.

My children are doing very very well on that. We used to read when they were in infants and I assist with homework when necessary.

School is for learning - home is for play!

mrz · 10/05/2013 20:05

young children like to learn the technical language

Periwinkle007 · 10/05/2013 20:05

erm DD says they have done full stops, capital letters and certainly her group have done apostrophes for replacing letters as in don't etc. She knows apostrophes showing ownership anyway, can't remember how that cropped up but we told her ages ago when she was writing and she is excellent with those and now even knows what to do if it is a plural it belongs to. commas, question marks and exclamation marks she certainly knows with reading and is just starting to use when writing. how much of that is due to being taught it at school or because I suggest them when she is writing for fun and she sees them in the books she is reading (she is a good reader) I am not sure.

mrz · 10/05/2013 20:08

Nishky I think you do yourself an injustice children learn lots of things from their parents long before they set foot in school.

Original poster
carriedawayannie · 10/05/2013 20:09

So I've just googled coordinating conjunctions. I didn't know there was a set list of words. Everyday is a school day ...

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Original poster
carriedawayannie · 10/05/2013 20:12

I don't understand the apostrophe thing so I don't know how I'm meant to teach that.

Obv I understand the replacing letters but ownership loses me.

I did try to read a thread on here about it but by the end everyone was confusing each other so we gave up.

I also have no idea how to explain things to dd in ways she can understand. So even though I obv know what an ! is and how/when to use it - I couldn't put into term she would understand.

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Original poster
carriedawayannie · 10/05/2013 20:13

Mrz do you tell them that this particular word is a 'coordinating conjunctions'?

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Nishky · 10/05/2013 20:15

I am sure you are right mrsz - but I never try to mirror what is done in class- I couldn't have done sowith dd anyway she told me in reception ' we don't work hard at my school, we just PLAY'

When I told her teacher this she was really pleased as she said this is what she wanted them to think Grin

mrz · 10/05/2013 20:18

In reception coordinating conjunctions would be - and and but

I would tell them that the word they used has a "posh name" and is called a coordinating conjunction (some will remember others won't)
Really it's just putting down a foundation of knowledge in quite an informal way that can be built on as they progress through school.

Original poster
carriedawayannie · 10/05/2013 20:22

Ok so I could encourage her to use 'and' and 'but'.

I can do that.

I've just discovered what a determiner is. I do teach her that she is to use 'an' when using a word that begins with a vowel. She has no idea what a vowel is but I tell every time she asks for 'a' apple anyway.

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freetrait · 10/05/2013 20:35

Yeah, makes me laugh, DS's Y1 teacher puts up on the whiteboard what they are focussing on in their writing and you can read it through the window. Often I haven't a clue what it means, but as mrz says the kids take to it very easily- DS isn't phased at all.

Iamnotminterested · 10/05/2013 20:39

Is this going to descend into a "my child is doing hyhens in nursery" kind of thread??