What will DS1 need tone able to do before he starts reception in September?

[GertrudeBell]

DS1 (4.7) starts reception in September.

He currently does mornings at a pre-school which is lots of fun but does almost no reading/writing. DH and I read to him every day, and in the last couple of months have started working through the Usborne "Learn to Read" series.

DS seems pretty switched on and is memorising the stories impressively quickly, is sounding out words and is really interested in any text he sees when we are out and about.

We don't do much writing; he doesn't really enjoy it and has never really liked scribbling, colouring. He can just about write his name when we are doing it regularly, and the numbers 1-10 but if we have a break he seems to lose that knowledge pretty quickly.

I guess what I'm asking is whether I need to do more with him? Or if he is at about the right level? He is a confident chap, looking forward to school and he expects to be good at things. I don't want him to feel deflated when he finally goes.

I am torn between wanting to let him to play for as long as he can - I was academic, and hothoused, and I'd rather let him be free while he is small. But then I see what other kids seem to be able to do, and read threads on here, and worry that I'm doing him a disservice by under-preparing him when he's probably capable of a lot more if I pushed him a bit.

Thanks

The title should of course read "What will DS1 need to be able to do..."

It's more important that he can:

• listen to instructions
• sit on the mat
• put his coat on and do it up, and take it off
• put his shoes on
• go to toilet on his own and wash his hands
• recognise his name written down
• ask an adult for help if needed
• use cutlery / open his own packed lunch stuff
• take off his clothes and leave in a tidy pile
• play nicely with other children
• recognise he can't always be first
• wait for attention

What Teen said!

He's very good at all of those things; he knows those ropes having attended pre-school and previously nursery since 2.3

If anything he has been a bit of a teachers' pet type there.

Is there any expectation re reading and writing?

Yep. What Teen said

If he can do those kinds of things, he will be in a good position to learn the reading/writing etc from the teacher.

Don't forget Reception still comes under Early Years, so there should/will still be a strong emphasis on play. Agree with Teen too.

A lot of teachers prefer children coming to them having not been taught to read and write, so they don't have to correct bad habits. Children are only 4 or 5 when they start Reception, they are there to learn these things.

Thanks everyone. This is reassuringly sensible.

It does make me worry when his little friend Olivia (who is only a couple of months older) is writing him love letters in extremely good cursive, or I look at the art entries in kids' magazines and they are waaaaay beyond what he has ever tried to do.

Comparison is the enemy of contentment, and all that.

If he can do all the things Teen listed then he'll be fine, I would just add make sure he knows how to wipe his bottom properly. it sounds like he's already at the level he should be so I wouldn't push him to do anything else but do keep reading with him if he enjoys it, not because he needs the practice but because enjoying reading will be a massive help.

If you're really worried about the academic side of things, the best thing you could do to help him is to have him trace lines - wavy, zigzag, etc - and then get him to draw wavy lines, keeping between parallel lines. You don't need to teach him to write, that's the teacher's job, but anything you can do to help him with correct pencil grip and with fine motor skills/control will be of benefit. Simple dot-to-dots are fantastic and fun.

However, Teen’s checklist is the priority. All the YR children were completely wiped out by the end of the autumn term and it's amazing how they regressed with tiredness. Much better to get those basic skills embedded now. If you think in terms of effective use of the tacher's time, too, it stands to reason that the time s/he may have to spend zipping up 30 coats, or fastening 30 pairs of shoes are PE, could be much better employed in teaching a whole class literacy/numeracy/whatever. My DD was 4y4w4d when she started school, there were children younger than her and of course there was no expectation that she'd be able to read or write. All they hoped for in that department was that she could recognise her own name before she started.

My DS starts reception in September too. Summer priorities are getting him to wipe his own bum after a number 2 & getting him to put his own socks on .

I'd love him to be able to write his name clearly & I'll be trying to maintain the phonetic teaching he's had in preschool but that will have to fit in around the fun & games.

Bum
Socks and shoes
Recognising own coat
Zipping own coat
Opening a bag of crisps

absolutely all the self help skill - coat, shoes, wipe bottom etc.

try to encourage a proper tripod grip on a pencil if possible.

please don't get him to memorise books, this won't be the stategy the teachers use, but yes, plenty of reading to him would be great!

listening skills, turntaking etc.

please don't worry about writing, if he can recognise his name, great, have a go at writing it maybe, but the social and practical skill so much more important :)

Thanks all, it sounds as though we've got most of the essentials covered although bum wiping leaves a bit to be desired.

Panda, I'm not aiming for him to memorise books but find after 2 or 3 intensive readings that he's committed them to memory. I can see that it's not that helpful so will try to avoid repetition at too close intervals.