end term 1 whats receptions done so far?

[3asAbird]

Interested hear from reception teachers or even parents on how much they covered so far?

dd2 failed get space any of 3schools shes on wait list for 4 so chose to home educate.

we do 10mins writing a day
least 10-15mins phonics

read 1 early reader mostly one without words but started on few level ones oxford reading tree and songbirds but started looking at other reading programmes for more variety ie usbourne phonics and bug club.

following jolly phonics programme

daughter knows all her individual sounds.we play i spy things beginning with sounds and she can gie several correct examples

trying work on her recognising letters

we play letter snap and have magnetic letters where we play around and make words

moved onto 2nd stage phonics

satp set 1

doing 2nd set after half term.

in addition to 1early reader we also read least one story book if not more.

numeracy been doing basic counting using manipulatives and counting books.

she can easily count 1-10 11-20 she makes mistakes.

we are keeping an eye on foundation national curriculum for maths

uk.ixl.com/math/reception

it seems quite basic and she can already do

shapes

count to 3
count to 5
count to 10.

she needs to do more work get to 20 which hoping crack next term

comparing
positions
size
money need work on,

she can easily classify so can do 5/10maths reception skills already.

we have toy till , sweet shop and play money

planned to do fun hands on maths with pouring and measuring

plan buy few extra manipulatives as been lusting after numicon at home kit.

we practice writing letters on wipe clean cards
she can write her own name
she gets confused upper case small case.

she has writing book where we practice each letter small and big the she draws few pictures of things that begin with that letter.

its not all work

she plays a lot
lots crafts
nature walks-no really started proper science yet as i experiments. all i can remember dd1 doing was mini beasts.

I had planned termly topics like space dinos but ammended it s

sept/october autumn an seasonal so lots nature walks collecting counting conkers/chestnuts.leaf painting, glueing leaves.halloween stufs so spooky stories halloween crafts, harvest

nov plan do poppy day-shes marching with rainbow group at church.
guy fallkes night.

december all things festive ie crafts incoperating xmas stries even counting xmas decorations. using thematic learning cover few areas.

pe we go park if weathers nice

she does cheer leading classs once a week

walks lots.

I know they only do hour week in school.

plan start trying recorder after half term

have baskets instruments where we do circle time and sing nursery ryhmes.

she loves baking

I only ask as freinds children in different schools seem to be doing different things an different stages.

most schools here were part time 4-6 weeek.

we have followed school term sometimes done more than thourght

other days done less.

we both quite tired we have lots breaks.

we do no more than hour sit down formal work day rest is upto her.

i try be structured and have lesson plans which actually list 4-8things want to do per day .

we have author of month and try do crafts based on stories.

I keep worrying we fall behind or are we about on track with average reception child at this stage in year.

shes oldest in age group 5sept birthday.

she cant read as such she starting sound out simple 3letter words
shes good at memorising stories.

If she can't read, why are you looking at early readers? There are hundreds of fabulous books written for children to share that are much more engaging than ORT.

OK, so my DS has done full days from day one in a school that has long days (8.15 - 3.45) so he's probably been at school more than most Reception kids. He's late August born.

He's read every day to an adult at school and at home and moved from pink to yellow band.
He started on Phase 2 and is now on Phase 4 phonics.
He can count and recognises all numbers to 100. He loves to talk about bigger numbers so has the idea you can count past 100.
He can add using groups of objects and his fingers.
He can say 1 more/ less than any number.
His writing is way behind but the teacher has worked very hard to correct his pencil grip which is now a nice tripod.
He seems to have learned a lot about healthy choices as part of a topic called 'myself and others'.
He's learned to use a knife and fork.

All this makes him 'average' in his class (except the writing, some of them are already writing stories)- which I'm pleased with because he is the youngest.

TBH though the biggest difference has been in his social skills. I can't believe how much better he has become at playing with other children and navigating problems without needing adult help. It's been astonishing.

Goodness me that's a long post!

My ds is one of the younger ones (July).
As far as I know they cover one "sound" a day - they are up to about phase 4 or 5 now, he knows them all as well a trickier ones that get sent home in advance of learning them in class so they can practice more. They also get sent home words to learn which they are tested on (for want of a better way of putting it) twice a week...His 3rd set was sent home to look at over half term. Some of them are decodable words like "mum" "dad" "got" etc and others a tricky words that have to be learnt from sight.

He gets a library book every Mon, Weds and Fri to bring home for me to read to him. He also brings home a wordless ORT book and more recently has started bringing home first word stories and has been managing fine with them.

I don't know a lot about how much Maths or Writing he has done because nothing like that gets brought home and he doesn't tell me a lot when asked what he's been doing! I know he can write his full name (first name and surname). Not too worried about his Maths ability as he has been able to count for ages and started picking up on how to do basic addition before he had started. Hoping to get more info at parents evening which is in middle of November!

My DS has just finished his first half term. He's 5 in December.

I wouldn't be able to list everything he's done because obviously I don't know everything they get up to but I know he has done loads just from what he tells me.

He has picked up blending 3 letter words and can read the ORT stage 1+ books he brings home reasonably well. He did know most letter sounds before starting (thanks to nursery input) but couldn't blend or read any words.

He could already write his first name but his pencil grip and willingness to try to write has improved massively. He's now doing basic mark making.

He could already count past 100 and do 1 more and 1 less (natural ability and interest). His teacher has started him on simple addition and he's getting confident with doubling numbers below 10.

He has made lots of new friends after starting in a class where he only knew 1 other child and has settled really well after never being in a group bigger than 16 at nursery. They've done topics on apples, autumn and The Little Red Hen. He's also got confident eating in the dinner hall and going to assembly with the whole school (1 form entry primary) every day.

He comes home and tells me he loves his school which I think it fantastic .

I think that at this stage that they are all at different stages of development and some are reading fairly well and others don't even recognise letters and that is within one class. That will continue for a couple of years. At least you can aim the work at her stage. Probably the most significant shift for them has been getting used to having more children and fewer adults in the class so I would be looking for more opportunities to develop that - maybe holiday clubs, home education groups etc. As they are so varied at this stage hopefully by the time she gets a place she will still be within the normal variation of ability. You could also think about adding in RE - ds has enjoyed learning about Diwalli.

Charles ryder you so sounds very mathamatically able they dont expect 1-100 until end year one.

you sure you mean phase 4 as theres only 6stages .

we read one early reader
2-3nice stories a day as realise orts boring.

shes started blending some simple words

knows all individual sounds need work n double sounds.

dident want to introduce high frequency words too soon hence why held off term one.

will introduce 2-3week after half term.

we signed up reading eggs

she does games on c beebies
also teach my monster to read.

she can use her knife and fork
dress herself

shes done private day nursery 1 day week since 18moths only stopped in june.

did 2full years preschool as started her when she was 3.

she does 3mornings week nursery school nearby more social time break from me theres another little girl in same boat waiting for school place.
theres an early years practioner so qualified early years teacher in charge each class its fairly formal compared to preschool.shes had 2trainee teachers 2nd year uni on placement d extension work with her on letters numbers colours and shapes they say shes doing well.

I realise reception is broad spectrum amd shes older one in year.

her social skills very good she does brownies, gymnastics and cheer leading classes.

I know I cant exactly replicate whole reception class expereince but making sure basics covered in same way and order that schools do so when she does get place shes not behind.

like i say speaking to freinds some schools moving faster than others.

remember eldest now 8 had 4weeks part time she was 4.5 when started.she hd loads homework souunds, books witout words and fast words every week from beginning term where as her best mate dident do hardly anything until after xmas.

i do think my daughter finds it easier than eldest but she is 6months older and really keen to learn.

after half 5term plan do swimming once week, museums, outdoor iceskating as spent most last term park, nature walks woods and river.

i have n worries abut pe she does plenty activity.

not really had chance cover huge amount geography and history.

she learnt about eid and diwali in nursery.but mostly she just plays there they offer forest school and do cooking.

using cooking at home help with maths.

have lots of threading toys to help with fine motor skills which helps writing.

she has huge craft table in utility,

small back garden range toys including trampoline and pet rabbit.

my dining rooms starting resemble classroom with posters.

have 2bookcases with draws and one sideboard.

one bookcase houses toys by baskets by type

also has lots in bedrooms brio, duplo, dolls dress up.

home ed bookcase has draws divided by subjects and labelled.

have more books than local libary range encyclopedias abc counting books childrens atlases.

early reader books and lots stories.

activity books she loves.

phonics and writing.

access to supervised computer time on netbook.

Definitely phase 4 here x

thanks 3bunnies. we met up local home ed group when we can but many dont have structure or curriculum.

she loves her after school clubs.

we try maintain freind ships she had before they started school.

might try few holiday clubs if time goes on.

have defered her until jan in hope one of 4comes up.

plan cover judaism and christianity in december.

we very much led by calender and weather with topics.

will do big topics after christmas.
we attend church services eldests school has 3chrstmas advents and carol concert.

she did nativity crib service at church last year s do same again.

nursery and local childrens centre have many events did eid party few weeks back cookery and halloween this coming week.

few christmas activities and nursery trip look forward to.

plan take her city centre see festive play or panto as eldest school go every year.

this is stage 2 which we working on seems a lot to cover as ident want rush it wanted make sure she understood before moving on.

www.letters-and-sounds.com/phase-2.html

phase 4 is this

www.letters-and-sounds.com/phase-4.html

im amazed some schools got upto phase 4 when 8week term and some of that 4-6weeks were part time attendance

just googled and found this primary school guide

www.woodcoteprimary.croydon.sch.uk/downloads/SPR%2057%20-%20Woodcote_Primary_School_Parents_Phonics_Booklet[1].pdf

says phase 4 towards end of reception and 6stages coverers r and year 1.

It sounds as if you are doing loads - I wasn't trying to be critical. I think that at this stage you can achieve a lot more educationally on a one to one basis than 1 to 10 or more ratio. It is just the ability to wander around and not feel lost in a class of 30 which is hard to replicate. I wouldn't worry about the he group being unstructured - most of reception seems to be like that and I think that it is that which would be hardest to recreate.

no offence taken 3bunnies.

its not ideal situation but seemed best option for us.

just surprised how much phonics schools covered.

i cant exactly replicate school.

but can over curriculum and offer additional experiences that she may not get in school.

we all been plagued by sickness last few week and she seems shattered.

I don't think we are talking about the same "phases" - I was talking about the Jolly Phonics groups of letters. You mentioned you had done s, a, t and p at present, in the first group.

Sorry for any confusion caused!

I've just had a look on the jolly phonics website, and ds is on the 5th group of sounds (z, w, ng, v, oo, OO)

Letters & Sounds phases are very artificial (largely unnecessary) divides. Depending on the programme being followed it is perfectly possible for some children to cover phases 2-4 by early November of reception.

Louise when I taught Jolly Phonics in reception I looked to complete it just after half term roughly nine weeks.

thanks thats makes more sense we not drastically behind.

Introduction to Letters and Sounds Phase 2

Click here for our Phase 2 ResourcesClick here if you're looking for free, printable Phase 2 Resources.

In Phase 2, letters and their sounds are introduced one at a time. A set of letters is taught each week, in the following sequence:

Set 1: s, a, t, p
Set 2: i, n, m, d
Set 3: g, o, c, k
Set 4: ck, e, u, r
Set 5: h, b, f, ff, l, ll, ss

so set 4 phase 2.

we aiming one set a week.

will start couple high frequency words to after half term.

mrs z i could race through it all but pointless if she doesent remember or understand.

thinking of each stage as building blocks so master ne before move onto another.

eldests old school was particuarly speedy by end year r she still couldent read and went from child who loved books to hating reading.

we on jolly phonics workbooklet one.

have lots laminated resources.

I always thourght term 1 was about getting kids settled.

hats off to you getting through all 6stages with 30 kids.

I find it tricky just one as want to get literacy right.

Thanks mrz - looks like we are about on track then, just the 6th set of letters to go.

Ah ok then 3asabird - I just started talking about Jolly Phonics straight away assuming you'd knew what I meant, I thought I'd read you were following the Jolly Phonics scheme in your op, it's my own fault.

Jolly Phonics seems to have bigger groups of letters than Letters & Sounds.

Ok just seen your last post - which scheme is it you are using? Letters & Sounds or Jolly Phonics? Confused!

Yes, phase 4 letters and sounds. He pretty much had Phase 2 at the start so he's basically spent half a term learning diagraphs (ee, oo, ai etc). He is consolidating decoding longer words like 'cloudy' and 'cleaned' atm.

It's a small class and they have all been to structured pre-school so started 'ahead', however, as mrz says, it's not unusual in any Reception setting to have able readers.

im using mostly jolly phonics but was told letters and sound is good resource schools use.nursery school suggested we look at it,

jollylearning.co.uk/overview-about-jolly-phonics/

i hope complete next few sets by xmas and be able move on phase 3

have lots diferent phonics resources all sorts brands but school 1 uses jolly phonics hence why invested in workbooklets 1 2 and 3.also have the cards and found stuff you tube.

seems we few weeks behind school but last few weeks whole families had bug and lts different events and appointments.

im sure we catch up just confusing when every school does different programme and different pace.

not sure what preference 2 or 3 uses just going what eldest school does as they 1st choice.

spoken to few of her preschool freinds parents and they seem think they not done much.

her little mte goes to whats locally known locally as very academic oustanding ofsted top sats and they done loads.

I taught reception using Jolly Phonics from 1994 until 3 years ago when we switched to Sounds~Write. As Literacy coordinator I looked at many programmes including Letters & Sounds before deciding that S~W offered us the best possible programme for our pupils.

charles ryder is it state school or private.

very few of syds freinds can read.

most can write their name.
their preschool wasent overly academic or formal.

nursery schol she attends 3mornings a week is and hope move youngest there.

There is one little boy in eldest reception class whos amazingly bright and can read and write.

eldest was reception 30 and only 2-3could read before starting school.

she dident seem have any worded books until after xmas.

3asabird Letters & Sounds is a free document (which is why so many schools use it) but it has absolutely zero resources and provides zero training for staff (although some LEAs have provided watered down training).

mrs z its so confusing for parents so many different schemes.

nursery said starting her one school one scheme then moving her to another school that does another could set her back.

do schools get lot choice over what scheme they use?
or is it down to head or governers.

heard some negative about read write inc ruth miskin,

figured jolly phonics most common.

thourght letters and sunds website was alligned to uk foundation curriculum.

not heard of sound write before?

do you use specific reading schemeor try mix books.

we have usbourne, couple bug club, walker books lovely short stories, oxford reading tree and songbirds.

eldest just had ort and ancient ginn 360 when she was r and year 1.

surly the sequence of sounds fairly comparative.
i do get confused when p[eple say phonics and synthetic phonics.

I have been using letters and sounds as simple guideline in same way using ixl for maths curriculum to just ensure i sat on track and cover everything,
Im not a teacher im home educator and parent trying make most bad situation of no school place.