August born starting school sept 2015

[BingBong36]

My Ds is starting school in September 2015 and I am feeling increasingly anxious about how he will cope and the stigma attached to summer children falling behind.

How did your summer borns get on at school and how can I help him prepare? He is at a very good preschool and I am teaching him all of his letters which is going well. Anything else?

I know reception is playbased and tbh I'm more concerned about year 1 onwards....

Thanks

My late August born DS is currently in reception and I have to confess that this time last year I was terrified. However they can change a lot in 8 months. He's settled well, has lots of friends and is doing okay academically. The thing that's been hardest is the exhaustion. He was still napping 3-4 times a week just before he started school despite me trying to cut it down. We did one half day on the Wednesday and he'd sleep all afternoon then nap at the weekends. We stopped at half term which felt slightly early but gave a clear boundary. He's also struggled being away from family and home so much (despite having a few full days at preschool before). We're trying to get better at finding ways to give him one to one time away from his little sister. Some of this feels like it's related to his age but i do know older children who've struggled to settle and find the first year exhausting. All children are different and age is only one variable. It's just hard not to worry about the age thing isn't it? Good luck.

I have a 6.5 yo DS1 whose birthday is right at the end of August. Lots to echo what others have said - academically he's never had a problem and keeps up with the others just fine. Physically he's tall so never had a problem in that respect. Socially he's always found nice friends - especially in Reception he was more immature than some of the others but interestingly recently (Year 2 now) he has expanded his friendship group and started playing with others - maybe he's caught up a bit in that respect. We did have problems with concentration - sitting on the carpet and listening, not shouting out the answers etc. He's a bit of a livewire anyway and a bit of a show-off so that may well contribute to it too! I was lucky that he had a great teacher in Reception who went out of her way to tell me about any problems, what she was doing to help and what I could do. Similarly in Year 1, although he'd started to settle down by then. Now he's in Year 2 - he still has a bit of extra help for his concentration/behaviour (sticker charts etc.) but other than that he's doing fine - good marks, reading etc. and popular, with lots of friends. And surprisingly popular with his teachers too, even though he can obviously be a pain...

My best mate at uni was 31 August and she got a 2:1 and a good job. And, as I always point out to DS1, he shares his birthday with astronaut Chris Hadfield who is both very clever and extremely cool

artifarti, is the help for his concentration at school? orbis it something that you do at home? My 6.5 year old ds needs a bit of help with that.

Leo - yes, it is at school. There's the sticker chart (which actually my DS isn't that into but works very well for his friend). Also some of them go out for 15 minutes once a week with a guy who emphasises social skills (my DS is much better on the carpet now but still not great at putting his hand up and not shouting out). Have you spoken with his teacher?

As others have suggested, try to ensure your child can dress and use the toilet independently, can take turns, follow simple instructions and share. 'Numbersense' is more important than recognising number symbols (so can count 7 smarties in a pile but may not recognise the number 7 for example). Try not to show any sign of worrying about his age. My August born DD is now about average in her Y2 class but refused to pick up a pen and write until half way through reception! Do lots of exercise that encourages gross motor skills.
Statistically, summer borns don't do as well on average as autumn borns but that's only on average. The youngest child in my Y6 class is in the top 3 whereas the oldest is definitely in the bottom 3!

Oh and read read read with him.