Worried about transition to Y1

[drspouse]

DS is in YR and at first absolutely loved school. Now it is a mixture of I'M NEVER GOING TO SCHOOL AGAIN and being fairly cheerful about going. In term 1 he was very well behaved, he went through a period of 2-3 time outs a week, he's getting a bit better but we still get requests for him to "come back tomorrow with his sensible head on".

He was a really keen reader to start with and he's still holding his own with skills when he feels like it - but it's a battle to get him to read daily. And though I think Reception has helped, he is not great at settling to one task, is very distractible and somewhat over-active.

He is a different child to the one that left nursery with major concerns around his behaviour (which they didn't bother to pass on to school) and he has improved at home also but he is still very hard work at home (we have moved from frequent hitting to much less frequent and mainly defiance/NO/shouting which is a relief at least), and I really really worry about him moving into Y1 with its very different expectations.

We chose the school he's at because Y1 seems more flexible but I'm worried it's not going to be flexible enough for him.

He's actually quite excited about going up to Y1 but he's reluctant to read with us, refuses to do his writing practice (he gets extra practice to do at home because his motor skills are poor but he hasn't done it for weeks), is struggling to behave appropriately around other children re. friendships (e.g. if someone doesn't want to play with him) and other things.

Please tell me I'm not alone! I just feel like he does understand most of what's expected of him at school but the novelty has worn off and he will have a rude awakening when Y1 is not all fun and games!

We are in a similar place. Better generally than nursery. But still significant behavioural issues.
Dd is still not 5 so is just not ready. Could do with another 2 terms reception. To make up for having less nursery than the others.

Her reading is fine (turquoise at home).
But writing below expectations as well as attention and behaviour.

Just hoping the structure of yr 1 helps and doesnt just make her really bored

DS does do well with clear expectations so fingers crossed that part does help him!

Ds didn't engage with reading until he was into Y1. He wasn't ready. He grew up a lot during Y1 and his behaviour at home and school, which wasn't awful but was impulsive, improved itself too.
Try not to worry!

Thanks Exploded, hard not to but I know I shouldn't!
I kind of feel like either we or school have put him off reading as he loved phonics in nursery and was happy trying to read earlier in the year.

Ds was in the top phonics group in YR term 1 and slowly slid down the process as it requires a bit more effort, concentration and perseverance. And then when he turned 6 he suddenly got it.

My daughter is now in y1 and some of your comments ring bells. She is currently in process of a dyspraxia diagnosis. Her main issues at school at poor fine motor skills causing issues with writing and difficulties in concentration and focusing on anything. I often get notes home about silliness. She also has sensory issues linked to this which means that she needs the stimulation of movement, she is very fidgety and is always moving. She also has poor gross motor skills (used to fall over constantly) and has poor body strength.

Ds found year 1 easier than year R. In his case he's got glue ear and really struggled with hearing and noise. In year R when they only ever did work in small groups while the ret played he found it really hard to concentrate. In year 1 when they often would all be doing work together he found it much better,
He's year 5 and apparently asked to be seated on his own to help his work.

DS is doing well in reception, but I'm dreading the transition to Y1 because everyone keeps telling us what a leap it in in terms of suddenly losing the play ethos, and sitting at desks learning things, which I think is insane for five year olds - I actually think they've covered an awful lot in reception already. Neither DH nor I grew up in this country, so have no experience of the education system.

Toomany that all sounds familiar.
And Exploded yep it's the concentration!

Mumchance Ours is a lot less like that which is kind of why we chose it - it's not a mad free for all but they have a lovely break out area between the two Y1 rooms and a few things like Home Corner for a bit of down time as well.

Extra writing practice? Poor kid! If his fine and gross motor skills need work to support his writing i suggest you ditch the writing and get him to do play-doh, play with plasticine, build stuff with lego or other construction toys, paint, draw, cut out, thread stuff. All things to give him the pre-writing skills like hand strength and dexterity that he needs to be able to write. Forcing him to do something he's not physically ready to do is kind of pointless and must bevery frustrating for him. Amazed the school's suggesting it tbh (and not in a good way).

We mainly do things like pre-writing - tracing, mazes etc. He's good at playdough type stuff, Lego etc. But I really feel like we have no time to do that sort of thing - it's just breakfast, school, after school club, tea, bed. Also he has a tendency to start something like drawing (which he also likes) but 60 seconds and one dinosaur later he's done. Trying to get time for some of that plus reading plus all the typical messing about just seems impossible!

DS is in YR and he has told me he's moving to Y1. They have already started the transition, talking about it and doing some of their lessons in Y1 classroom. It seems like a nice gentle approach over the next half term, then summer to get used to it. He came home really excited to tell me, then said it will be rubbish because they have no toys!!

I teach Year 1 and it's really common to see children settle more when they come to us. Some are ready to leave the more free curriculum and start a more structured approach. After nearly 10years it still amazes me to see!

Don't worry too much. Hope that helps x

DS2 is nearly at the end of Year 1 now.

He did ok in Reception but also struggled a bit with the noise and freedom to a certain extent-he just wanted to be outside the entire time.

I was so worried about Year 1 because I thought he would struggle with the structure but he has absolutely thrived.