How to help prepare a summer born child for school?

[SummerSun1234]

DC2 will likely be the youngest in her year group. Any ideas on things I can do to help prepare her before she starts primary school and support her once she is there? Thanks in advance!

Does she go to nursery already? If yes, then it won't be a problem. If not, then I suggest signing her up for some classes where you leave her alone with the group so she learns to be separated from you and meet different people. My son is a lot younger then some kids, as he is in the French system and born end of October, so started school a year ahead of when he should be. There are some kids 14 months older then him. He was fine. The two weeks there were little mishaps of him getting wee on his trousers (a girl should be fine, for some boys its a little tricky the aim). It took him two weeks until he started eating the lunches, which again is normal for some kids. He did nursery previously so settled easily. Happy to go off and play. I was worried because he was starting a year earlier then he would in the British system, but he has done fine in terms of making friends and settling in. Although, I do not think he will read any time soon and my daughter was reading at the start of reception. Do not worry if your child does not read until later. All kids learn when they are ready. Of course help them, but do not force it. For example, my son is just learning phonics and not quite ready to read (maturity level) so I am not trying to force it until he is ready. This might not be for 6 more months to even a year more. Do not compare to others, just focus on your child and what the teacher says and as long as they are progressing and making improvements that is whats important. Also, its helpful if you can set up play dates with other kids before.

Practice getting dressed.

I agree practical skills around getting changed and looking after belongings are important to focus on. Also social skills such as waiting your turn, finding ways of joining others in games or asking a grown up for help if you're finding it hard.

I wouldn't worry about academics. DD (August born) could not read or write when she started but is doing very well now in year 1.

I didn't do anything academic wise but did make sure hey could dress themselves and wipe their bums properly. They are the youngest in the year, now year 2, and have been fine but were utterly utterly exhausted in the first term. They still liked to nap if they could get away with it.

Just the same as any other kid really - make sure she's on top of independence skills, and be excited about school with her.

Don't assume you have anything to worry about just because she's youngest. There's huge variation between individuals, both socially and academically. Higher and lower achievers academically in both DC's classes were pretty evenly spread through the year age-wise, even in reception. (I know we're probably not supposed to notice that but you can tell by who's in which shape/vehicle/animal groups!)

Ditto what cat says

Just don't worry about it. I am an end of August baby, and still managed to get 3 As at A level (35 years ago, when an A was a Real A) and a first class degree. I was okay socially, too. My DC are all summer babies too; one has been light years ahead academically, but useless socially, and the others have been academically ok and socially great. I don't think their birthdays have made a scrap of difference. What's more, I kept them all at home until they started school, and they seemed to survive that too...

My dd and her friend are August babies and amongst the smartest in their class so don't worry that a struggle is an inevitable issue

What I did realise just before she started skills was that her motor skills were not as developed as her cohort - and arguably are still behind looking at her handwriting lol . I spent much of the spring and summer making sure she could dress herself, wipe her bum etc and just avoided fussy clothing during reception - so no tights, just trousers or socks, no buckles on shoes only Velcro , that sort of thing

Firstly don't worry. My summer born has just started reception and she's doing absolutely fine. Academically and socially she's on a par with many of her slightly older peers and I didn't do anything in particular to prepare her, though I have to say her preschool where she did 15 hours were excellent in this respect. I completely agree with others who say it's practical and independence skills, if anything, you need to work on and it is these areas dd is a little bit behind - things like getting dressed for PE (she came home with her shorts still on under her trousers the other day!), remembering to pick up her water bottle and book bag at home time, and wiping herself properly after a poo (school did say they would support her with this but she doesn't like to ask and we often find skid marks). Even with these things though, remember that staff will be used to seeing a whole range of abilities and responding accordingly, just as they will on an academic and social level.

As others have said getting dressed, toileting, managing their food and knowing their whole name (eg Joseph bloggs not just joey-bo)
Don't worry about academics.
If your child can sit and listen to a story for 10 mins that is good too

DS was a late summer baby and did fine.

Tbh I think nursery did a lot to prepare him for school. He was a lot better at handling the transition than older children who’d never attended nursery.

He was used to spending the day without us and saying “goodbye” at the nursery/school door. He was able to be independent getting dressed and going to the toilet and understanding concepts like story time and sitting quietly etc