Reception teachers - what do YOU think is important for a child to know when they start school .

[Themis]

I work at a playgroup and I have two children myself YrR & Yr1 . I was going to write a small piece for some of the 'first ' time school parents about what they & their children should know before starting school.

Eg - social skills for the child , being able to dress & go to the toilet etc.

As a Reception teacher what do YOU ( not your school or governement) want a new child to be able to do and how do you want the parents to behave on first day.

this will also be good evidence for me for my NVQ.

many thanks

What a good idea "Themis" perhaps a reminder that little boys are better off in pull up trousers not buttons and zip ones. They can take an age when new and child is in a hurry!

Greensleeves - I probably didn't word that right. I meant for normal word and sentence construction. Of course if they can understand the rules for capital letters there's no reason why they shouldn't be taught them at home.

I don't believe that anybody in education would seriously want parents to hold their children back to make it easier for them to teach, but sometimes it's difficult for children to accept another way of learning if they have been taught differently at home. Also makes it harder for a teacher to assess if and where the child needs help.

Sadly there are many teachers who openly prefer parents not to "interfere" by teaching their chilren anything at all academically before school starts. I think it's a bit off, personally, although I'm not in favour of hot-housing and driving little children to learn everything in the first five minutes either. Although I think this tendency isn't as prevalent as it used to be, and I do take the point about children being taught different ways of learning and getting confused/stuck.

Some children though (my ds for example) demand and want to learn to read and write, because they correctly surmise that there is a new level of power and autonomy available to them if they master these skills

I'm not anti-teacher, wheresthehamster, far from it. I just don't like this particular attitude some teachers show towards parents teaching reading/writing before school starts.

I agree. I would have been horrified if someone had told me not to teach my children anything before they started school. Thankfully our school is not like that.

Our school actively encourages parents to stay around in reception because we have to do their morning work with them, ie. before register work. Bit of a pain to be honest especially if their are younger siblings.
Also, went to a writing evening at school last week and were told not to let our children do any formal writing at home before they start school . Bit hard when you have ds3 at home wanting to write like is elder brother and sister.

As a Y1 teacher, I would never want a parent to hold a child back, nor would I want parents to not teach their child anything (how could they not!) but it is difficult if a child is taught something that is contrary to what they are taught in school.
For example, several parents have taught some of my children the alphabet, which is useful for the child to know, but has hindered the child terribly when it comes to reading, because they have been taught the letter name instead of the letter sound. We are 3/4 of the way through the year, and I still have some children stuck on blending sounds because when they sound a word out, they can't make any sense of 'see' 'aayyy' 'tee' (cat), as opposed to 'cuh' 'ah' 'tuh'. (Sorry, doesn't really work when typed). Does that make sense?

I've taught ds1 the names of the letters and the sounds they make, as in "see" says "c" (try not to say "cur" or "dur" because it makes it harder to sound out). He knows that the letter "see" says "c" and the capital is C and the little letter is c, and that you use the big one when it's the start of a sentence or a name. We've done this with him because he's a very driven, highly-strung little boy who loves words, and he wanted to be taught it. He knew all his letters etc by the time he was 2. DS2 is 2.9 and knows jack shit about reading , because he's not so bothered about it, although I have caught ds1 teaching him to write his name/shopping lists/various things, which I thought was sweet and lovely in the same way as when he teaches him to kick a football into the goal or extract the good bit from a custard cream

I think there is too much angst around infant education generally. The stage/age at which children 'do things' is so utterly immaterial in the long term. I think we convince ourselves that it must be evidence of something because as conditioned participants in an achievement-driven capitalist society, we need material evidence and targets and labels. Our children thankfully are blissfully unencumbered by this nonsense, until they go to school.

there I go again, pontificating like an arsehole , sorry folks

Themis, this is great topic to raise and the responses do show that parents aren't clear on what children should know before starting school.

This does amaze me really for a number of reasons:

• if schools would find it much easier if children knew these things, why aren't they sending out a little list 6 months/1 year before letting parents knowing and giving them the chance to ensure their children are able to do these things.

• if most children are attending pre-school and there is a set early years learning goals list that includes these things why aren't parents given a copy of this list early on and actively involved in the progress of the child (my pre-school doesn't do this and maybe some do this so sorry if I have this wrong).

• if these things are on the early years learning list why aren't they 'taught' at pre-school, again I know for a fact that they aren't at my DDs pre-school because the children just do what they like all the time.

Lastly, I agree with Greensleaves in that I do feel that teachers don't want children too far ahead when they start school and can be critical if a child is doing bits and pieces at home. My DD has also shown a big interest in words and numbers and we by no means are hothousing her, just answering her questions and encouraging her.

I get really miffed when people say we are "hothousing" ds1.

1)He is in no way a tomato

2. I wouldn't know how

3. He and I have better things to do

Greensleaves, apologies I wasn't referring to you at all when I wrote my bit. I have read a number of threads recently from people talking about what they are doing with their children and other people in respone have mentioned hothousing or used a word like it and I was referring to that. Like you, I don't like it and have other things to do!

Oh, no, sweetheart, I didn't think you were referring to me!!! I just meant I had come across the term "hothousing" myself, and been 'suspected' of it because ds1 is very into reading . I agreed with most of what you said in your post

I am so glad I found this thread. Ds is only 3.5, so doesn't start school until next sept(08), but I didn't even know that they were supposed to be able to wipe their own bottom.
I have been looking at old threads - pinkchicks "prepare" and oliveoils "settle in" threads aswell.
I have made mental list, so that I can discuss with dh, to do over the next year, in preperation.
I don't want to bombard him with things he has to learn, now, or all in one go.
I might start with shoes - he likes putting velcro ones on, so that is good, but he normally gets them on the wrong foot - I wonder how to teach him ???
Then knife and fork - he does it a bit, and at nursery, but often fingers.
Zips and buttons.
He can't open a banana, or crisps, or a youghurt.I think the nursery encourage writing his own name on his pictures, but later, not yet.
I might leave wiping bottom till later - it is quite a tricky skill - do you think that is best ?
Any advice appreciated

Bump

Oblomov - I think bottom wiping should be started asap as it might take him some time to get it right and you don't want to rush him later.

Shoes you can write inside L & R with perm marker?

Always give him cutlery and encourage him to use them in the end he will use them more often than not.

Whenever you have to go out try to allow an extra 15mins to assist him doing his own coat, shoes etc

Get him an etch a sketch to teach him to write his own name i did this with ex-mindee and he loved it and could write his own name before he left me.

Bottom wiping is ds's homework for the summer hols LOL

At his meeting the other week, they did say they would like it if the child could use a knife and fork, but there is no way ds can use a knife, he just can;t. I will get him to try again though.

He can recognise his name, but sometimes mistakes M for H. He cannot write one single bit, or draw, but his new teacher is aware of this and said not to worry for now.

DS#2 can do all those things but he can't write his name although he does recognise it written.

I'm terribly lazy I'm afraid DD was much further on towards reading when she started school but that was only because she was desperate to learn. DS#1 and DS# were simply not interested.

I asked DS1s future reception teacher this last week. she said at the very least they should be able to at least 90% dress them selves, they should recognise their name even if they can't write it and they should be able to go to the toilet themselves and all that is associated with it (wiping bottoms,washing hands etc)

They are accomodating of different abilities and tbh their abilities at reception intake are so different anyway.

sorry not read all the thread so i,m sorry if i,m repeating anything if your child is in nursery then each child should have there own profile covering the six areas of development, which is then past on to the school this includes lots of things to start your child of in school well .But what it dosnt cover is bottom wiping this is very hard task for most young children.

you can ask the nursery teachers for a copy of a profile if that would help to understand what they expect a child to be able to do upto the end of reception.

At the boys school, they must be able to wriote name both in caps and in lower case; read name; count to twenty; undress and dress (NO help will be offered! as they say), eat their apcked lunches without asking for help with lids etc

Ds3 cant even keep himself dry!

really Peachy, blimey.

Thats was at what they said they should be able to do, not your ds not being able to dry himself.

My ds can;t dry himself either.

(sorry by dry I meant tpilet trained)

(and I knew NC LOL, at least we skipped the lecture forbidding TV's in bedrroms- we don't have them actually but there's a limit!)