Reception curriculum

[amyacq84]

This might be controversial but how early on can I ask the teachers about giving my son more challenging tasks??

I know they are still settling in but today they were learning about the number one and basic shapes likes triangles and squares. This is not from my son but from the school app. He was full time at nursery from 10 months so he's quite far beyond this stage.

I don't want to come across like a complete arse but I also don't want my son to become disruptive because he's bored.

Wondered if anyone else had any similar experiences with other children and how/when they addressed them.

I mean this nicely, but don’t. You’ll sound like a twat. Wait until they get their first reports just before half term. My DS has just started Reception, can read, can recognised numbers up to 100, can discuss complicated concepts. I’m leaving it until then.

Is he your first born? Because I think everyone tends to think their first born is a genius (I include myself in this) and then once you are a few terms in you realise that many kids are on par. If his favourite shape is a decahedron he can bring that in, the teachers will note it and talk about it.

My DD has also just started reception, she can read to a pretty high standard (starting to read basic chapter books), can add and subtract etc, likes to talk about space and the human body and evolution... I have no idea what they’re doing so far in reception but trust that they have experience in recognising children’s abilities and adjusting their work accordingly. It’s early days, they’re still finding their feet.

I don't think he's a genius by any stretch, I just know he's beyond learning about number one and looking around the classroom for triangle shapes! There's a big difference.

I'll hold off until half term, thanks

I wouldn't worry. My DS's reception class was the same. Almost all the kids had been in nursery, all knew numbers up to 100, basic addition, subtraction, shapes etc. Some knew a lot more. A lot of the maths is meant to be easy - it's also to practise writing, get them used to doing worksheets etc. When you have your first teacher consultation you can mention what your DS can do and the teacher will go from there.

The majority of the first term is about settling into school and getting to know the routines etc.

Due to the free preschool hours most reception kids know their numbers to 10 etc but they need to build their confidence in anew setting first. Going over the things they know is good revision.

Trust me, let them play this year, there is a big change when they get to year 1, lots more work and much less play.

Thanks for your replies. I didn't even know they got a report or consultation in the first term to be honest and I don't want to overstep any boundaries but also don't want to just leave it up to chance.

It makes sense that they go over material to build confidence so that helps me understand their teaching methods a bit more.

I think teachers are still getting to know the children. Our school asked the parents to hand in learning journey thingy from nursery/preschool and it took until after harm term to be returned. You will have the chance to speak to the teacher soon, at the first parent consultation anyway?

oops, cross psted!

We applied late as changed our minds on the school we had been offered so they didn't get to do the nursery visit. However I did make sure they had his latest learning assessment from nursery. Hopefully they at least had a look or photocopied it as I got it back after about two days!

Daughter in reception, reading fluently (seriously)... been in nursery since 4 months. Told me today a triangle has 6 sides and counted them to "prove it". She's exhausted from the curriculum as a whole which includes just learning to be a person... she may excel in some areas but piece it all together and they need a break. Go with the flow... the time will come for them to shine.

I think it's likely most/all would be able to count to at least 20. Can he do number bonds to 10 and count in 2,5,10s? Whether they differentiate will depend on the school. We slogged through books with the alphabet A-Z despite knowing it for years at that point. I think the issue is that the eyfs targets are quite low in some areas (certainly for sept borns who if in yr 1 would have been expected to be starting on partitioning numbers etc and number bonds to 20). The thing most kids, especially the youngest actually struggle with is the writing - something like 25% of summer born boys dont hit the eyfs target for that. I felt that dd would be able to meet almost all the eyfs targets at the start, so excluding the writing and number bonds etc. The writing took all year to master, the number bonds maybe a day. It's not really surprising some are already achieving the eyfs targets. In fact on day 1 they may be older (by maybe 2+ months) than some are when the assessments are made (5yo sept born vs 4.10 Aug born when assessed in about jun).

He can go up and down to and from 100, basic addition and subtraction and some multiplication (ten times table).

He's not a strong writer and can't read yet so it's all on the maths side I just don't want it to get to a point where he doesn't speak up and progress which may lead to him being disruptive as he has SOOOO much energy!

There's a big difference between recognising those plastic shapes that are clearly triangles and identifying triangular shaped things in and around their environment. In my experience, most reception children find this tricky even though their knowledge of shapes seems sound.

Hi I'm a reception teacher. Most schools spend this term getting to know the children. We are doing basic assessments with the children, though they probably wouldn't know this as we do it through play as much as possible. We are looking at shape this week also. Children come to reception with such vast and wide ranging abilities. It is far more important that we find out as much information about them in this term so that we can plan to meet their needs throughout the rest of the year. We are gradually building more structure into the school day by introducing Maths and Letters and Sounds sessions. The children also do lots of 'learning' without realising, for example writing their name when they arrive as part of registration. This becomes part of their routine but helps with letter formation etc. Your child's school is probably doing much the same. I'm not sure if the school uses Tapestry or a similar app but it may be useful for the teacher if you can contribute to their learning by showing what they have achieved at home. We love to get contributions from parents and I often use these to plan similar or extension activities for the children if I see that they are already capable of something I plan to do. Today the children have used shapes to create pictures and have then named the shape. I'd be looking on Tapestry to see if the child has named the shapes at home or even better can talk about their properties. If I saw they could do this I'd plan something this week that would stretch them further. I hope this gives you an insight and helps you a little.

My son (pfb) has just started year one and the teachers recently held a curriculum evening. They said we might think they are going over old ground or very basic stuff but their methods meant that when children examined small numbers in multiple ways, that held them in good stead for much more advanced maths later on. The big numbers all follow the same pattern, so if you really understand the first ten numbers in practical, pictorial and abstract ways you are set for life. I found it very helpful.

Additionally, I trust that they are able to teach at group and individual levels across the school week and that going over phonemes he already knows isn't going to stymie his undoubted genius

Also, does he understand/can explain the 'muchness' of numbers? Again many kids are great at reciting numbers but not always fully understanding their muchness iyswim.

If he can't read and write well yet, maybe you should focus on that rather than maths? My ds was really good with numbers and shapes, etc, so ds's reception teacher focused on showing workings rather than doing it it in his head, and doing word problems, which he was able to read but had no clue how to solve. In my ds's case, once teacher knew the ability of children, differentiation wasn't a problem in reception. Once he can read, he can progress a lot easier and faster using resources available at school and home.

Thanks @Monopo1y that's really helpful. Not the same but all I keep thinking about is my first year of university where everyone on a business course (mine was marketing) did the same modules which were basically a business studies gcse and a level. It was geared towards people that hadn't already studied business, unfortunately that meant I felt as though I didn't really learn anything that first year. I'm making parallels that I perhaps shouldn't and getting ahead of myself is a habit!

By the way, my reading chapter books, writing stories and doing number bonds reception child never did full time nursery, just the funded 15 hours at pre school from 3. So I’m not sure being in full time nursery from whatever age means they’re automatically going to be ahead of all the other children.

(She could read before she started pre school)

@soydora you sound like you may have an extremely bright one on your hands. I think there will be some non-nursery children that are naturally bright and usually have had some good input from their parents. However I do feel that on the whole when an already bright child is stimulated in a great nursery environment they will generally have the basics covered already. Coupled with the fact we had long car journeys where we were spotting shapes and practising maths and spelling means he is primed for learning even more.

In my experience (in my circle anyway), most SAHP’s cover the basics at home with their child. They’re also exposed to learning through going to groups, for example we have been going to a group since both DD’s were babies that teaches weekly phonics/shapes/colours. Both mine knew their colours from under 18 months as a result.

I was in your position at the start of Reception with my pfb, and would agree with the general message to ‘watch and wait’. It was so hard to sit back and do nothing! Three weeks into term, the teacher called me in for a chat.. I think my relationship with the teacher was much better as a result of me waiting for her to work out DD for herself. The only exception would be if your child were painfully shy and might not show what they can do, but even then I’d leave it a few weeks.

Be prepared for some surprises when you do meet with the teacher. We were told that DD lacked perseverance if she didn’t immediately ‘get’ something new, which is not uncommon with bright children but which we might not have noticed ourselves. Your first child starting school is a learning experience for the parents as well as the child!

Depending on the app, the school app isn’t necessarily going to show how work was differentiated to meet the needs of each individual child.

Also, there’s a difference between rote skills - counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication and having a deeper understanding of numbers and processes. The teacher needs to be able to assess where children are in terms of both rote skills and understanding. Being able to count to a million is only of limited use if you don’t really understand the ‘oneness of one’.