Is it normal for a child to learn nothing in reception?

[Aloha]

Because I don't think my ds has learned anything at all. He doesn't hate it. Most of the time he enjoys it. But I don't think he's learned anything.

yes agree with spykid

We have lots of Orchard books but not that one. I will add it to birthday list, thank you!

that book looks lovely

dd loves the Diana/Apollo/Orion story (lots of call for big melodrama - always v appealing to dd )

I love the look of the Orchard book Enid. DD is 4 and so into books at the moment (loves Roald Dahl) is it a bit too old for her do you think?

no dd2 listens too and enjoys the non-scary ones (she is 4)

DS (who I think is almost exactly the same age as your son, Aloha, as I think they had their 4th birthday parties on the same day) has really learned how to be himself.

I do tend to agree that particularly for the older ones there is not a marked difference in academic terms - I was thinking that earlier this week (although his handwriting is now really much better and in a different place from last year).

He is a bit geeky re facts and although is phenomonally vague re what he actually does at school is always coming out with Fascinating Facts which he is learning at school. His teacher says he is unquenchably inquisitive and they really feed that in him.

He also has his very own friends who he has chosen himself and who he likes independently of whether I like the mothers or not. And they really talk about things together.

ds handwriting is still absolutely appalling! Though maybe slightly more readable. He forms letters totally wrongly though. I want him to have a laptop type thing, as he can type well.

My son has learnt absoulutely tons in reception. He is more confident and independent. He is learning how to cope with nice children and some children who are not so nice.

His reading has improved a lot and he can now add and substract numbers. He has learnt to write and is learning to spell various words phonetically.

My son's school is extending the learning through play into year 1. I am very pleased about this. I don't think young children benefit from large amounts of formal learning. In many countries children do not start school until seven, yet they academically over take us.

I suppose my view is that it would be ok if he didn't start school until seven, but he is in school, every day so I think he should be learning stuff, for his own sake. I suppose the problem is large class sizes.

"ds handwriting is still absolutely appalling! Though maybe slightly more readable. He forms letters totally wrongly though. I want him to have a laptop type thing, as he can type well. "

My son has been refered to occupational therphy to get help with his handwriting. In our areas the child development centre runs a handwriting workshop. Prehaps your son would benefit from something similar.

My son could not even draw a circle at the start of the year. He can now form his letters although they are not always readable. He has made amazing progress with his writing, but it is holding him back.

If you son gets the laptop type thing will he still get made to practice his letters?

Aloha- is your son in a school which has really embraced the foundation curriculum? I will get shot down here by lots of foundation stage teachers who are very happy with its aims and objectives. Having taught it, albeit it only in a limited capacity I have a concern that in the han ds of some teachers it is licence not to introduce things that were previously readily taught in the first year of school. I wonder if that is the case for your ds and that whilst socially he needs the foundation stage; academically he needs the national curriculum and is well able to access it. The foundation curriculum has this huge emphasis on learning through play, but I wonder whether unless there is a skilled practioner on hand this may mean that some children, like your ds are in fact only learning what they already know. My ds was in a mixed class and so didn't get "true" foundation curriculum. What he got, ( and loved) was a diluted version of the topics being covered by his older classmates.
I would suggest that you look carefully at the foundation profile scores he is given and see whether there is progress across the year. Talk to the teacher about your concerns and how he will find year 1. I think he is g and t isn't he..
As Enid says, the curriculum wikll get a lot more engaging. Good luck.

He will have learnt stuff Aloha, chances are he's just not telling you!

Dh said to me the other day that he feels our ds has not learnt much, but before reception he could not read or write his name, so he has learnt the following:

To write his name (albeit very scruffy!)
To read basic words - Cat, Dog, Mat etc
He knows the name of the planets and that we revolve around teh sun etc
Lots about God/Jesus (it's a faith school)
Loads of songs and dances
Basic adding sums
Number bonds to ten
Mathematical terms - greater/less than/more than etc

Does it really matter if you have appalling handwriting though? I never handwrite anything except notes for my own consumption, otherwise I type, email or text!
He is supposed to be doing Write From The Start at school, which started well, and I saw an improvement, but not sure it is continuing. Must ask.
He is dyspraxic with motor plannign problems. And tbh even if he gets it right while practising individual letters, he still gets it wrong when writing words.

DSs didn't specifically "learn" anything in reception, and probably not in Y1. However, they actuallylearnt a lot. They seemed to absorb "important" stuff whlst learning about land snails, plants,animalhabitats and a whole host of other stuff. It was all based around their termly "context for learning" which linked into all the things they did.

DSs could never really tell me what they'd learnt but could say a lot about what they'd done and stuff like reading, writing and more complex maths problems all sprung from this. In fact, it's not until Y3 that DS1 has had what I would term "maths lessons" and "english lessons" IYSWIM. In infants it was all based on "challenges" which they did in any order they wanted - all were linked in some way but all taught something different.

My handwriting was always appalling in primary school. As are both DSs! DS1s begain to improve in Y2 and has dramatically improved in Y3 as they started to do "handwriting lessons" - I think they do it in conjunction with their weekly spellings.

dd did joined-up handwriting from word go. it was pretty appalling at start but now her writing is lovely, much neater and more legible than mine was say when I was 9 or 10
triangular pencils and yoropens are supposed to be good for helping handwriting technique aloha

I'm not being funny DrN, but ds could do all of that in nursery (he is at the older end of the class). His teacher from the beginning of recep is on maternity leave, otherwise I'd ask her what she thought he'd learned. Maybe he has learned stuff but he's not letting on!

I think the skills needed for neat handwriting probably overlap into other hand-based activities so I don't think a laptop thing would benefit your DS much.

But do you need hand based activities? I mean, really? I think handwriting is becoming really outdated.

With a computer ds can write stories and poems, which would be impossible for him with a pen and paper. I write for a living and yes, I scribble a lot of notes, but I primarily use my computer. And I use notes because I'm a bit of a technophobe and don't record my phone conversations.

Well my ds has just turned 5 and was not at all interested in learning before school. I am sure your ds is well where he should be, maybe reception seems like a slow year for the older/cleverer kids because they have to wait for the younger ones or those who didn't do nursery/pre school to catch up?

So they all enter year 1 on a similar footing?

But of course he will have learnt about the school system, rules, routines etc etc. All ready for more formal learning in year 1.

He sounds a poppet

You need handwriting for things like exams for a start

And writing cheques

erm

I think your DS would be at a huge disadvantage if he never learnt to write legibly with a pen(cil), Aloha. He'd be forced to become a doctor as his only available employment opportunity

to be completely frank aloha, when you have talked about your son's academic abilities on here they have been quite outstanding. Reception (as I know it anyway) is unlikely to teach him anything academic.

Now, you say he has problems with his handwriting. This is an area they could work on? And he doesn't like sport - I know he is dyspraxic but surely that is an area where he could feel that he has improved in?

MP, Cheques are disappearing and I can see a future where exams are done on a keyboard. I still believe legible handwriting is a plus though - not necessarily at reception age but later.