what should I expect from dd's first term in Reception and can I prepare her over summer?

[imaginaryfriend]

Dd's due to start Reception in the school where she's been full time in nursery since January and part time in nursery since the January before. So she's familiar with going to school, being there 9am-3.15pm, eating there etc.

She's very shy and reserved by nature and hasn't made an awful lot of friends although the girls in her class seem nice. Because she's very reserved she's tended to spend most of her time in nursery around the arts and crafts tables which I think won't be there so much in Reception.

Anyway what I wondered was what kind of structure they're likely to have (given that there will be variation school to school) in general, what sort of academic / social achievements are the goals of Reception? Are there any reading books or any other things I can get to help ease dd into the schedule?

Reception is learning through play so she will still be able to do that. I would help her with things to build her confidence. Make sure she can get her shoes and coat on and off, open her drinks bottle, go to the loo, etc and worry less about academic stuff. My second child is starting Reception in Sept too.

She can do all those things NAB3. I asked about the academic stuff because as she's shy she often doesn't speak up when they're having carpet time in nursery at the moment and I thought if I could boost her confidence through knowledge (she's a very academically-orientated child) she might feel more like joining in. Plus because she enjoys those kind of things it will be something pleasurable for the summer hols.

I'm not planning on green-housing her or anything!

If she's been at the nursery they'll have prepared her in many ways already. There will be less free play and more structure to her day (ie arts and craft activity at a set time only). Generally they seem to do "work" in the mornings so Literacy and Numeracy time and more relaxed activities such as pe after lunch. She'll gradually spend more time sitting and listening than just doing as she chooses.

Don't "prepare" her as such I think it is better fo they have an open mind,are independent with dressing ,toilet and eating, and enthusiastic to learn. It may help and be fun if you do little activities with her ie. collecting things and making a picture or reading to her, but that isn't strictly necessary. The same Foundation Stage goals and scales apply to Reception ,as to nursery and you'll find info and links on various threads this past week or ask the nursery staff for details.

I do lots of little activities with her, we're always busy doing things. I was more interested to know what kind of first books might be useful or even what kind of books they're likely to be given when they begin in Reception and what the final expectations will be by the end of Reception, i.e. what general level it is hoped they will have achieved.

I'll try to find some other threads on this. I don't think I've been clear enough in my opening post.

If you look at this you'll get an idea fo Oxofrd Readign tree levels and Year/Term but this is only indicative and your school amy nto even use the scheme. Otherwise Jolly Phonics are a good start if she hasn't come across it yet but you may find they go over it all in the first term and she'll become less keen. Playing games with money and counting is also useful.

Thanks LIZS.

I would say ensure she can dress herself confidently, toilet herself confidently

reception is mainly learning through play

I would make sure she just had a fun summer to be honest ..

how is she btw?

Don't worry about it. If your child has no special needs, I'll bet she has a ball.
Even my poor ds who has Aspergers and has really, really struggled this term, has made friends, and that is a huge achievement.
The rest of them have had, on the whole, a lovely time. Have a good summer, but don't be surprised (if she's your first child) if you start bursting into tears for no reason as the start of term looms - it's a big step!

(in reply to your OP, not much structure, not really different to nursery, you can look up goals but she'll be fine, there is nothing you need to do, it's OK)

At our meeting with my dd's reception teacher they said all the normal things - wiping own bottom, washing hands, doing up buttons, using knife and fork if eating school lunches.
Then if happy with all that move on to bead threading, play dough, lego etc to improve their fine motor skills ready for learning to write.
If your dd is shy is it worth having small groups of friends around, rather than just one at a time so she gets used to more people being around?
Also, we have arranged a meet up of the whole class just before term starts so they can all see each other again.

Oh yes, my ds's birthday is in Sept so I invited all his class to his birthday party. It was good way to meet all kids and all parents.

just dont pu any pressure on her
she will love it anyway. Spend the holidays making the most of having her still at home and doing fun things

Agree with most of what's been posted but I would keep practicing letter sounds in words through the summer so she doesn't forget it - assuming she's been doing it at pre-school? ie. 'What does Cat begin with'? "ca", very good, can you think of anything else that begins with 'ca'. Etc. And if she's good at that, try sounds that words end with. I only do this for a minute or two, and not everyday.

Can she hold a pencil properly? If not, practice that whilst doing arty stuff. Can she use scissors? Just for learning the action and maybe just snipping, nothing elaborate. And does she recognise her name? - if not, write or type it out large on a piece of paper and blu-tac it to her bedroom door.

That's pretty much all my reception teacher wanted last year, except for the dressing/going to the loo skills (and they do help if they have to). Most of the children couldn't write their name. didn't know the whole alphabet and had no reading skills.

Thanks for the responses. Lots of the things suggested here she's already had to deal with for a long while in the pre-school nursery there - having lunch, going to the toilet, dressing etc. She's also done lots of things like bead threading, bits of writing and number work, lots of drawing. As I said in the OP I'm not really worried about those things.

Ok, part of the problem is that she's had a very bad skin condition for the last 3 months (I wasn't going to mention it as I'm kind of trying to see her in terms of being like all the others) which is what Twigg was asking me about earlier on here- I've had numerous stressed out threads about it. It's been quite devastating for her and for us to see. Because of that her confidence is at an all-time low, I mean really low. She's naturally very reserved and not good at pushing herself forwards for something even when she can do it which is fine, just her character. I just feel, as her mum who wants to see her have a chance to 'soar' a little, that I'd like to give her a helping hand with her literacy before she heads into REception.

So I just wanted to know what kind of books I could look at with her. She enjoys it. I wouldn't dream of putting pressure on her. And we're planning on doing virtually nothing but bumming around in the woodlands where we live having picnics, riding bikes, etc. for the summer. She's had a very tough 6 months and she deserves a total chill-out.

So ... Any ideas for books?

Twigg- sorry I didn't answer your question, we saw the Famous Dermatologist again last Monday actually and he was disappointed that there hasn't been as much progress as he'd hoped. So another 2 months strong medication and we go back again. There have been other complications like her beautiful eyes becoming involved. I'm not going to go into it here though.

I just need to feel like I'm helping her at the moment. Maybe it's more for me than her. Humour me and tell me what to read with her? We've got a ton of story books and we make up picture stories all the time. She's mad keen to write. I just want her to feel really good at something. Other than being lovable.

Hi Imaginaryfriend. It sounds like your little one has had a tough time, and you. Is her skin condition likely to improve? I know my dd is very keen to be the same as every one else, so it must be hard for your dd to feel confident at the moment. I knoow what you mean about giving your dd a strength to hold on to which will hopefully help her gain in confidence.

Reading wise - our school doesn't follow a reading scheme at all, they concentrate on learning the letter sounds and some whole word recognition, and really focus on the meaning of what they are reading. Apparently books with a strong repetition are great as the children quickly learn and join in, also lots of rhyme. I'm going to start pointing out words when we are reading 'can you find 'the'' etc...

What about strengthening hand control, practising writing/colouring/cutting etc. Is she creative? Could you find an art group over the hols? This would help with the meeting new people...

The only other thing I can think of is (a bit controversial)... could you ensure she is up on current stuff like Lazytown, Barbie, lots of pink sparkly stuff, clothes etc so she has something that the others would like? Kudos I suppose. My dd is shy but desperately wants to fit in. What broke the ice for her was...wait for it... Disney Princess pants She is now in the thick of a group of 5 girls who sadly wont be going to school with her but at least she knows she can make friends.

HTH. Sorry for going on!

HCB her skin condition may well be chronic but hopefully will respond to treatments. There's still a possibility that's it's part of a larger more systemic condition but that's becoming more unlikely.

Well, the princess / pink / lazy town thing is something that totally separates dd from the other girls. She HATES it all, I mean she really hates it. She likes Scooby Doo, Spongebob Squarepants and Dr. Who. She's not a tomboy because she loves a lot of feminine things like pretty dresses and things for her hair but she will not under any circumstances wear pink or do dressing up.

She's very creative. We do tons of creative stuff together and both get lots out of it. And she's quite physical, her swimming class is one of her high points of the week and she's desperate to do gymnastics. She's most relaxed at home either drawing or doing gambols on the bed.

Hi,
I echo the others in saying the letter sounds and the alphabet, and counting skills.
The children in our class all get different books home depending on their level and ability, so hard to say what I can recommend. Do check out the oxford reading tree. Also, can she write the letters? They spend a lot of time on learning to write the letters and spell. I bought my son similar to THIS where he could write the letters on dry wipe boards and erase, some had dotted lines to make it easier for beginners. Galt has lots of fun and educational games.

I'd go with Oxford Reading Tree (the Magic Key ones with Kipper, Biff & Chip). Some people hate them but my DD has done better with these than other books. I don't like The Ladybird starter books very much but their 'Read It Yourself' series are good for more accomplished readers!

DD particular likes the ORT stories - and the fact that the books come in a series of stories about the same thing. She was always ahead of her age on the stories that we read to her, so going back to single-sentence per page books was a wee bit boring!

A big bookshop should have shelves of ORT, they're colour-coded into into ability. My DS1 who is just 4 is 'looking' at the Purple ones, which is level 2.

When DD1 started reception last year, we started learning to read by sounding out each word. Fairly soon she started to recognise short, often repeated words such as 'the', 'and', 'cat'. With DS1 I am reading the bulk of it myself, but pointing to the easier repeated words and helping him to sound them out.

Hope that helps. The teachers should help develop her confidence too. We have a couple of very shy girls in DD1s Reception and they're both coming along nicely. One recently got a head teachers award for 'contributing to class discussions'.

Thanks Duchess, that's really helpful.

She'll do well at school if she likes Dr Who! DD1 isn't anti-pink but she prefers Scooby, Harry Potter & Dr Who. She also claims to love Pirates of the Caribbean but she's only seen the clips they show in the Disney Store

Collecting Dr Who stickers & playing Dr Who Top Trumps is how DD1 is learning higher numbers! Her teacher is all for it since nothing else about numbers interests her!

about the pink thing. What about Spiderman - that seems to be good currency with many girls and boys? Also pretty things in the hair can be a big draw! Sounds really fickle but every little helps.
As she's good at physical stuff she'll hopefully feel at home in the playground. The staff should help her build up friendships. Also children notice things a lot less than adults. They may well ask her about her skin at first but will probably move onto getting to know her properly.
I'm terrified about dd starting school. For me too it has to be said. A lot of the mums look quite scary! Also my dd doesn't want me to leave her which should be fun!!!

Practice putting socks on! or tights if she'll be wearing them later in the year.

Practice doing up buttons on cardigans.

Practice with packed lunches, opening stuff, peeling bananas herself etc.

Prepare yourself to see some changes in her and for her to be exhausted for a while until she gets into the swing of it.

My DS just finishing reception year, can't believe it.

Dr. Who Top Trumps is a brilliant idea. She learnt quite a lot about numbers by reading the numbers on racing cars after seeing the Cars film!

Kbear, she's been in the pre-school nursery full-time so she's covered all those basic things. I just want to know about helping her socially and with literacy.

HCB she's already been with a lot of the children she'll be in Reception with while she's been in the nursery. She's had a few nasty run ins over her skin so we've already faced the worst in a way. I just want her to really 'excell' in some way to compensate. I'ts probably rather silly of me!

No its not. You'd walk over hot coals for her if you could....

What about Dr Seuss books? Lots of rhyme, repetition, and lots of fun?

Yes they are fun books, we've got a few of them.

I was thinking more of books she could have a go at 'reading' but I think I've got a few ideas here now.

Gosh yes, I'd do anything to help her feel better right now.