Reception: homework is not challenging enough

[Legomania]

DS started reception this year. His teacher sets 'Weekend challenges' which are starting to be phonics related. However DS can already read fluently. Do I try to extend the task somehow (he can also write/spell them)? Think of an entirely different challenge eg doing up buttons? It feels a bit premature to speak with the teacher, especially if it's basically a consolidation exercise. I'm guessing this won't be a one-off.

@Legomania

I know reception is not exactly pedal to the metal time but I want him to get into the habit of having to try a bit, so he doesn't get a horrible shock somewhere down the line.

This attitude is flawed. If he doesn't need to do the homework, he doesn't need to do the homework.

Why would I purposefully create a problem now, just in case there was a problem later????

For one of our children, school work never got hard for them. That is how it is for some people.

If your child can do it already, be grateful and use the time for something else. And say nothing to the other parents.

The US election at reception age ?!

Crickey.

My Dgd could read write and do simple maths before reception. If yr child shows he's bored get him books on things he's interested in other than school work and make it fun. They have years and years of academia ahead of them. Let children explore their world and enjoy it in a way that is not a task. Pushing yr child too much is not a good idea especially too early. Education has to be enjoyable not a task.

Thanks to whoever mentioned hyperlexia. Never heard of it before. My eldest pretty much taught himself to read by the age of five, but I don't always think he fully takes it in. He has other ASD traits. I also taught myself to read and could read by 4.

Phonics stuff is worth revising because of spelling rather than reading if he's already reading well. My DD took to reading so we do extend her homework and reading. She was asked to read for 10 mins a day so we do one chapter of whatever book she's reading to us. She has books she reads at her own pace to herself but we think reading out loud to us everyday is most important at the moment.

I had read all the classics by the time I was 8. Am I super intelligent? No. I did it because I was interested. I had a musical talent and was pushed and pushed and pushed to perform here and there, represent school county country blah blah to the point that I no longer enjoyed music. And my real love ( which was art and literature) was totally ignored by my adopted family, school and everyone else because my musical talent would bring more prestige for THEM. So one day I threw away my talent to become and do what I wanted to do for MY benefit. Believe me I have seen so many pushy parents and unhappy children in all spheres.( Even in local swimming club when I used to take Dgd) that I'm a great believer in allowing children to develop their own talents at their own speed.

There’s loads of things he could be doing.
Playing? My Ds would play something involving superheroes for hours.. all good for using imagination, independence etc
Go outside - park, monkey bars, bike, scooter, nature walk, bonfire, feed ducks, make a bug hotel
Go to hobby craft and pick up a load of activities - threading/sewing, painting and drawing stuff, sticker mosaics, colouring. Make Xmas decorations.
Baking, listening to music, writing a letter to someone.

To be honest I’m a bit confused by your post- not sure if you just want people to praise you on your child being bright, surely you know what he’s capable of and know how to stretch him without asking for more homework?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlexia

If he can fully read in reception but can't do buttons I would have suspicions for ASD tbh....

Maybe focus at home on social and life skills like buttons, telling the time etc. But hyperlexic children have an excellent word decoding ability but a poor understanding of what they have read. Maybe talk through the stories with him?

My reception aged DD is ahead, she is just starting to read and write a few words independently but can also fully dress herself, do maths, is good socially etc. I wouldn't worry about 'challenging' him, rather make sure he isn't lagging in any areas and is happy. A love of learning will carry you much further in life than being a year or two ahead in reception.

I was hyperlexic. I have often wondered about asd...

I don't think reading fluently at reception is indicative of hyperlexia. My DD class of 30 had at least 10 children who could read chapter books by the end of the first term. This probably does reflect the families who are very academic in general and there are quite a few September-borns where the parents have spent the last year of nursery getting them to read fluently.

Early primary homework was also very easy for my older 3 and yes I just extended it a bit. For phonics it is easy to do - tell him to write a sentence or come up with a few words of the relevant phoneme in a little exercise book and give him a sticker. I have always believed in doing and following what the school does, just so they get in the habit. My DS read most the Harry Potter books age 4, we know lots of very early fluent readers. And yes he did understand a lot of it. He continued to love reading and tends to always get 100 per cent in reading comprehensions and spellings. But I still wanted him to be good at phonics and his handwriting wasn’t great until year 1 so a bit of writing was good for him.

Is he able to spell the words with the phonics in? Often children can read way before they are able to use the correct phonic blend consistently in their spellings.

Recognising words and reading are different things.

For example, my DD could recognise the word 'Easter' when she was barely 3 - she loved watching easter egg hunt videos on youtube, so new that's what it meant. But she didn't 'read' it, it was just pattern recognition, in the same way she knew what her favourite chocolate bars looked like, she didn't 'read' the wrapping.
Actually working out a word using the letters and sounds is very different, and she is just starting to do this. But she can 'recognise' many words, Mummy, Daddy, etc on a page simply because we have read to her so much and she knows what that pattern means. It's a different thing entirely.

I wouldn’t worry about the ‘learning how to learn’ stuff at school - if he’s bright it’ll carry on being easy so you’ll need to look elsewhere anyway. My DC never revised for a primary school spelling test, for example, and still got them all right. I find challenge for them outside school - music (instruments, singing, theory), sport, drama, dance, chess club etc. That’s where they learn to fail, try again, work hard at something etc.

The delightful thing about finding school work easy, and primary school days being so short, is that it leaves tons of time for other activities and interests. So take advantage of that.

We had the coverage on and it was literally 'there is a red team and a blue team' and the names of the 'teams' and 'team leaders' , first one to 270 points wins, not the intricacies of the Constitution or anything!

Sorry ^^ was meant to quote @Tinacollada

@Happymum12345

Is he able to spell the words with the phonics in? Often children can read way before they are able to use the correct phonic blend consistently in their spellings.

He can at the moment because it's words like 'to' and 'no' but his spelling is nowhere near his reading level, as you say. So the phonics teaching will definitely be useful for spelling.

There are some extreme reactions on this thread. Telling op she doesn't go outside enough, to leave his precious time alone, judging every aspect of her parenting. She sounds like a perfectly normal parent engaging with her wee boy and doing perfectly normal things.

My eldest (now in her 20s) was amazing at reading, writing and spelling when she was in reception. She struggled more with the comprehension so we had to work a lot on that. No point just being able to read without really understanding what is going on. We do think she has some ASD traits that we are only picking up on now it is more out in the open. She was always very black and white, hand flapped a lot as a young child. She struggles socially and was a joy at school and then came home and had horrific meltdowns, like she had held it in all day. She has a good job and life now but I really do wish we had picked up on it earlier.

You need to let your child just learn through play, do not up the level of homework etc..... let him play independently, let him run about and get muddy.

Why does everyone these days think getting muddy is a desirable trait and worth something? My DDs hated getting muddy. They played imaginative games on our woods but that didn’t involve getting muddy. I know some boys who have hated mud. Can’t we just let DC find their own level of play without dictating to parents what it should be? I’ve no idea why getting muddy appeals. It no punt does to some dc but certainly not others. Is it some sort of throwback to an earlier age when dc wandered off to play all day without parental intervention? I’m old enough to have done that but even then we were not keen on mud. We played in barns, in fields, we even played on building sites and the railway sidings! Running about is great to use up energy but we were far more adventurous by the time we rode our first bikes at 6!

DD doesn't get homework in Reception

Kids don't need to be having homework so early. Just do other activities at home, art, reading other books, exercise or just playing with toys!

In the nicest possible way, chill. He's 5. It doesn't matter. Just encourage reading and talk to him.

My kids are older now and I really regret the amount of time I wasted sweating the small stuff like this.

@PresentingPercy

Why does everyone these days think getting muddy is a desirable trait and worth something? My DDs hated getting muddy. They played imaginative games on our woods but that didn’t involve getting muddy. I know some boys who have hated mud. Can’t we just let DC find their own level of play without dictating to parents what it should be? I’ve no idea why getting muddy appeals. It no punt does to some dc but certainly not others. Is it some sort of throwback to an earlier age when dc wandered off to play all day without parental intervention? I’m old enough to have done that but even then we were not keen on mud. We played in barns, in fields, we even played on building sites and the railway sidings! Running about is great to use up energy but we were far more adventurous by the time we rode our first bikes at 6!

Isn't mud supposed to be good for the immune system?

No, of course you're right - I take comments about kids and mud being more that they should be allowed to do activities liable to result in being dirty and dishevelled. DD once commented sadly on a friend who had lots of designer clothes but nothing she was allowed to get muddy in - rather an extreme case, I hope!

Reading has nothing to do with autism or buttons. What on earth is going on here...

@Bellesavage

I don't think reading fluently at reception is indicative of hyperlexia. My DD class of 30 had at least 10 children who could read chapter books by the end of the first term. This probably does reflect the families who are very academic in general and there are quite a few September-borns where the parents have spent the last year of nursery getting them to read fluently.

Whereas in a normal school, you might have a 3rd of the class reading chapter books by the end of Year 2...