Reception child. What next?

[User4891]

She's in an incredibly good school that really support the kids to read well first and foremost. She's a very able reader. Not hyperlexic by any means but reads very fluently (sight reads most words even ones she hasn't seen before) and takes her next to no time to pick up new phonics sounds. Formally she's just finishing the phase 5 sounds in her folder (so the split diagraphs) although she's aware of some of the alternatives too eg s=c and g=j just from us chatting etc. She also recognises all her Reception and Y1 tricky words with ease. Her writing is also pretty good. She can write a couple of sentences fairly consitently. The spelling is questionable at times but mostly in keeping with her phonics knowledge which I realise is totally normal. We've been focussing on spelling her tricky words correctly as she has a habit of spelling these however she feels like even though she knows how they're meant to look. After working on this and a bit of prompting though she's getting much better with it. Her Maths is I think pretty good although she doesn't have quite as keen an interest in it as phonics so she can tend to give silly answers and resist figuring answers out. She can easily add and subtract small numbers though and is quite fluent with number bonds. She understands multiplication and can count in 2's, 10's and 5's when she feels like it

I don't work relentlessly with her at home but do like to do 10 minutes or so a day with her and I'm a bit stuck what to do next really. I feel like we should put the breaks a little on the reading (although still read her reading books of course) and focus a bit more on writing and spelling and maths to keep everything in line but I'm a bit stuck on quick burst activities for these things if that makes sense. Does anyone have any tips on little things I could be doing for her to keep her thriving? Thanks

What age is your child. If she's 5, 6 or 7 I'd be focusing on teaching her things like how to take turns, put shoes on & off, be creative, gather items from nature and make something that involves STEAM skills. These skills being supported at home are essential for development, along with things like following instructions, learning chores, folding, putting away, setting a table, helping with measuring & cooking, making a list, going to a shop, counting coins under 50p, listening to lots of types of stories, building friendships, discovering what she herself likes and enjoys, going to rainbows group, swimming, talking about things she likes. Learning how to answer different types of questions is a very specific cognitive skill that many children don't have. Find out about 'reading strategies' and teach her in play how to find different types of answers.

These are far more important than decoding spelling patterns, a good skill but not the same as reading skills and number skills. Enquiry tasks,critical thinking and feeling safe & confident is what builds intelligent and resilient children. Play opportunities and being happy at home are #1.

I've never thought about this TBH! I'm just going with the flow and encouraging the interest in the various usual 5yo things! I'm interested in the answers you get though in case I'm missing a trick.

My DD is also in reception and reading and writing really well. We don't really do anything specifically planned together but she likes to write stories which are often written quite phonetically but are definitely readable. We do lots of drawing and will have quizzes in the bath with numbers (at her request). We read books together and it's changed from me just reading to her looking at the words and working them out until she's read the majority of the book herself. My maths is shocking but we'll watch numberblocks and talk about what we see. Cooking helps with recognising numbers when we're measuring (and is science I suppose).

I'm reluctant to push her too much and want to keep it at her pace to stop her feeling overwhelmed and like it's 'work' ahead of time.

There's no reason to ease back on the reading if she is enjoying it, but you could broaden her range of books with some non-fiction books. Keep an eye out for guessing - she needs to use her phonics knowledge to read unfamiliar words, so encourage her to pause and work things out.

It's great that you enjoy some learning with her, but I'd suggest broadening the remit a bit - whilst it's nice to be 'on top' of things, it would be a shame if she already knew everything her teachers were trying to teach her. There are plenty of other things she could learn about.

Can she tell the time? Does she know about the lengths of months, what happens in the seasons? How about planting seeds and learning about what they need in order to grow? The human body, or learning about different animals and their habitats? Space? We liked the Usborne 'see inside' books for a bit of wider learning at that age.

Spending fun time with mummy, whatever that looks like, is golden.

Music lessons. They're loads of fun and as your DD seems to learn quickly she'll enjoy the challenge of reading music.

music, cookery - following recipes, map reading, planning day trips, shopping, including budget, costs, change, etc, and lots of bed time reading, read to her, but let her see and folllow the page

As the parent of a very able, very ahead of age group son who is 7, my advice to you - is to encourage chatting, sports, music, exploring and put a stop to the “it’s just 10 mins a day” extra tutoring you appear to be doing with your reception child. It’s unnecessary. I say this as the parent of a child who is miles ahead of Year 2 expectations - and none of that has come through “just 10 mins a day”.

You’ve had some brilliant suggestions already. How about jigsaws and board games as well, if you can find any of a suitable level

I would look at ways to apply what she already knows in fun / new ways: baking, sewing, arts and crafts, science / stem kits etc. could all involve reading instructions and using math.

music is also a great shout.

there’s not much point pushing ahead of the curriculum. I would look to deepen skills instead.

Games that involve strategy and logic can be really good - Catan Junior, Cluedo, Labyrinth, even chess.

This.

If she likes reading, the most useful thing you can do for her educationally is to read more with her. There’s no ceiling on reading good books, and the more she reads the more vocab and knowledge and ideas she’ll pick up. You can discuss the books with her.

Also there is nothing wrong with being engaged in your child and helping her for ten minutes a day with her education. It’s not exactly three hours of hot housing. Keep going.

Just play with her. She’s a very little child, who is already flying ahead academically. Does she have social/play skills?

DH and I are both teachers and have a reception age child who's doing really well with phonics and writing and maths too.

In free time at home we let her lead so she watches tv, plays with the pets, pokes around in the garden, draws and writes and cuts up paper and cardboard to make things. Her dad plays music to her and they discuss music and dance around a lot. They play piano and guitars together in a "band" but she doesn't have formal lessons yet. We read her bedtime stories every night and read to her on demand anytime she asks.

We don't push academic learning including not reading her school reading book or doing the phonics homework they send home if she doesn't feel like it. It's more important to us that she is enjoying everything and not pushed or hot housed. She's so little at just 5 and happiness and curiosity mean more to us than academic progress.

Your OP made me feel exhausted! I think you could keep what you're doing and just play and cuddle and mess about as well.