How are your reception starters really doing?

[Windflower92]

So DD1 has just started reception at a lovely school. We've got a fb group with most of the parents and everyone is lovely. At pre school DD was very sociable and seemed to have lots of friends. However each day she's been in (3 full days a week) she's said she doesn't want to play with anyone and they're too loud. She said she's told people she doesn't want to play with them and wants to play on her own. I've spoken to one of the mums who says that her daughter plays with my daughter, so I don't know what really goes on obviously! Is this normal? Everyone on the fb group says how amazing everything is and how their kid has so many friends and is loving it, so I feel like mine is the only one not really liking it much! Can anyone share how their child is getting on without sugar coating it and just saying it's amazing? No one does that in real life!

Mine is a summer born boy.

He is ok. He sometimes clings at dropoff but he kinda always has.

He sometimes says no one played with him but he definitely also has friends.

He struggles a bit the day he does swimming after school but otherwise he is fine, even when he is there 8-6 in wraparound

I've seen a huge change in the last week or so. Today DS named almost all of his classmates and told me he had 100 friends at school. He also said he liked his teacher more than me which I'll take as a good sign. He's writing and drawing has come on hugely too. We're definitely getting a little 'attitude' but it's fun/cheeky comments which I think he must be learning from some of the slightly older children. Definitely looking forward to half term though and having a bit more time with him.

For what it's worth, I spoke with the Deputy Head last week about how DS was settling and he said that the thing that really helps all the kids make friends and come together is all the Christmas activities they do in the second half of the term. It's chaos apparently but a real bonding experience for them.

Dc always love Christmas. However it’s the end of a very long term - be prepared! Some don’t cope too well.

Today I’ve had “ohhh I wish I was going to school today!”
I’d love to make friends with a few more of parents but I do feel like a bit of an oursider, I’ll try and chat a bit more at the school pick up but everyone is either scrolling on phones or chatting in groups already when I arrive (tightly formed circles!)

@FSGirl Join the pta? Get active (a bit) in the school? It’s the only way I really met people but I did invite Dc to tea after DDs decided who!

My DS is spring born so still only 4.5. We had a wobbly first few weeks, lots of tears, that seems to have settled and he’s happy in the classroom.

He is Struggling a bit at playtimes though, he has a couple of friends,
but has always liked his own space, and I think some of the boisterous play gets a bit much for him and he’s lashing out - not hitting or anything but getting angry and the playtime supervisor has to intervene. I hope it’s short lived but he has always had an Gary streak!

DD is exhausted; lots of meltdowns. She’s not enjoying it the way she did nursery. According to her teachers at parents evening, she’s a delight, a pro, great at listening, really responding, 10/10 no notes. The payoff of all this obedience and concentration at school is at home she’s a menace. We’ve had the same as you from other parents, lots of chat of friendships, whereas DD claims she cries every day and misses us and has no friends.

She did open up a bit today (after a demonic morning) about how hard it is to not be wiggly eg in the lunch queue, or to be told she’s a good listener because “then I can never be the one who isn’t a good listener”. I think it’s just a big leap from open play at nursery to more structure, and she’s naturally quite a rule follower and anxious about breaking rules. Plus so much homework! Read three times a week, phonics twice a week, worksheet or activity… she’s far too tired after school (she’s in wraparound care so finishes at 5.15), and resents doing it at the weekend when there’s playground and play dates and birthday parties and siblings and baking. I don’t blame her!

That feels a lot of homework compared to here - we get a phonics sheet on Fridays and a book or two in the week but there's no reading record or anything (so far!) and nowhere to log what has/hasn't been done.

That does sound like a lot of homework, we just get one phonics sheet on Fridays and a book per week as well. We quickly check on the phonics at some point over the weekend (sitting waiting for food at a cafe today), and make the book our bedtime book for a couple of nights.

Mine is starting to settle but is still struggling a bit, really tired still and very clingy with me.

We also just get a weekly list of the phonics he's learnt at school and a list of some words to practice. We don't spend more than a few minutes a week doing it.

I think we're very much on the countdown to half term now. DS seems very tired.

My DC is summer born and has started reception at 5 so she is the oldest in her class. She's enjoying school although the initial novelty of it all has worn off and she's not quite so enthusiastic about it anymore, including her homework. She seems to have made quite a few friends and I see plenty of the children call out to her at pick up and drop off which is nice to see. She is going to a birthday party soon so I will be very interested to see how she gets on at that. She is very tired from school even as the eldest, I know on this point alone she she wouldnt have coped well had I sent her last year. We often have to wake her up in the mornings and she frequently looks absolutely exhausted, her often grumpy behaviour shows that too.

Loves school but awful after pick up. Meltdowns and demanding junk food! Throws shoes off outside gate.

My DS really likes going to school, thanks goodness! He waltzes in every morning without a bother. He has hit it off with a few of the boys in the class and it probably helps that he has just turned 5 so is one of the older children in the class.

However, his sleep has been really disturbed and he is waking quite a lot at night. I'm exhausted! It started about 2 weeks before school and is calming down. He was waking 4/5 times and now it's just once or twice a night.

Mine is waking at night a lot too. It's a horrible shock after two years of sleeping through! 😳

Right! How did we cope before?

The sleep thing reminds me a bit of when DS was a baby and would sleep terribly and then suddenly have learnt to walk or talk. I have noticed so much improvement over the last 6 weeks in almost all aspects of DS' development that his brain must be working overtime to keep up.

Interesting thread - does everyone have homework? We don’t have any. We have our second parents evening this week so I’ll ask if there is anything we should be doing. Mine is really missing the afternoon tea nursery used to give about 2.30, I now send a lunch bag of snacks to have at the start of afterschool club which has helped. Hasn’t helped that we are on our fourth illness already!

We also sent our son at 5 so he's the oldest by a couple of weeks. He seems to be enjoying it and from the teacher's perspective he's settled nicely. I'm not sure about any budding friendships although he has started saying a few children's names more often.

He's definitely hungry and tired after school and falls asleep most days in the car. I do think he's benefitted from the extra year at nursery though as he would have had so many meltdowns if we'd sent him last year but we've only had a couple so far. He's looking forward to the half term though.

There's a fair at the school in the next half term so I'll get to scope out the friendships there and start doing some play date invites.

He doesn't have homework just a reading book that gets changed 2/3 times a week.

We have had a reading book each week and a sheet with 7-10 phonics videos on it each week to be read and watched within the week. That's since week 2. And then this week we got an additional sheet with more phonics/reading on it too which I presume will also now continue weekly.

I was surprised at the volume and we do already find it not the easiest to fit it all in, particularly if we have a busy weekend or there is any illness in the family. We are on illness 2 here. She missed one day of school recently due to a sickness bug 48hr rule.

My little one is an August born, had discussed deferring entry but school convinced us LO would be better off resitting Reception class than another year in nursery. LO is likely autistic (awaiting assessment) very hyperactive and impulsive and is working at 16-26 months in a number of areas including communication and understanding of the world (though ahead in physical development and tech apparently).
School start has been a negative experience for us parents compared to LO's older siblings, for whom starting school was a breeze. Twice we've had to collect early as school are struggling to manage the impusivity, apparently a couple of meltdowns in school, this despite having almost full time specialist 1:1 support, and school have suggested a part time timetable.
LO is delighted at drop off and cheery at pick up, talks about wanting to go to school, and other than being a bit more tired in the evenings than previous (was in nursery 4 full days per week) they are absolutely fine. No change in sleep, behaviour or appetite, a very happy little person. Teachers tell us they've made a couple of friends, and there's only a reading book, no other homework.
It makes me feel better that lots of children are acting out a bit from starting school, it shows that my LO is actually doing really well considering their additional challenges.

Well I had given up sugar, but I'm back on the daily chocolate 😂🤦