Parents that don't get home until 6pm-how is your reception child doing?

[Pawslikepaddington]

DD can barely read or write. She can count in 10's, hundreds, 3's, 4's etc, but is way too tired to do any "homework" at night, and I am worrying that she is falling behind as I cannot support her by doing reading/spelling straight after school. Does anyone else have this problem? How do you tackle it?

I do get home before that, but often we read at breakfast or after, as she's more interested then.

I wouldn't worry about reception age children doing homework. Personally. Take an interest in what she's doing and read with her. That's all you should need to do at this age.

Is she given homework?? My ds has a reading book, but they can keep it for as long as necessary and we generally do it at bedtime before the 'bedtime story'.

Does she go to a childminder then? could the CM not do her reading etc with her?

The counting she is doing is Yr1 stuff so don't worry about that. Mine never wanted to do their reading book until bed time anyway and we didn't get HW until Year 1.

I am a stay at home mum and neither of my children at reception age wanted to do homework straight after school, they just wanted to veg out, eat and play. We read them a story at bedtime and like JiminyCricket we have actually found it much more constructive to get them to read to us at breakfast time when they are alert - are you around then?

Oh yes, am around for mornings. She goes to an after school club-they all do "beading" and running around in a church hall, which is great fun for her, but no emphasis on reading etc.

Thanks for all making me feel better about this-I always read to her at night, but she gets so upset about reading to me and trying to write etc I stopped doing them with her.

Her class is really small (15 in her year) so they split the year 1's between reception and year 2 (those with April-Aug birthdays stay in class 1, the older ones go to class 2), so there is always year 1 work on offer for the reception children if they fancy it-hence the maths (am chuffed now-I am dreadful at maths, so it shows she is being pushed a bit!).

She is really low about her literacy though, as she feels that all her friends can read and write, and our (privately educated) neighbour is really rubbing it in her face and calling her stupid and thick and things, as she is 6 weeks younger than dd, but can already read and write, so tells dd that she is really stupid (I was there and heard the whole thing, so I took dd home and I was really childish and said to dd that if neighbour was being that horrid then would dd really want to be friends with her anyway-smack on the hand for me, but she can be really cruel, and always has been!)

I don't pick my dds up until 6 from the out of school club. DD2 is in reception. Honestly I wouldn't worry about it.

My dd2 doesn't get any homework and won't until year 3. She does bring books home which we read as bedtime stories but very rarely will dd2 do any reading she is just too tired. Personally I think being at school from 9 - 3 is long enough and after that is playtime.

If she is counting in 10's hundreds etc she way ahead of my dd and most children can't read properly until they are in year 1. Most people who say their child can read at 4 / 5 usually mean the phonetic 'cat', 'mat' type words.

Just enjoy this stage - she is still only little.

I have always said I would never get stressed about it, as dd is much more active and sporty than I was, so I like to focus on experiences she wants to do-i.e. going to the beach, or going out on her bike, having fun at the weekends (although we don't do as much as we should), but she just seems so low about it all recently. She seems too small to be able to read!! I'm sure I just played in the sandpit at 5!

You know, you reached a huge milestone by being 'really childish.' i reached it when my pfb was 8 and being given a 'daily smack on the bum' at his new school.
I more or less told him to give them a thump and they never bothered him again.
What you've done is empowered her to know that friends shouldn't make her feel bad, and maybe stick up for herself.
Or something.
Fwiw, I couldn't get DS1 to read at that age, so gave up, and he is now comfortably holding his own in grammar school.

Hurrah non toxic! I felt like I was hiding behind the bike sheds turning 4 year olds against each other! I know they all learn to read eventually, but I didn't realise how much parental peer pressure there is!

Perhaps snotty private school brat would like to have a little math competition.

Reading is one area of education in which the school system is very proactive (pushy, actually) so I don't really worry about it. The school does plenty in that area. My DD (year 1) is not a natural reader. She does okay. But she was well into year 1 before she had any confidence with it.

I would encourage your DD with the math, which she obviously like and has a talent for and inmy opinion is every bit as important as reading.

Incidentally, I get home around 7:00. I used to read with DD in the morning before work. She hated it and we had a deal that she would sound out one word of the book and I would read the rest. Anything more was pushing her too far and I was afraid would just make her hate it more. She has come along now and is really prooud of herself when she reads to me.

And another thing, I don't care if my kids read at 5 or at 7. Just like it no longer matters whether they walked at 10 months or 18 months.

You have much to learn, Grasshopper.

I agree with nontoxic - your dd is old enough to know that it is not nice for people to say nasty things to each other and equally we don't have to like people when they say it.

You could try giving your dd some smart replies - or alternatively just tell her to start counting up in 100's that should stop the little brat in their tracks

Ahh yes, she tried to outdo dd on the maths too, and dd trumped her-ha! There goes your £63 a day in private fees! (Although I may go crawling to the school when dd is 11 and eligible for a scholarship!) And dd can spell, but we spell out fggjibhloh in the bath with foam letters instead of rat, bat, cat and spat, and it is just as fun as we have to work out what it is at the same time!

(Although I wrote BUM in huge red letters on the side of the bath, as I thought spelling out the body parts dd should wash next would be educational, and it still hasn't come off a month later-just what dd's friends mum's think of me I don't know-Crayola, your product doesn't do what it says it will!)

On the days that I work, my DD (also reception) goes to my mums, but gets back too late to do any homework then, so I ensure that homework is done at the weekends. In the evening, all we do is cuddle up and she reads me a page from her storybook before bed. We are allowed one week for all homework tasks, so I just fit everything in over the weekend / days I don't work. HTH

I think daily reading with an interested adult is essential for children this age, if they are going to succeed with their literacy. You are right not to push it at 6pm if she is tired. (At this age both my boys were in bed asleep by 6pm!)

But I would encourage you to make some time in the mornings with her to sit down with her reading book. Just 5 mins a day will make all the difference.

I wouldn't push the writing though: she's very young and it will come in time.