Thread for summer term Receptionists - nearly done now!

[mitochondria]

The last thread seems to have disappeared so I thought I'd start a new one and see if anyone is still about!

Boy went back to school today, seemed to enjoy himself. Only one teacher missing due to the volcanic ash!

I have another one starting in September. Shall not bother sewing name tags. I realise now I should have just put the surname on them as smaller will be mostly wearing hand-me-downs.

I can't go to Sports Day. I'm going to miss smaller's induction day too.

Boy is now having to do spellings - five or six words a week to learn and to write. It's the writing that's the problem rather than the spelling, as the previous teacher didn't teach them to write and now they are expected to be able to do it.

He's on a turquoise book but that's probably meaningless as they don't do ORT.

Dd's on yellow band. We only read the books once - and I have to 'pay' her with chocolate to do that. I've asked her not to mention the outright bribery to teacher . I held out against it but got fed up of having to write in her report book that she had yet again just refused point blank to read.

As for reading any other books not likely

I really thought she would want to read. Ah well, another fond maternal illusion shattered.....

Yes, I wish we'd done surname and phonenumber. That would have been savvy. I'm going to get more stck on labels and phone number is going on. Also stretchy sock labels. It turns out you are statistically more likely to loose the socks you wear under shoes, than the cardi you take on and off all day.

mitochondria - if that is the book band, normally stuck on the book as an extra by the school [now that must have been a crap job for some soul or other], then it isn't meaningless. All the schemes have been 'banded', turquoise is something like 4 levels beyond us. Wow to that! Go minimitochondria! If it's a level set by the reading scheme it's self then it means 'nowt to me

Wonder if Noah has moved?

PA are trying to help raise the £3000 for a new reading scheme. Don't know which one, must ask. That's a lot of dosh!

Feeling smug now as I did the sticky labels with the phone number on
They are really useful.
I no longer bother with name types and lazily biro his name on the label. Not ideal as it's not so noticeable though.

Ds is not getting very many books home - how many do your lot get?
He had one new one on Tuesday and then they messed up changing it the second time this week. It was really dumb - the teacher was at a course and the assistant is really clueless and gave him a blue band book when actually he is on orange. And it was one he had already done about six months ago. Now as a one off incident it'd be fine but this has happened quite a lot.

So he's had one book that's vaguely at the right level all week.

Yep Mitochondria - that is v impressive if it's national curriculum book band levels. Good work miniMitochondria.

No spellings given at all in our class but they are doing a little more writing it seems.

Can't get ds to do much homework as we always run out of time but I've been employing the whole play based approach when we do e.g. he was interested in learning about three digit numbers but not keen on actually listening so we drew buses and made them bus numbers and he could decide where the bus was going. Silly but far more interesting to him.

Can't believe it's nearly year 1 either. Do you all know yet who they're getting as teachers?

Overall, I'd say he has come on leaps and bounds socially thanks to school and is more confident (he needed to be but still has wobbles in this sometimes) but academically I don't think he's done much that wouldn't have happened had he just been at home if that makes sense. Will await seeing if he actually learns more 3 Rs stuff next year...

tapes not types

Same here glee, dd has toughened up a bit. Which had to happen, still a bit though. Has to be done.

We get a book a week usually. They never seem to make any errors, when the teacher was stuck on holiday it was missed, and I thnk after holidays etc they tend to leave it a couple of extra days and so on. I apreciate the more relaxed attitude I think, but maybe that's because I know dd has it in her and it will come. If she was going to need lots of support I'm not sure how I'd feel.

Don't think we are really doing writing yet, not sure about that one I know her writing is HUGE

Dinner lady nearly made her cry naggin her to eat quicker this week. Like the child sad, the meatballs were dry and took a lot of eating. I'd like to have words with that lady myself, but will deep breathe adn approach the teacher in a calm way sometime next week instead.
Not dong school run much next week due to nights

Some of your LO's are doing fab in reading well done!.. My LO changes his book most days if he remembers ( its up to him ) but he is not listened to once a day far from it, guided reading once a week and I think once with the teacher too.
He doesn't seem to do much writing he told me one day the class was writing but he didn't have to as his pen ran out
I was like couldn't you ask for a new one . He said the teacher said don't bother... but it is the word of a 5 yr old and he isn't that reliable so i didn't say anything
No spellings here . I do get him to write me secret messages .. only way he will write he hates it..His spelling is lets say different ..
Maths well my DH is a Maths Teacher so they are always doing things together think he takes after daddy not me at all!

Glee - completely agree with your last paragraph. The Boy has become a lot more confident at mixing with other children - he was always a bit shy and awkward before.

His books change a couple of times a week. I don't really do much reading with him as by the time I get home he's too tired and grumpy. I think Granny should take the credit for the reading, she's a retired primary teacher and looks after him before and after school. They've been working their way through "Peter and Jane" which is how she taught me to read!

He's not keen on writing though - don't know if it's because he's left handed but his letters often come out backwards!

I still don't know which class he's going to be in next year. Although am thinking he might be year 1/2 rather than year R/1, given he's a January birthday. He's already worried about having less time to play.

DS gets his book changed once a week but not always the same day each week iyswim.

He is starting to read other books at home (mainly Peppa Pig related ) to his younger sister. He would read all day if he could which is fab as he has inherited my love of books

A RL friend of mine bought some ORT books online (stage 1-5) and she does not need them anymore as her Dcs qare older than mine so we are working through those too)

Writing is not going so well and bribery is needed to get him to do any

He also gets lists of words to learn each week and each list has 20 words.

Yesterday he obviously has PE as he came home with shoes on the wrong feet, jumper on backwards and polo shirt on inside out

His school are also quite good at after school clubs and he goes to one on a monday which lasts an extra hour after school and they do PE related things which he loves as he is quite competitive

Hello

We have moved . Feel even more an instruder here now that DD is back in pre-school again but will hang around a bit in a nervous new-starter type way!

Internet not yet working at home so have been having mumsnet withdrawal symptoms .

Year 1 for DS has been a bit more sitting down than reception, but he has loved it. Is scary thinking he will be year 2 in September .

Can I say hello again as well?

Cannot believe they are nearly at the end of reception-it doesn't seem possible this time last year we were all wondering what the year had in store for them.

DS is absolutely loving school at the moment and is flying along with his reading. We have to change his reading book which I usually do 2/3 times a week but his books are getting a bit harder now so are taking a bit more looking at. His school do a mix of ORT and other schemes and he is ORT level 5 which I think is quite good for their age. They also have these key words to learn and he has already done all 100 Reception ones and is now working his way through the next 200 which are Y1/Y2 words...its very strange cause he can just look at a new word once and remember it. They haven't had to spell them yet though just read them so I think he might come a bit unstuck there lol!

Maths he is not very good at at all...in fact most numbers he still says backwards so 52 is 25 etc. But overall he is doing really well and I am very proud of him.

He also doesn't know yet but he is hopefully going to get his biggest wish and be a big brother just after christmas because Im about 9 weeks pregnant. Am very scared cause was adament he'd be the only one but he wants a sibling so so much that after a lot of talking me and DH decided to go for it lol! There'll be nearly 6 years between them which is slightly worrying but Im sure he'll be a fantastic much bigger brother!

No idea of classes here as yet but its a 2 form entry and I know they mix the classes up so am fully expecting lots of tears when they do announce it cause lots of friendships will be split up.

Hello again too
Congratulations ihearttc!

DD started swimming with the school today. She already swims very well, but it was fun to go with her classmates - and go on the coach.

I know who DD's teacher will be next year and tbh it's a sort of dark cloud looming over us. She seems strict and pretty old-school. Her class just don't seem happy.
Anyway. we'll see.
Oh, and the way the school is organised (being quite small) she'll be having Mrs Cross for 2 years. I hope it'll be okay, DD's happy at school just now - runs in in the mornings, likes learning etc.

Her teacher's started her maternity leave now, so that's been a bit unsettling. But really, all's good.
I'm so glad she's had a good start.

Noah, hope the move all went okay. Are DCs settling okay?

Tree, I remember dinner ladies from when I was at school could be a bit......you know. I'm so keen that eating doesn't become an issue, and upsetting children isn't the way to go about encouraging them.

Has anyone got, or know of, good books/worksheets etc to help with letter formation? (they're just not covering it). I did ask about it last parent's eve too.
Thing is, DD's racing ahead; writing little sentences, having simple spellings etc - but she's getting into bad habits with holding the pen and forming the letters. I wish they'd be spending some time on the basics. I'm reluctant to spend time doing that sort of thing with her - I feel we don't do so much nice stuff together since she's at school anyway, but I'm thinking it might be worth while.

Congratulations ihearttc!

They don't seem to teach letter formation. I think it's supposed to just happen.

we borrowed a whiteboard with letters on from my school - something along the lines of this:
www.autopresseducation.co.uk/products.asp?c=20&d=3

didn't really work for Boy as he's left handed so rubbed it off as he went along!

there are worksheets that you can download. Try googling - there are lots on Sparklebox but before using that site you might want to read this:

www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6033403

Perhaps I can lend you Granny? She's proving very useful....

Congratulations iheartttc! Lovely news.

Thanks for the links mitochondria, I was thinking of buying something along these lines. You read my mind.

Now who remembers those base 10 blocks? They were blue, there were small ones for units [looked like lego] and lines of 5 and ten, and a flat square for 100, and a huge cube block? I saw them in a shop and had a major nostalgia moment. Was going to get them but have nay clue how to use them for teaching purposes

Hows the new city Noah? You are 40miles from me Your my nearest city.

nostalgia alley

Thanks mitochondria, that's the sort of thing. Only about £1 too - so they wipe clean for re-use do they?
(I remember reading about Sparklebox on here somewhere).

So they are perhaps deliberately not doing letter formation as a choice then - not just being a bit crap.

Yes Tree I remember them.
Well, what with letter formation worksheets and base 10 blocks - are we home-schooling?

Home-schooling - goodness no. I get enough schooling at actual school, don't want to do it when I get home as well!

DD keeps taking her socks off to count her toes for sums over 10 She needs a quicker way of counting!

Tree - that's fantastic! She might need to find an alternative before GCSE maths though.

I remember those blocks

DS definitely did letter formation in old school this year and possibly in reception. DD did do it in nursery at old school. Am trying to adjust to her being in pre-school again although she is fine .

DS gets to go on a school trip tomorrow. Am hoping the weather stays nice

hi all, we've just had the proofs for his first ever class photo. I could have cried with pride...he was front row, in the middle with his little shorts on.

LO is doing fab...he gets spellings, the last lot being a right mix of ear, farm, light, sheep, farm, hair, chain and cow. I know they have been doing abut farm animals but they did seem a little odd.

He arrived on Tuesday morning and they had set up a jungle outside and his little face lit up. he came home full of it lastnight wanting to draw lots of jungle pictures with writing too

Doing ok in maths i think...can count forwards and backwards and add and subtract with 'blocks' within numbers to 10. He can count in 2's to 20, 10's to 100 too but wouldn't have a clue if i asked him what 5 2's were.

He reads twice a week if we're lucky and once he's read the book at home once i find it virtually impossible to get him to go near it again. He also has a writing book that he has to write a couple of sentences about the book he brings home to read which we are not allowed to help him with.

Noah, weather is lovely here so hope it was where you are for DS's trip. DS goes on his in a couple of weeks to a farm (he hates animals so that could be fun )

Sounds lovely lovingmy2. Aww.

Well, end of term seems to be looming. We have sports day on Tuesday, which seems so early. Then end of sports week little fair on Friday, which DH is meant to be doing bbq. I think this means he is meant to be organsing something, and apparently there are something like 50 burgers and 100 sausages to be cooked.

I feel we may have taken on too much!

DD is so tired bless. Very pale and wan. I think the semi-heat is taking it out of them all. It really is much much much cooler on the coast but stll more than they are used too.

've bought some more unform Couldn't resisit. A 'skirt that is - in fact- wait for this mummy....a pair of shorts' SHe seems pleased [grn] And what look like really nice polo's from M&S. I think last years were so utterly crappola they have had to raise their game!

Am awaiting stretchy sock name tags to iron on. Not only is she loosing them at school, her whites seem to end up in my drawer, and dh always has her long navy ones.

Sports day was today. Boy got three stickers for "trying hard". Smaller came third in the pre-schoolers race.

Boy came home in PE kit. Of his uniform, he came home with no shorts and with somebody else's un-named shirt. They're not likely to get that back, are they?

I have to reconsider uniform for September - I may well make Smaller go in hand-me-downs as he is such a muck-beast anyway. He comes home in his spare clothes from nursery every day, as the child centred learning thing means he just spends two hours up to his elbows in water. He says he's "doing the washing up". I think they may be making him do it for the whole school.

Well done minimitichondria.

Apologies for my typos, my keyboard is dying. Very sad.

well we're very nearly finished now - break up on Friday. I expect some of you are already on holiday.

Just wanted to say bye-bye to this thread - maybe in September we should start another one for year 1!