House Points in Reception class

[Lowfat]

DD started RC class about 2 weeks ago, and last week she started referring to house points.

She was so exicited and vocal about getting housepoints in her first full week that I asked her each day is she had got more and who else had them etc. She ended the week with 4 points, 1 behind another little girl in her class - who she seemedn to be just one behind all week.

This morning she told me she only has 1 point so far this week. And then said she only wanted to wear trousers today and not to wear her big school coat. When I asked why she told me becxause she wanted to get more housepoints. And apparently things like getting dressed quickly after PE (which she can do easily with trousers) and hanging coats up nicely after break are awarded by housepoints. As well as being first on the mat for story time and it seems in some cases used as a reward for less confident children when they do something for the first time.

Now I think some competition is healthy, but she is becoming quite focused on getting more points. I have stopped asking everyday as I am worried she will be upset if she has'nt got one.

I've looked in the classroom and the children are in 4 groups so I am guessing at the end of the week they get group tally for housepoints, which promotes working with others. But on a 1-1 level I am not so sure.

Does anyone else have any views on this?

[Hulababy]

DD's primary school has house points too. Until this year it was purely a group thing. If a house point is awarded they get a little piece of card with a house point on it and g and put it in the correctly coloured house box. Once a week these are emptied and added up, a running total is kept. Te girls don't know what the total is all the time though - it is just annouced every so often at full school assembly IIRR. Then there is a house cup award at the end of the year. They also do other house events too, which go towards this, such as sports day, etc.

This year they have introduced a special card for individual record of house points. When a HP is awarde the girls also get to colour in one tar on their card. These are kept int heir drawers. Wjen they get 20 they get to go to the head teacher who gives them a certificate of achievement; same as at 40, 60, etc. It is all based on trust though and making sure the girls only colour one star at a time and no more for example. The girls do compare them a bit, but after a couple of week's or so this tends to stop. They do congratulate one another on getting a certificate I have noticed, but so far it does seem wuite an individual thing and not too competitive over it.

There is no record of HP kept int he classroom, so not easy to compare against all the children - certainly not for parents anyway.

[Lowfat]

Hulababy - that sounds better than DD's class method.

I am just worried because I am getting in to discussions with her each monring there is PE about her not wanting to wear pinnafores or tights because they are harder to put back on. And I wonder where it will end.

Hopefully it is a phaze, but was talking to my friend who is also DD's best mates mum and she said her DD is also refusing to wear anything but trousers - so is it for the same reason?

[Lowfat]

Back home tonight all she has said about school 'I want to get more house points tomorrow'

[mimsum]

don't really understand what the problem is with not wanting to wear dress/tights on PE days? dd's just gone into Y1 and is perfectly capable of getting changed herself but if she's doing PE I send her in in trousers because it's just one less thing for her to worry about (and I'm sure the teacher's much happier that at least one of her pupils will need no extra help) - in reception they didn't get changed at all

[Lowfat]

DD is perfectly capable of tights, dresses and skirts etc. It's just that she wants trousers so she can be first as they are quicker.

They do PE 4 days out of 5, and before school she refused to wear trousers, so I ony bought 1 pair and the rest of her stuff is pinnafores and skirts.

But it's not really an issue of clothing. It's her whole desire to achieve more housepoints.

Everyday she comes home and tells me who has what and what they got them for and why she did'nt get them. It's her only focus.

Surely that can't be healthy - she has always been eager to please and I think she sees the housepoints as away of getting attention - not from us but from her teachers.