How to prepare for reception in September

[redcrane]

Hello all, DS will be going into reception in September and I would like to get him prepared in all areas - personal, social, academic etc. I have previously seen a list of things expected from children, but I have no idea where to find it!

Thanks in advance for your help

[OttersOnIce]

He needs to be able to dress and undress for PE on his own, wipe his own bottom, zip his coat up and put his gloves on himself ....

[CMOTdibbler]

I think the main expectations are that your child ahould be able to go to the toilet on their own (manage trousers, pants, wiping, flush, wash hands etc), put their coat on and off by themselves, eat their lunch nicely with knife and fork, get changed for PE independantly, and be able to recognise their name. Anything else is a bonus

[tootootired]

I think self care (toilet, dressing, keeping tabs on coats/mitts/hats) comes high on the list. DS2 is not great on this front and I know he needs help on PE/swimming days.

Is he in nursery/playgroup? If he mixes OK with other children, is learning to share and separates from you OK, he should be fine.

But honestly don't worry about the "academic" unless he's already keen, they will take him as he comes and slot him into their teaching scheme at whatever level. I have little time for Early Years targets. There is a list of those but no kidding there are about 200 targets and most of them I can't make head nor tail of.

[redcrane]

Yes, he's in nursery atm so does cooperate with other children (to a certain extent!)

He can go to the toilet on his own and wash hands, although the wiping is a little suspect , will have to work on that

He is a fussy eater, but will use a fork if the other children do - he copies them

He can dress himself, although items may end up back to front or inside out!

re the academic, I didn't mean those crazy targets (I have in the past seen a chart that I didn't understand), I just mean should he count to a certain number/recognise shapes etc, just really basic stuff, not "targets" etc

[redcrane]

will have to work on coat zipping, he def can't do that

[Lizcat]

I worried about this before my DD started school, but she had just done the stuff at nursery. She could dress herself, take herself to the toilet etc, recognise and write her own name, but nothing else. When she joined school there were children in her class who had been reading from 2 years.
However, 18 months on she is happily settled into school. She has overtaken a large number of those children who could already read. So what I am saying is if you get the social personal stuff sorted out the academic stuff will come at school.

[Clary]

yes as someone who has worked as a reception class TA can I second:

coat on and zipped up (saves a lot of time in winter!)

Gloves on (better than mittens but more tricky)

Loo - wipe bum, wash hands

Dress and undress reasonably quickly for PE - can he do it in 5 mins?

Don't worry too much (at all!) abotu counting, shapes etc; the other stuff is a lot more important, as if he can do it the teacher and TA can spend mroe time teaching!

[Clary]

Sorry I can spell, honestly

[mankyscotslass]

All ours ask is that they can:-

Dress themselves at PE - dont button polos on PE day

Fasten their shoes - velcro is easiest unless they are already competent at laces.

Put on own hat/gloves/coat.

Take themselves to the toilet.

Recognise their name

Be familiar with taking turns

[2boys2]

Reception help list:
The summer before my August born boy went to school we started practising on preparation ? here is my list of helpful hints!

Velcro shoes ? unless they can do laces up with no help and very quickly

Find out which days P.E is on and on those days don?t button up the polo shirt ? with a jumper on over the top it won?t be noticed anyway!

Personal care ? ensure can wash hands, sort clothing out. My son couldn?t wipe his own bottom and so I ensured he got into a ?routine? of doing one before bed so I knew he wouldn?t run into difficulties at school.

Put half a smiley face in each shoe so that when they are placed together the correct way round they form one big happy face ? helps to get the shoes on the correct feet.

Practice with a lunchbox and different wrappings. I realised that I just hand my son a plate of food (as does nursery) and so he never had to undo anything!.

He found a zipped lunch box easier than a velcro one. He found cling film to fidderly and so I get cheap food bags and put his sandwiches in them and wrap them over. He then puts all his left over?s in the bag so the lunch box comes back in a decent state!

Put a slit in the top of packets so they tear open easily or open them and fold them over and seal with a sticker (children can ALWAYS get a sticker off things!).

Fromage frais makes less mess than runny yoghurt.

Sport top on bottles easier than screw tops or cartons (it all comes home in the lunch box so think of less spillage)

Label everything unless you don?t want it back. I got some really good stickers printed with just our surname on so all the family could use them for different things. They are dishwasher proof too.

Small icepack for the summer.

Some foods are not allowed in lunches so check with the school.

Before my (very young and clumsy)son had school dinners I brought a tray plate (from boots) that the food gets put directly on as that is what they use in school so he could practice carrying it to the table without dropping it. (was terrified he would drop it at school and everyone would laugh).

If they are a very small or slow eater don?t give them too much otherwise they will spend their whole lunch break eating and not outside playing. Some schools insist they eat everything. Just take a snack for on the way home if they are hungry.

Elasticated skirts and trousers to make it easier to get on/off.

[mumoverseas]

Thanks OP for a really useful thread
I'm just filling in the application forms for my DD to start in F1 in September.
She goes to the nursery next to it and already they are practicing things like finding their names and making DC go to the toilet themselves and put shoes on etc.
In May they will have an assessment and they have to do stuff like stacking blocks up, finding their name and other basis stuff.

Really good suggestions on here, will definitely look for velcro shoes.

DD can't wait to go to 'big' school.

[woahwoah]

I teach Reception, and I would say all the ideas about self-care are great.
Could I add a couple that people may not think about?
If there is a 'school' coat, and it's not compulsory DON'T BUY ONE. If 30 children all have an identical coat it's a nightmare to sort them out.
Also, please name everything that you value (coat, clothes, hat, gloves, shoes - everything). I would draw the line at socks and vests maybe, but accept that your child may then come home in the wrong socks.
Please show your child how to hang their coat on a peg, using the loop. Otherwise the coat will live on a muddy cloakroom floor.
Tie something distinctive on your child's bookbag and PE bag, so they can recognise their own among many identical ones - a keyring or something is ideal.
Don't forget to teach them to flush the toilet too.
Avoid tights on PE days.
Most of all, don't worry. Talk positively about school and be very matter of fact when dropping your child off, and all will be fine!
School staff will help / rescue your child if they need it, we are happy to do so. But most children are happier if they can cope independently.

[RatherBeOnThePiste]

all of this plus knowing that you can ask for help

[redskyatnight]

on top of what others have said

• putting his clothes back on when they are inside out and back-to-front (ie as they'll be after he's taken them off after PE). My DS could dress himself so it never occured to me that his clothes were always presented in a nice "sanitised" manner

• drinking out of cartons with straws if your school gives the children milk in this way (we never had these at home)

• recognising own name and surname written down is useful. If your child has a "non-unique" name prepare them to be Aloysius Z for the rest of eternity

[2boys2]

hope no one minds but i have copied and pasted all these suggestions into a word document so when this thread is asked again in the future i can just paste all the suggestions in to save typing them all out (and then forgetting some excellent ideas)

[dixiechick1975]

2 boys 2 love the tip for sticker on packets.

My DD 4 is starting school in September. She was born without her left arm so as you can imagine self care is a challenge for her.

Going through process of trying to ensure appropriate support in place for her at the moment but very useful to know what she will be required to do.

I've been coming across alot of oh they wont be expected to do that when i've mentioned things to the various professionals.

Nursery have started to do things slightly differently for the soon to be leavers eg no aprons as they don't have them at school, carrying food to table etc which i think is a good idea.

[SuperBunny]

Great thread, thanks. I think we will have to buy a lunchbox and practice at home - hadn't thought of doing that. Also putting clothes on that are not neatly folded up. I don't think DS has ever had to put on clothes that he has previously worn so that'll be a challenge!

[Clary]

Yes that's a really really good point about inside out clothes.

School jumpers seem to be a particular culprit (sleeves and bodies very slim) but once you show the children they get the hang of it quickly.

[displayuntilbestbefore]

Prepare him for the noise.
My DCs found the sheer noise and busy environment very stressful when they first started school and I wasn't prepared for that with ds1 who found lunchtimes in the hall with a hundred or so other children all chattering, clanking cutlery, scraping chairs and clinking plates really intimidating and scary.
Not much you can do (unless you have a massive home and a hundred children to invite round) but by going to busy places with him beforehand and telling him that school might get noisy sometimes but it's nothing to be worried about he will at least be able to remember your words when faced with increased hustle and bustle.
His teacher said that it is amazingly common for children to find it overwhelming and yet I haven't ever seen anything about it in any books on parenting or preparing your child for school - so I'm passing it on now!

[2boys2]

My son was sometimes a bit nervous about going in and ?being alone? all day without me, so I filled his pocket with ?kisses? and told him to reach in for one if he felt a bit sad. At nearly 7yrs he still asks for them if going somewhere new (eg Beavers for the first time)

[2boys2]

dixiechick1975 - have you spoke to the school to find out how they are going to assist your daughter without making her stand out? May be worth writing down a few pointers that she needs help with eg open packets, getting on her coat etc so you can speak with them on your home visit from the school.

anything to make that transition to the bid wide world easier for her

They may have a buddy system there from the older years that will help her

[lantier]

buttons and zips

[dixiechick1975]

2boys2

Don't know which school DD is going to until friday (bites nails)

After alot of pushing, support seems to be getting sorted.

Plan is to have a walk through at the school before she starts with senco, teacher, Occupational therapist and see what support, equipment etc she will need.

Then have a meeting with the above and go from there.

Us/nursery are also to do an all about me book for the new teacher which seems a good idea.

Very useful to know what is expected and tips from been there done thats. Daughter is an only so no older sibling to use for info.