Preparing for primary school.

Gingham_Ribbon

The next lot of primary starters are almost ready to go so I thought I'd ask some questions about the preperations we should be making. (Our oldest is starting in a couple of weeks.) I'd appreciate hearing from parents and primary teachers about what sort of preperations would be useful, both things we need to buy and anything else that you think might be useful.

We've chatted about what it will be like, he's been there for a play, read books about it etc.
School uniform, shoes and winter coat are sorted.
Bag and PE kit sorted.
Desk and chair for doing homework ordered.
We have plenty of crafty stuff (not that he's very interested) pencils etc.

How much homework should we expect and what will be the nature of it at that age? Is there anything I should buy in terms of useful resources? Has anyone found a pin board useful?

He'll need a sandwich box and drinks container. Is it impossible to find these things without TV characters he's never heard of/skulls/kittens with crowns on them?!

Any tips on what people have found to be useful routines for getting homework done etc? If we're going to get into habits, I'd like them to be good ones as they're just as hard to break as bad ones. What do you keep their school stuff in?

My lad's never been away from us for that length of time, but he's confident so I'm sure he'll be fine. But I'd like to encourage him to talk about his day with us and feel he can let us know about any possible problems. Any books or toys you share with your little ones to encourage them to communicate?

I thought I'd add a tip for anyone looking for homework space - this desk is 60% off and the chair was only about £9 too.

I think that's about it. (Very excited about this - not at all stressed - honest! )

gairlochgal

I've ended up with the Concentrate lunch boxes for my kids. I came across them in John Lewis a while back and later saw the inventor pitching them on Dragons Den. You can buy direct from his website - google will do the biz. They consist of a hard plastic box which you can put into a holder, which comes in various colours, no characters as far as I know. The cool feature I haven't found in other lunch boxes is that they include two little pots that you can use to pack loose things, raisins, grapes, cherry toms, even a small apple, satsuma, plum. It's relatively expensive (comes to £10/£12 for the box and holder) but really hardy and facilitates packing lots of different things as their tastes evolve. There is also an attachment for a an ordinary water bottle but the one I bought never worked - not sure if it's poor design or that we didn't track down the right shape bottle to go in it.

Anyhow, good luck to your son. My two are getting to the top of primary school now but I remember those days very well.

Money_Mad_3

Calm Down Your son won't have a lot of homework my youngest is now 13 years but I still remember the feeling of the first day at school.

The homework your son most probably will get is a reading book and wallet. With that is a book/card which is signed by you and his teacher and any comments or concerns you write in the book.

I found a book called LETTERLAND was excellent in teaching reading and writing which my son's school used in the reception class and I also taught my daughter by this way as well. She was a lot more advanced as I had access to this book earlier.

Another book which I thought was very good was TOPSY AND TIM GO TO SCHOOL, these books cover a lot of different issues when very young, going to the dentist, on a plane, etc

John Lewis have plain lunch boxes also lunch bags at reasonable prices.
Another tip label all your sons belongings as being so young lots of things get left behind.

Just play everything by ear I found that I was asking that many questions when they came home from school and all they wanted to do was relax as they were so tired but that was because I was worried all day and anxious.

Reading your post you seem to have got everything sorted.

Looking back now it seems to have flown. Good Luck to you and your son :j and I hope he enjoys his venture into school life.

Gingham_Ribbon

Thanks for that. Comes in at a whopping £20 now though if you buy the cool bag to fit over it. I love the space for fruit, though. Great design.

VickyA_2

Have you named EVERYTHING that your child will take with him to school? As an infants teacher that seemed to "collect" un-named jumpers, t-shirts (?) and trousers (????) last year, it would make my life so much easier! Towards the end of the summer term, I was able to tell the owner of a stray jumper by the stains on the front.

gairlochgal

Hmmm yes and you don't yet know how good he's going to be at keeping track of his stuff. My big one has always been brilliant but the other one is a major contributor to the lost property box :eek:

sealady

I work in a primary school and I have two children of my own.

To begin with your child will probably not get any homework as such. If they do get anything it will probably bring home a picture/first words reading book. Once they start learning sounds the school might ask send them home and ask parents to help your child learning the sounds and blends.

The letterland books are really good but before you buy them find out what the school uses first, as there are lots of different methods for teaching sounds. Our school uses Jolly fonics which is very different to Letterland. Don't want to start confusing your child.

Don't be worried if you child comes home from school really tired this happens to most children and once they are in the routine of school they will grow out of this.

With both my children 9 and 14 I have never made a issue about homework. I normally get them home relax for an hour or so give them something to eat and drink and then encourange them to get on with the homework. I find that this is much easier system than forcing them to do it the moment they get home. A notice board is good but more for you than the child at this age. Depending on your school you will get notices about all sorts of things. Our school for example have a golden letter once a week which highlights the achievements of the sports teams, and any different activites the classes have been involved in that week. All the classes get a half termly letter from their teachers stating what they will be doing that term, school trips, outings, topics etc.

Once your child has settled in and depending on your situation you might want to volunteer to help out in the class or for school trips. It's a nice way of getting to know other kids in the class and the teachers more.

foreversomeday

Homework? Do children really get homework in Reception now? I didn't get any at all (apart from reading to parents) until year 6.

I don't have anything else to add but there is a great book called How To Talk So Kids Will Listen And Listen So Kids Will Talk, which helps you encourage your child to talk about their day. It's a bit cheesy and American but the concepts are easy enough to adapt.

Spendless

Mine need 2 drinks containers. 1 for water in the classroom, the other to go with a packed lunch. Label the lunchbag and drinks containers too.

Homework for reception, I found it be mainly a reading book each night and words/spellings to learn. Weekly they'd be a task, such as show your child different coins and talk to them about their values. I find they are starving when they get in - and not cos they don't eat at school either:rolleyes: and want to eat and relax before doing homework.

A calendar that you mark the term dates and inset days on is a good idea. I live 2 mins from our school and have seen several going to school on a day when it's shut!:D

Glad

a laundry pen is cheaper than buying labels with their name printed on

Gingernutmeg

For plain lunchboxes, GLTC have a nice selection. Or Laptop Lunchboxes are nice if you like the compartmentalised design, but they're a bit dear.