9 replies to this topic

[mulder]

hi everyone,

Have been given the opportunity to plan activities around "going to school" for the 8 children who will be leaving us in July , to start after the May halfterm. All kw's will be giving me a list of ss that the children still need covering, but my mind is buzzing...... ahead as usual. can anyone offer advice on what can be done. We don't do rising fives at my preschool, and my nvq folders are in for external verifying (Typical) so don't have them to fall back on......help.
I thought: dressing/undressing for pe,listening,turntaking and sharing games, number lines , alphabet recognition, name recognition, recognition of school and uniform(perhaps a props dressing up game). We have a monkey that is given to all leaving children as a transitional support (he has his own school accessories and activities pack) but I'm wondering what you all do.

thanxs

kizzy xx

[Susan]

Sounds like fun, Kizzy and all those things sound really useful. Is it possible for you to accompany the children on their school visits so that you can talk to them about those as well?

[mousebat]

sounds all good stuff to me kizzy. Your children will be well prepared for school.
Just wondering if the children meet their new teacher before they start school. Do you have good links with the school?

regards

[hali]

We take ours up to visit the school for lunch or assembly and to have a play :D

[LucyQ]

Hi Kizzy
Our children visit the school once a week for "School Story" but I too have been thinking of ways to make it easier.

I had a conversation with the reception teacher this afternoon and she was asking if we took the rising 5 children away from the normal session and sat them down to do "work". I said we didn't do it that often and I don't really feel we should.

The children are concentrating on what they are doing and I have a problem with taking them away from their freely choosen activity to do something that I want them to do. I think her argument would be that they have to do it when they get to school so they need to do it at the pre-school. But I feel like saying - Why? surely they will learn that soon enough when they get to school or maybe the school should change and allow more freeplay!!

Just wondered what others felt.

Having said all that sounds like you have it covered. Don't forget story time there are lots of books out there which cover going to school.

[mousebat]

Hi again kizzy
The pre-school children have two familiarisation mornings at school, home visits and (time permitting) I go and visit the children in their pre-school environment. Plus there is a parents' evening where the parents come and check out the classroom and the Head tells them about the school routine etc.

LucyQ - I agree with you. Let children learn new routines when they get to school. They'll catch on soon enough. If it's a reception class the children go into then they should also be following the Foundation Stage and should allow free play. I do both, a small amout of formal sitting down with group practical activites and free play. I have a timetable which we go through each day and which the children can refer to at any time. This is a system that works well for me and most importantly the children.

regards

[Peggy]

Kizzy, I agree with others comments, I especially like your idea of a " Monkey" for transitional support.

Maybe, as an idea, the children could make a little book about what they have particularly enjoyed at preschool with photo's and comments. They could show this to their new teacher on their school visit.

At the beginning of my summer term I encourage children to learn the skill of asking each other questions during news time. Later in the term, before their school visits, I ask the children if they have any questions they would like to ask the teacher. Last year it was things like " will we have sand?", "will my brother be with me?" (older sibling already at school). I scribed the questions and took them with me on our visit. I found this really helped to find out what the children were thinking about school instead of what we think they may be thinking ( if you know what I mean)

Peggy

[junerichardsob]

Hi there
As a Reception teacher I am very interested in this debate from your side of the transition process. We do our best to get to know our children well before they start school - but lack of space in the building creates its own difficulties.
We meet the children at pre school for 3 half hour sessions - we visit both local groups. We also meet each child for a home visit ( approx 10-15 mins) and then the children have an afternoon in school on our whole school moving up day - year 6 move into the hall at this point or out to play rounders weather permitting . The parents have attended a meeting prior to this visit too.
I really like your idea of the monkey -
As a reception teacher I am more concerned that the children can cope with some level of independence- with their own personal belongings at the beginning and end of the day, that they can change for PE reasonably confidently - experience of this in pre school is a big confidence booster we find. Other than that I am not concerned about children doing formal things - ours come in and self register and they have 3x10 min groups sessions with an adult during the course of the day.( This last for the best part of the 1st half term - or until the children are settled enough and able to concentrate well enough to start to extend these sessions) They experience the larger group during story time after the first week or so. More useful than alphabet, numbers or writing their names is the ability to tidy up after themselves, to play with other children in small groups, and to be able to select and replace their own resources, these are the skills I would like to see when children enter school. We find that playtimes ( especially over lunch) and the lunch period are the things that bother the children the most and the ones that they are least prepared for despite stressing these to the parents. Last year out Reception children made little books about school for us to take to the new starters when we home visit - I must remember to ask the children what they thought about those.
hope this helps .

[Sue J]

We prepare the children with basic skills such as going to the toilet and hand washing, blowing their own noses, getting changed, putting shoes, coats on, etc. We have a lunch club that prepares them for the lunch time at school. We always encourage good listening skills and turn taking and sharing, tidying up and independence - all the obvious really.
We also do Jolly Phonics from when the children first start with us and as the schools they lead into do JP as well, our children get on very well and feel confident that they are able to recognise some letter sounds.
We visit the schools with the children and invite the teachers to visit us. We share information and I also visit one of the schools after about a term to see how the children have settled in. It's really lovely to see them again and go back and tell the other children and staff how they are.

Sue J

[mulder]

Hi,

Sorry have not been able to get on computer sooner...

It is great to hear from the reception side of things June, as in our area try as we might, the reception teachers do not come to see the children as they could do, one lower school even refused point blank!!! so much for working with other agencies!!!
As we don't have experience of rising 5's as others, I was at a loss as to my ideas, but now I can use some great suggestions from you lot. Many thanks


love kizzy xx