Autumn 2011 - Mandy Mazliah

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Raising children Starting school Starting school: Are you ready for the great adventure? By Linda Bengtsson Of all the milestones in your child’s life, the biggest and perhaps scariest could well be the day your child starts school. I know I felt a great mixture of pride, sadness and worry at the sight of my little girl in her school uniform a year ago. As a teacher I thought I knew all about school but now I was about to see it from a parent’s perspective. As I write this, my daughter Rebekah has just finished her last day of her year in reception and I marvel at how she has grown and developed. She has learnt a lot this year and I think that her dad and I have learnt at least as much. So with that in mind I thought I’d offer some advice on what it’s like from both the perspective of a teacher and a parent. How do I prepare my child for school? It’s important to instil a positive attitude to school. Talk about it often in positive terms and visit the school if you can. There are some skills that will make life easier for both your child and staff. Teach your child to get changed on her own and to put on her own coat and shoes. Girls might need some extra practise with tights. It’s also great if your child can deal with toilet visits by himself and wash his hands. Consider how your child will have lunch. If packed lunch, have a practise at opening containers and bottles. If your child is having school dinners it might be a good idea to practise carrying a tray with a meal on it. It’s trickier than you might think. School Uniform How much school uniform do we really need to buy? This is a much-debated question, which in my theory comes down to this: How many times do you want to do laundry each week? I’ve found that polo shirts tend to get very dirty quickly whereas trousers and skirts last for longer. Grey pinafore dresses probably get just as dirty as the polo shirt but thanks to the colour it doesn’t really show up. If you don’t want to do lots of laundry I’d recommend four white polo shirts. Proper button up shirts might look much nicer but could be tricky for a child to put on and off by themselves. You can buy trousers, school dresses and skirts just about anywhere at a reasonable price so I went for more clothes and less laundry. On a Saturday I just do a big load of school uniform and get it all ready for the next week. The NCT Nearly New Sale is a great place to stock up on second hand uniform. It’s also worth checking with the school office if they sell second hand uniform. Most schools also sell jumpers and fleeces in the school colours and with the school logo. These are really nice to have, in particular once autumn sets in. If you have a girl with long hair make sure that you buy lots and lots of hair bands so that you can put her hair up. The reason you buy lots is that you really don’t want to be hunting around for some five minutes before you have to leave for school in the morning. Now on to shoes... As a teacher our worst nightmare are those shoes with little compartments for hiding toys. Just imagine 20 five year olds fiddling away with their shoes. If you can, get simple, comfortable shoes that your child can take off and put on by himself. Unless you particularly want to you don’t have to buy the most expensive brand as long as the shoes fit well. Remember, these shoes will be worn all day long, five days a week and will be played in a lot. So they do tend to get a lot of wear and tear quickly. Finally, don’t forget to buy a book bag, PE kit, water bottle and if you need it, a lunch box. So what do they actually do in school? Learning in Reception is not formal and the main part of the day should be child initiated. The teachers and staff will plan and provide a variety of activities and equipment and use these to help your child develop her skills. There will be some teacher led activities as well, in particular phonics. You can support your child by reading together at home as often as possible. While your child learns through play the staff will observe the children closely. They use these observations to assess your child’s abilities and needs and can then plan activities to help your child develop further. There are likely to be PE lessons where your child will need to get changed into PE kit and then back into school uniform. Your child 18 Newsletter Winter
Raising children might also get to participate in whole school assemblies and perhaps even put on their own assembly for you to come and watch. They will make friends, and if they are anything like my girl, they will fall out with their friends as well. The social aspects of reception are huge and children learn a lot about friendships, taking turns, listening and considering others. General advice • Label everything, from waterbottles, to uniform and if possible even shoes. But remember, contrary to popular belief, spending all night sewing on labels doesn’t make you a better mother. Iron on labels are absolutely fine and I won’t tell if you won’t. • Bring a snack when you pick up your child. They’re likely to be peckish and will be in a better mood if fed. Don’t expect too many details though. Many children seem too full up with impressions to actually share what they have been doing with their parents. • Prepare the day before. Sort out the lunchbox and stick it in the fridge. Get the next day’s uniform out and make sure you know where the book bag is. • Speaking of book bags. Do check it every now and then. There tends to be important letters hidden amongst all the artwork, drawings and other things your child takes home and you don’t want to miss out on Super Hero day or some other event. • Finally, enjoy this year and don’t get too caught up in reading schemes, book bands and school gate drama. Newsletter Winter 19
Page 1: Newsletter Brixton, Dulwich and Str
Page 5 and 6: Welcome Letter from Victoria Welcom
Page 7 and 8: Welcome to the world... Lola Mary W
Page 9 and 10: Raising children TV and children: W
Page 11 and 12: Get Involved Raising children anoth
Page 13 and 14: Get Involved Raising children Our s
Page 15 and 16: Raising children I also have two ch
Page 17: Raising children Meet your three ye
Page 21 and 22: Your rights taken for up to 26 week
Page 23 and 24: Diary dates Story time: Newington l
Page 25 and 26: Breastfeeding Do you need help brea
Page 27 and 28: Raising children So what can we do
Page 29 and 30: Your NCT needs you Can you fill the
Page 31 and 32: Meet the teams Elodie Nelson: enels

Autumn 2011 - Mandy Mazliah

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