Almost 4 year old very bored at nursery!

Firstly let me explain that this isn't my post and was written by my wife on a government parenting type forum, to which there have been no replies.

She is always listening to me banging on about the SV650.org and how it is the font of all knowledge, so when she was moaning about her post not getting responses I flippantly commented that she was using the wrong forum and should be using this one.

I realise that I should keep my gob shut, but didn't so her is her post for you wise lot to have a crack at:

My son who will be 4 next month is as the title suggests very bored at his day nursery. He attends 3 days per week whilst i am at work.

Up until very recently, he was enjoying nursery. A lot of his friends have left to go to school and he now finds himself the oldest there. I have asked if someone could spend a bit of time with him to help him with learning to write his name etc...

The response i got was that they learn one letter a week on a specific day per week. Personally i dont think this is enough. He is very keen at the moment and i would really like to take advantage of that.

This morning when i dropped him off, i gave him some sheets which i had printed from the internet for him to do during the day. He was thrilled? I have since i got into work printed about a ream's worth of educational activites for him to try.

Should i really have to do this....I dont mind because we'll use them at home anyway...but do they not have a responsibility to provide him with suitable activities. I pay them well for their care......

[dizzyblonde]

pack in as much home education as you can before he reaches four, and all the time he spends at school from next year will be really easy for him. Don't worry about nursery. They have a curriculum to keep to just like school. I found my son went back a step when he started reception at school, but now he stands at the top of his class across the board. Mainly because I gave him as much to do as I could before he got there.

It goes with the age, my son's birthday is next month, hes heading for seven now, so pretty much a similar scenario for getting bored at nursery I seem to recall

All depends if he's at pre-school or nursery. If it's pre-school then they have a duty to provide basic education, nurseries only have to provide safe care. My ex-girlfriend owns a child care agency, providing au pairs and child minding to working families, she was the leader of three local pre-schools and was heavily involved with the pre-school learning alliance. Even she thought that the amount of learning a child does prior to starting mainstream school is insufficient, but there is a curriculum to follow at pre-school and Ofsted to think about.

We taught our kids to read and write at home in our own time between getting in from work and putting the kids to bed. We realised it was the only way our kids could get a head start and do well when they started at the mainstream schools. As soon as they were old enough to take and pass the entrance exams, we had them into private education. When this happened there were still kids in their classes who could not write a simple sentence legibly.

You are as responsible for your child's education as any teacher is, it's not just their job, it's yours too.

Sounds as though he's missing his friends and the support he got from them for his learning on an independent basis. The staff should be ensuring he is engaging with those left in the nursery and in the activities he enjoyed previously.
I'm actually quite horrified that they are on a letter a week especially as the documentation they should be following frowns on this - its play based for a reason!.

Do as much as you can at home ensuring he is happy with the activity and not just that you are spending time with him - hard to judge at times but you'll know when he's had enough!
Diverse and broad stimulus for a life of learning will benefit him forever. Loads of play based stimulus. Academia is all well and good but if you dont like you dont learn no matter how old you are!

I could go on and on but it all come down to the same message
Learning should be fun fun fun no matter what the age

Yep I teach 4 - 6 year olds so spaend my day learnign through play and thoroughly enjoy my work

The post perhaps isn't clear enough on the days he is not at nursery, he and my wife tend to play schools (at his request) and learning does take place at many other points through the week too.

I think the fact that he does have to have 3 long days per week at a nursery when almost no learning takes place is the frustration here. Our little girl went to a different one and the learning environment was a bit like 'school lite' so sort of prepared her for school life.

The point made about a pre-school and a nursery is probably a very valid one and perhaps something we need to bare in mind - we did look for a pre-school but their hours do not cover the working hours of my wife.

[timwilky]

My sibling and I were all taught basic literacy/numeracy by my mother prior to attending the local school at age 5. It was a long time ago and I doubt the concept of child care outside of the home had even been discussed or be socially acceptable.

Even at age 2 we are trying to teach letter/number recognition to my grandchildren. I am a firm believer in giving children the learning bug at an early age. Make learning a fun activity.

Originally Posted by krhall

I think the fact that he does have to have 3 long days per week at a nursery when almost no learning takes place is the frustration here. Our little girl went to a different one and the learning environment was a bit like 'school lite' so sort of prepared her for school life.

Kev, my 3 year old (4 in a couple of months) is almost exactly like your lad. Only with ours, when he gets bored & frustrated, he lashes out physically (strong beggar too - recently took on a group of 4 8 year olds! and won! )

I've quote you above for a simple reason, many many nurseries do exactly what they have to and no more. If you can, change nurseries (you've said most of his friends have moved on anyway - so you don't have to worry about that aspect of moving). It sounds like you know of a good nursery.

At the end of the day, you pay for the nursery education from your own pocket, if you don't like what they're doing (or not as the case may be), vote with your wallet.

Originally Posted by timwilky

Make learning a fun activity.

how many smarties can you gobble down in 15 seconds

The old nursery was sold and re-developed so that's not an option either.

I only get to pick him up occasionally but each time I do he seems to be in front of a telly, which is anti everything we do. We are a bit old-school when it comes to TV, computer games etc. and they are still seen as treats and neither of them are allowed to have them in their rooms.

I've just re-read that I sound like a right dictator!

Originally Posted by krhall

I've just re-read that I sound like a right dictator!

Nah, much the same as we are with our 3. It's funny how kids stay in bed longer in the mornings when they're not allowed to watch early morning TV.

How much longer till your lad is in full time school? Since he's 4 it shouldn't be long (next year?). Are there any schools nearby that do a nursery session that would fit with you & the missus work? They'd be more likely to prepare him for school, and make it less of a shell shock when he has to move anyway.