I've just finished filling out Yasin's enrollment forms to start kindy next year.
I can't believe that my baby is starting school next year.
He'll be 'going to' the Sydney Distance Education Primary School for the first six months while we are in France and the the local public school when we come back to Australia (or NZ if we decide to go there).
Who else has a littlie (or two) starting school next year?
What are you doing to help them prepare?
DS1 starts prep next year. We are still choosing a school. We've narrowed it down to two, but one might be out because unless we aren't in the catchment area and there are a few ahead of us on the waiting list. DS1 has been to both schools already and knows what it's all about (in fact he wants to start in term 4 instead of doing another term at kindy first LOL!).
How does it work in Sydney Brontide - is kindy instead of prep? DS1 is at kindy this year but we don't count that as school. It's not at the same location.
MR, kindy is the same as prep but in NSW it's compulsary. When I was looking at QLD schools (in case we move there next year) I got the impression that prep is recommended but not compulsorary. Is that correct?
We don't have much choice about schools - there's only one distance education school in Sydney. Since we'll be in the public system I figure we may as well stick with it when we get back so that he has more continuity with the sylabus and teaching. Also the local public school is in walking distance and the private school is a drive away and I prefer the idea of walking to school.
If it doesn't work out we can always pull him out and go private.
Kindy is the NSW prep.
Some tips to prepare your child for school (from a kindy teacher!)
Teach them to recognise their name when it is written on clothes etc.
Try and get them to learn to tie their shoe laces!! You wouldn't believe how many kids at school even in yrs 1 & 2 that can't.
Let them practice being more independent eg packing their bag for preschool, unpacking it when they get home, remembering simple messages etc.
The academic stuff we can teach at school so don't stress about that, its the little things that make the difference like being able to put on their own jumper or being able to get their lunch out of their bag etc.
mrsmac, I'm a really lazy Mum. I always buy velcro shoes so that my boys don't have to fiddle with laces. I guess I should teach them to tie them soon
I've just started making Yasin find his shelf at cc (it has a tag with his name) but I'll start making him unpack his bag too
You're right brontide - prep is recommended here but not compulsory.
We are only looking at public schools too and hopefully we will be able to move to within walking distance of the school he will go to. It's just that the local school here won't really work - DS has some special requirements which they can't manage. The other schools we are looking at will be much better at catering for him.
Mrsmac - DS can do all those things from kindy (except we don't have shoe laces either!). He already has to do it all at the kindy end, so he might as well do it at home also So in NSW what age do they start kindy then? Is there anything before that other than day care?
In NSW they have to start kindy by their 6th birthday but they can enrol to start the year they turn 5.
There are some government pre-schools but they are mainly attached to schools in lower socio-economic areas (there are about 100 and 24 of the are in communities that have mainly Aboriginal inhabitants). I think the idea is that they help disadvantaged children catch up before kindy.
Most of the child-care centers offer a pre-school program for the 4 year olds. Yasin's CC does school readiness during the last quarter of the year where they ask parents to drop children off at 9 and pick them up at 3 and they try to mimic the routines of school and learn school skills (like shoelaces and unpacking their own lunches I guess).
DD1 is starting Kindy next year. In Perth we have Kindy, then preprimary before year 1. Neither are compulsory. She'll be doing 5 half days. How many days do they do over east?
I enrolled DD in her school about a week ago. We're moving back to Sydney next month so she'll be starting there (in NSW). She'll be 5 in April but her daycare centre where she attends pre-school has said she's ready, which we already knew LOL.
We were lucky enough to get DD into the school we did as there's a wait list for it but XH had asked the principle to hold a spot for DD earlier this year (incase we came back into the area) & because we have so much involvement in our parish there was no problems for DD to get in.
In November she starts one day a week for the "transition" into big school then will start 5 days a week next year.
I should probably get onto teaching her how to tie laces too but I think the shoes she has for school are velcro (if I can remember rightly!!)
My ds is starting kindy next year too. He's currently going to 3yr old kindy and loves it! Is perfectly fine with unpacking his bag, recognising his name etc... no tying of shoelaces here either!
He's not looking forward to separating from his 3yr old kindy friends though. I'm trying to remind him that he made friends at this kindy, he'll make friends at the new kindy and we can still see his 'old' friends after school..... doesn't seem to be working though, he gets a bit teary whenever we talk about it.
Prep in QLD is 5 days a week and almost school hours - I think most schools have the preps start 10 minutes later and finish 10 minutes earlier so they are not caught up with all the big kids coming and going. They can do prep if they are 5 before June 30 in the year in the start.
Are we talking about kindy/preschool or 'big school'? If it's big school then yep, my baby girl will be starting next year. I haven't formally enrolled her as yet but they know she's starting. She will do her orientation program for four Fridays in November - first two are half days and then the last two are full days. She is already going to preschool on the bus with the older two, so she's fine with that. She's more than ready and I haven't had to do much in the way of preparation because she's already doing all the stuff they recommend you do with them anyway.
I thought that's what you meant Brontide it will be sadder for me to send her off to school than it was the older two because she was my baby for longer than the other two were and I will really miss her *sniff*. I have got most of her uniform sorted - she will get DD1's skorts etc that are too small for her and I had to order all of them new school shirts as they are changing the uniform.
Starting school in 2010.
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So in NSW what age do they start kindy then? Is there anything before that other than day care?
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