About starting school...

[midivydale]

Some questions frm experienced school parents:

PE bags, can you have any bag?

Pencil case etc, do we need them? Can they be anything (read super heros)?

Are you allowed charms on the rucksack/book bag?

[Goodliz]

Which school is your child starting as some may be stricter than others.

Goodrich, where my son goes, is pretty laid back about those things.

PE bags, can you have any bag? At Goodrich, yes. My son puts his PE kit in a plastic bag inside his main school bag.

Pencil case etc, do we need them? School provides the pencils etc but some children do bring them in even though they are not needed.

Can they be anything (read super heros)? Some pencil cases can be very distracting (I also work in a school) so I would keep it as simple as possible - but yes, superheroes are allowed as far as I know.

Are you allowed charms on the rucksack/book bag? Yes, lots of kids attach them to the zip. But don't put anything on that would be sorely missed if it was broken or fell off and lost.

Hope that helps. I imagine most state primaries will have a similar approach but the private schools may be stricter.

[Pickle]

On the pencil case - from my experience it was only at about year 2 that my kids wanted to take one to school, before that they're just not necessary and not something kids have an awareness of.

In year 3 my daughters class went "Smiggle" mad, and the competitiveness/trading etc got so bad the teacher banned pencil cases which I thought was a good move.

A charm/key ring on your book bag is a good idea as in a class of 30 it makes it easier to identify your one.

[midivydale]

Thanks both, I think I might be suffering from a case of precious first born syndrome, and might be overthinking all the details of the school thing.

My husband did think I was insane when searching amazon for keyrings/charms at 1am...

Goodliz, we are going to a state school I just thought a charm thing would help my son identify his rucksack as they are all identical at the school he is going to.

[Saffron]

Well if you're going to search Amazon for anything at 1am, charms seems perfectly reasonable! :)

My daughter's school allows any PE bags. Get one with a wide opening. It's easier to get things in/out for little hands. We use a nylon shopper with Velcro closure.

On the first day of Reception, I put a little note pad and a pink pen in my daughter's school bag. She didn't really need them, but they made her feel special and excited. She also likes to rotate the small teddies in her bag. They're allowed to play with them in the school yard before class.

There's always plenty to choose from in the Lewisham Ctr, school stuff, key chains etc. xx

[RoseJadeH]

My son started at GG reception last September

I panicked got him all of the standard P.E kit (plimsoles shorts tshirts a p.e bag etc)..They did p.e in t-shirts and trousers as the teacher explained a lot of children at reception age are not great at getting dressed/undressed!

In his class they have holders with children sized thicker pencils etc provided, and my son had about 15 different charms attached to his zipper on his Spiderman bag!

All the best. J

[slh2009]

Our school lets reception and year 1 children wear PE kit to school on that day, takes too long for some of them to get changed themselves, so no need for a PE bag!

Also think the charm or name tag is a good idea to identify bag in amongst the rest of the class...

[flocker spotter]

Bookbag charm is the only thing you'll need on day one from this list. Any writing will be done with school equipment and with no set tables there is nowhere for your pencil case to go apart from staying in your book bag. Clearly your child is not going to be allowed to go rummaging for that each time she is asked to write her name on her picture! There is also the issue of sharing - a skill that has to be taught for many in Reception - the less sharing of own things the better. As for PE kit, a few brave teachers do start them getting changed from the start of Reception but many leave it until after Xmas once the children have settled into a routine and developed a degree of independence.

[newtoedf]

If the PE bags are on the coat pegs in the cloakrooms they quite often end up on the floor, the more clearly labelled with the child's name they are, the more likely a passing adult is to pick up it up and put it back on the right peg. If the name is hard to see, it'll get picked up but might end up on a random peg. I reckon drawstring bags or large plastic bags are the best bet as stuff can't just fall out and end up in a heap in the corner like it can with a rucksack that isn't zipped up properly. However, as flocker spotter says, check if they are actually going to be changing for PE before you worry too much about special kit. My eldest's first pair of sand shoes had never actually been worn when she grew out of them (her brother did wear them though when it was his turn).

You will probably be asked to provide a separate bag with a complete change of clothes as well as there is a lot of messy/water play in reception. It's worth slinging a cheap cagoule in there as well to avoid the guilt when you realise you forgot to check the forecast on a lovely sunny morning and the heavens open later in the day...

[Convex]

how do you know if you need pe kit? we are going to Heber.

I have bought the uniform and book bag but was planning to just use his current backpack and had no idea i might need to consider pe kit.

will take another look at the website...

[Mrs D]

Hi convex - my boys have just finished reception at heber and there is no need for PE kit. They will not start PE until yr 1.

[Convex]

thanks!

[womanofdulwich]

Mrs D that sounds really bad- surely they should be doing outside PE in Reception?

[Mrs D]

Hi, i don't think it's bad at all. They are out in the playground a lot and have lots of things to do there, including climbing frames, playing with balls, running races etc so they get plenty of exercise doing that. PE as structured lesson starts in year one and I am personally fine with that.

[snowboarder]

If there's no need for a regulation pe bag I'd get one that is identifiable as possible - my eldest at his first school had his name embroidered on in large letters!

I have coloured name stickers from Great Little Trading company for both my boys (different colour for each!) and stick a large name sticker on their book bags for easy identification too, and their sewn in name tapes are the same colour/design so they remember whose is whose!

The pe regs are so different per school - my reception aged youngest was changing for swimming last year in the first term!!

[midivydale]

Thanks everyone. PE and changing is required straight away, we have been asked to bring it along for the first day and leave it in the class room. I ordered one from amazon which you could personlise with child name (spiderman found his way on to it as well). Should help mini to identify it. Hoping that the spiderman will be allowed.

Anyonee else feeling it is pulling at their heart strings? It seems like yesterday I was here asking for bf and reflux help.