priscilia

We live in France and our eldest daughter will turn 7 next January.
Here in France she will only start her first year in primary school in September. I know in Australia she should be starting her second year in February.
Could someone with children around the same age tell me what they have learned in their first year at school?
I am worried that it might be hard on her and would like to try help her prepare for it.

jad n rich

If your daughter can do the most basic reading, such as a cat mat the it is I we dog ball type words and knows her numbers and colours she will by flying in. They dont do formal learning before grade one so grade one is the most basic stuff, think age 4 in UK education system.

Check what state you are going to before guessing on ages, all states vary on starting ages and Qld for eg is changing next year anyway.

jothefw

Hiya - can feel for you on this one. Our eldest started primary in Uk last September but wouldn't have started in Oz till this year and was interested to know whether he'd be bored basically.

We're lucky and know which school he'll be attending and I've emailed and had excellent support from their vice principal and they've a helpful website too.

Basically they seem to all start yr they're 6 so although slightly later than Uk it'll be slightly earlier for you - as other poster states it'll all be about basic words and alot about interaction and how they play, share, wait etc - they won't be full on for ages yet and seem to very good at adapting to suit all needs.

Good luck!

Mrs Jackaroo

I havent found this to be the case in my daughters school in NSW. My daughter is in year one at the moment (same as she was in the UK) - turns 7 in November so starts year 2 in Feb. I've been helping out in the class twice a week with the childrens reading and I have to say that they were over and above what her classmates could do in the UK. I find the teaching to be very different here - very focused on manners etc and respect of your elders (in my daughters class anyway). They are given a lot more responsibility too such as setting up their own homework books and earning 'well done' cards to work towards achievement badges etc.

I really wouldnt worry about how your daughter will fit in - she will be absolutely fine. Kids tend to learn at their own pace and catch up remarkably quickly (if they need to that is).

She will love it honestly!

priscilia

Thank you all for your answers.
Alyssa loves school so far and I would hate for that to change because she feels she can't keep up!
She already knows all her letters and she can count but she's learning all that in french of course, she speaks reasonnably good english and understands everything but it will still be a big step up for her.
From what you say, she should be ok and you have put my mind at rest, thanks, we'll just have to start singing the alphabet in engligh from now on!!!

rossfive5

I wouldn't worry too much, kids learn alot at that age. My daughter was 7 when we moved to the UK from South Africa where they start school in their 7th year, so she had only done 6 months of year one. She went straight into year 3 in England and by the end of the year, she had caught up to the rest of the class.

moneypenny20

People and life skills seem to be far more important to them than knowing their ABC's in the early years of school. We arrived last year and my youngest went into year 6 and against all the other children is shy and quiet (not at home obviously ) but she is definitely getting there in terms of interacting with other children and adults.

priscilia

I have read that a lot : that australian schools are not just about academic achievement, I like the concept a lot, coming from France where the teaching is purely about how much you can get into a child's head in one given year , it's refreshing and probably works a lot better in the long run!!
My kids getting a better education is one of the reasons I didn't want to stay in France.
I was probably very worried for Alyssa because here if your child is not up to "standards" they wouldn't really try to help her, they would just tell the parents "she's behind, do something about it" and then make her repeat the year!!
Now, from what I have just read, I know she'll be fine !!

YFitz

My daughter turned 7 at the end of Dec 04 and started Year 2 a month later -almost the exact situation as your daughter. (We had just arrived from the UK where she had completed her reception year and Year1 -the equivalent to pre-primary and Year 1 in Aus or Primary 1 and 2 in Scotland)
I'm looking though her old work books just now to see what she was doing the first half of Year 2. Lots of phonics- sh, wh, th,oo, ee, ea, ow, ck etc. Spelling homework each week to consolidate the phonics work done in school- eg, see, seed, deep, sweep, sleepy (usually 14 words every 1.5 weeks). They did diary writing, book reviews, recipe writing, story sequencing, aspects of story writing eg characters, setting, main events, ending etc etc. In maths, some of the things she did during the first term were dice sums (rolling 2 or 3 dice, recording the numbers and adding them together) telephone number sums (same idea), ordering numbers to 100, place value, number patterns-counting in 2's ,5's 10's, money, measurement- with buttons, pegs etc and also in cm's. By no stretch of the imagination was she ahead of her peers either- probably somewhere around the middle.
I think if she had gone in there only knowing colours and ABC she would have been way behind. I'm certainly not trying to worry you but you sound like you want to know what's what so you can be prepared. Do you know what school your child will be attending? If so it could be an idea to contact the school now and explain your situation. Depending on where you settle, if it's an area with many migrants the school will possibly be used to children arriving from different education systems and will be able to help you decide the best course of action, certainly, what i have found in the school my kids are in is that children at both ends of the special needs spectrum are catered for much better than at their village school in England. My daughter had terrible hearing problems and had 3 bilateral operations in as many years. She struggled with phonics at school(hardly a surprise)was reluctant to do any work with me at home and her self confidence suffered, but rather than focus on the problem she was merely regarded as not very bright. In the 18 months she has been at school here the main focus FOR HER was phonics and at the end of Year 2 she won the English prize for her class. Boy, were we proud! (English and Maths at her school are streamed and she was in a middle set.) My son who is in Year 1 has always been fascinated by numbers and is doing some amazing work in an environment where he can be challenged- what I'm saying is that I have found their school to be flexible in their approach to each child's starting point and children are better catered for wherever their strengths or difficulties lie.
This has been my experience only and I'm only writing all this as I'm sure there are people sitting in the UK just now ready to move and worrying that their kids were going to be working at a level 2 years behind Uk.
Just like the Uk (and no doubt France as well!) Aus will have good teachers, bad teachers good schools and crap schools so it's impossible to generalise and make sweeping statements. All I can talk about is our personal experience. From others I have spoken to who are happy with their kids schools I'm sure if you look you will find a school who will be able to accommodate your daughter coming from a different system. It'll be fine!
All the best Yvonne

Mrs Jackaroo

Brilliant post! Its what I was 'trying' to say in my reply!!

priscilia

Thank you Yvonne for taking the time to write such a good post, you seem to understand exactly what my concern is. I'm not trying to push my daughter too hard, but I feel that maybe knowing in advance will allow me to prepare her a little better so that the transition will be easier.
We know the area we want to move to but not which school exactly.
I think I will try and find some english books to try and familiarise her a little bit with the basic letters and sounds, as it's very different from what she would learn in french, actually it's probably a lot easier!!

Priscilia