RSA Grade 1 compared to Aus Year1

[McCabes]

Think that's the best way to go MandyW.

You can always just treat him to some really awesome books for Christmas to try get him hooked - that you read to him for now I mean, but just so he can see that books are fun - Fly Guy are great early books and not intimidating - they have really fab illustrations Horrid Henry is awful for parents (though also really easy to identify with if you have more than 1 kidlet) but great for little boys

All the best - let us know how it goes?

[ruditrix]

O my goodness!!! My son is now in grade r in an afrikaans school in sa.

His bday is 24 april so...... he will statistically have to go to grade2 when we arrive next year?? He will have to be kept back a year..

Edited February 16, 2014 by ruditrix

[Toitjie]

I enrolled Kayla for year 4 (her b'day is 2 April) and in SA she would have been in grade 4 and the school had no issues. They didnt even ask, they just accepted what I stated on the enrollment form and that was that. I am glad though as she is doing really well and her confidence got a great boost because she is almost first in her class in maths she is helping the ozzie boys sitting at her table which I find very encouraging!

[heidim]

O my goodness!!! My son is now in grade r in an afrikaans school in sa.

His bday is 24 april so...... he will statistically have to go to grade2 when we arrive next year?? He will have to be kept back a year..

My dogtertjie word Maart 6 en is nou year 1 qld. Sy was verlede jaar in prep wat seker tegnies dieselfde is as gr r. Hierdie jaar het hulle by die oueraand gese alle year1 kinders moet sinne kan lees en hulle moet hulle 100 sightwords van prep af ken. Haar huiswerk nou leer ek haar oor vokale en konsonante! Sy kan nie eers die woord consonant uitspreek of onthou nie maar hulle moet dit verstaan en identifiseer. Sy lees reeds boeke met 3-4 vol sinne per bladsy. As dit vir jou n idee gee van wat in year 1 voorle on Qld.

[C&GJBay]

I know this is a bit late, but thought I'd give my 2c as this was one of the things that I was really worried about before we moved.

We moved at the end of January 2012, so the start of the school year.

My daughters birthday is the end of December, so she was one of the youngest in her Grade R class in South Africa. She would have repeated GradeR had we not moved then, because she was "emotionally not ready for Gr1" as her teachers told us.

Because Qld cut-off is June, she was right in the middle of the age group for Grade1 when we arrived. She had not done sight words or any formal reading in ZA GrR, only letterland sounds etc. Not sure about maths... maybe only counting to 100 & shapes?

We were concerned as all the other grade1's in Qld were reading basic readers, had done sight word, could count in 2's... we had the option of putting her in a Grade1 or a combined Gr1/Prep class. I was convinced she would cope in the Grade1 class & so we tried that.

I'm so glad we did. She picked up reading really quickly, made friends easily & was generally loving school. 2 years later she is at the top of her class for reading & spelling & is reading at a year 5 level. A few of her friends from South Africa that are her age are now a full year behind her in school.

My son was 3 when we moved, so he did kindy (pre-prep) the year he turned 5 as his birthday is after June. He is now in Prep (GrR) & is probably one of the oldest, as his birthday is in July. He is learning sight words & getting 2 basic readers home each week in Term1. His same-age friends in South Africa are not in formal school yet & he is now the same school year as friends who are 6months to a year older than him.

I am also a Teacher Aide at a private Christian school (my kids are at the state school ) & I do learning support with kids that are reading behind their reading age, I can tell you that in 1 class, there are kids that have to sound out each 3 letter word before they read it & kids that are reading chapter books by themselves & think that the school readers are boring.

Each child is unique, will learn at their own pace & copes with challenges differently. The school will do their best to get your child to where they should be, without pushing them too hard & stressing them out.

Here are some websites that our school uses

studyladder.com.au - FREE

readingeggs.com.au

sunshineonline.com.au

spellingcity.com.au (really amazing - the teachers upload the weekly spelling lists & the kids can search for their teacher & then play hangman, matching & lots of other games, with their own spelling words - you can do it as a parent too if the teacher hasn't registered)

soundwaves.com.au

Most of these also have apps that you can download & use on your tablet/phone ... nice way to keep the kids quiet & know that its not mindless games

[followmylead]

I have to agree. My youngest skipped year one and is doing just fine. My middle child skipped year 5 and is doing great in year 6 and my eldest went frm 5 to high school. He too is doing remarkably. So despite being really anxious about how they would cope - they are fine

[Katerina]

Don't stress too much about it! The schools are fantastic, and most have reading programmes to assist those who are a little behind. My daughter left SA at the end of pre-primary, and went into Year 1 in NSW. She was behind with her reading, but within 6 months and thanks to the school, she was on a par with the class. Now 2 years later she is well above average, and always has her nose in a book.