What can I do to get my child ready for starting school?
Here are 8 things you can do to help get them ready for school life.
Getting your child ready for school can improve their experience
of the important first days and weeks of school.
Here are the things that will help you, your child, and the teacher in the crucial starting phase at school.
- Recognise the letters in their name
- Begin to write their name
- Buttons, velcro and zips
- Put on shoes - Correct shoes on each foot
- Count to 10
- Recognise the numbers up to 5
- Read stories to your child
- Sing nursery rhymes and songs
Help your child to be able to recognise the letters that make up their name.
Some schools do self-registration as the children enter the class in the morning
for example - picking up their name tag and putting it on a board
or recognising where their coat peg or hook is to hang their belongings.
Encourage mark marking.
Even if the name isn't exact - see the examples below,
any attempts to make the shapes of the letter is a great start!
To encourage the children to start to be independent in dressing themselves;
for example, being able to put a coat on for outside play.
Being able to recognise that each shoe is different.
Awareness there is a left shoe and a right shoe and which feet they go on.
Being able to fasten the shoes if they have velcro.
Counting the numbers up to ten
Make it fun! Sing it, shout it, say it with closed eyes.
Practice in the car, on a walk, out and about.
Count every day items you see like birds, crayons or items of food.
Here is an article about having fun with numbers at mealtimes
Some children are able to count by rote - they just know it.
Help them to recognise the written numbers 1,2,3,4 and 5.
Write the numbers out together on a piece of paper or insand.
Use magnetic numbers on tables, trace round them, use them as characters
or play hide and seek with them.
This is to help them get used to the format of a story, a beginning and end.
It also helps to get them used to concentrate on the sounds of a story being read,
the voice, breaks in speaking, breathing, eye contact and intonation.
Stories are fun to share and create a wonderful time together.
Five little ducks, five currant buns, 10 fat sausages - they bring in the experience of simple maths.
It helps give children the experience of rhyme and repetition
Want to know the names of the years of children's schooling?
How do you know what first grade is?
What class year is "Reception"?
What are the years names?
Here is a chart that shows it all
The School Years: What Are the Year Names and What Age Groups Are in Them?
We have lots of free worksheets and resources online
to help your child get a great start to their school life.
Visit our downloads page
Here are some examples of our worksheets
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