It's that time of year again when we start to think about all the preschool children leaving nursery to start big school in September.
Much of our planning at nursery is focused around building on the essential skills your child will need when transitioning to school. These skills include everything from being able to put on their shoes and fasten their coat independently to knowing how to effectively communicate their needs and feelings with their peers and teachers. This preparation begins from the minute they start their journey with us at nursery.
In this article we will share with you some simple and fun activities that you can do at home to continue building on those skills outside of nursery.
Sorting & Matching
You can support early maths skills by letting children group objects together by colour, shape, size or texture.
Use language such as - the same, different, matching, sort, organise. This can be done easily with toys such as animals, cars and building blocks - shoes and socks work well for this too!
All About Me Collage
Creating a picture all about your child helps them feel special and valued. Creating gives them a sense of identity and helps them understand differences between us all. This is a great opportunity for children to express their wishes and their likes and dislikes.
Use language such as - favourite colour, what they like to play with, who/what is important to them. They could include their favourite place to go, their favourite food or drink. Add in pictures of family members and pets they recognise and follow their lead with what they want to include.
Getting Dressed
Dressing up helps children's creativity and self esteem.
Why not let your child:
Choose an outfit - allow your child to select their own outfit whether it be a dressing up costume, everyday clothes or a combination of both. This gives them a sense of independence and freedom to make the choice for themselves.
Try and put it on - allow them to dress themselves, help them by showing them if needed and support them verbally using encouraging language.
Small World Play
Letting children explore a 'small world' works on their creativity and imagination skills. It enables them to make their own choices and decisions and develops real life skills. Children can practice small world play on their own, with peers or with adults. If playing alongside your child you should comment on their play by describing objects by their colour, size and or pattern.
Maths Hunt Game
We may not realise it, but maths learning takes place in lots of different every day tasks as well as in planned activities. Whilst going about your usual day, try challenging your child to point out some different shapes or count different objects as they go along. A great example of this would be when going for a car ride or on a walk together.
Ask your child to name all the circles they can see - a street sign, a football in the park or a roundabout in the road. Then try a different shape like square or triangle. You could find things that are big like busses, tall buildings or big dogs. Then find things that are small. you could count all the red cars you come across or all the traffic lights you drive through.
We hope you have fun trying out some of these activities! And don't forget to update your child's learning journey with some photos from home via Parent Zone...
Click HERE for some helpful School Readiness resources from the NDNA, including guidance on developing mathematical confidence at home, developing literacy skills at home and how to help minimise some of the worries your child might experience about going to school.
Click HERE to visit the BBC Bitesize website which includes a whole library of resources covering different aspects of your child's journey to 'big school'. From quick and healthy lunch box ideas to how to help your child get on with other children and tips for a good nights sleep!
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