Reception Ready: Preparing Your Child
This page contains ideas and suggestions on how you can start to prepare your child for their new adventure!
Teach your child to get dressed and undressed by themselves - this is hard work but will help massively for things like getting ready to access outdoor provision and getting changed for PE. Things children usually struggle with when they first start school are zips, buttons and hook and eye clasps on trousers - if you can teach your child to do these things then they will be set!
2. Encourage your child to start using cutlery correctly and independently; this will be helpful when they start to eat lunches in the dining room. Also allow them to try and experiment with new foods, encouraging positiveness around a range of new foods.
3. Support your child to become toilet trained and help them to develop independent self-care.
NHS Toilet Training Support:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/potty-training-tips/
4. Sing simple nursery rhymes together. The patterned language and sentence structure will really help your child's development at this stage (as well as being lots of fun!). Rhymes you could try include: Twinkle Twinkle, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Little Bo Peep, Three Blind Mice, etc.
BBC Nursery Rhymes Library:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school- radio/nursery-rhymes-a-to-z-index/z4ddgwx
5. Give out jobs to help around the house, especially helping with tidying things away.
6. Simple counting on objects in the environment, walking up and downstairs, objects in and out of cupboards, etc.
7. Share a book together and discuss it!
What was about? What are the parts you enjoyed the most/least?
Here are some online libraries to try:
https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/have-some-fun/storybooks-and-games/
https://www.storylineonline.net/
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page
8. Encourage holding a pen/pencil and using it to draw pictures and practise name writing.
9. Develop fine motor skills through activities focused on using finger and hand muscles e.g. playing with play dough.
Play dough recipes: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/playdough-recipe
https://www.thebestideasforkids.com/playdough-recipe/
Fine Motor Skill Activities: Griffin OT YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDF9vM1Qdz5CKKl9y_c2bw
Dough Disco
10. Talk together as much as possible; whether it's about the day at the dinner table or about what you can see whilst on a walk. Play together and encouraging talk around the games you are playing, creations you are making! This is also a great opportunity to practise taking turns.
Attached is a helpful document with some tips for interacting with children to development their language.