Starting school is the start of a new adventure for your child.  Below you will find some useful resources to help you and your child to prepare for life in Reception. Here are some skills to practise before starting Reception.  

Growing Independence

Taking care of themselves

• Putting on/taking off their coat and shoes
• Using the toilet and washing their hands
• Getting dressed with little help
• Using cutlery and drinking from an open cup
• Spending time away from you, learning they can be looked after by caring adults.

Play, creativity and curiosity

• Taking part in imaginative play
• Drawing, painting, colouring and sticking
• sharing story books with caregivers, looking at pictures and talking about the characters
• Exploring the world around them

At school your child will be meeting lots of new people and making new friendships.  Some things to help them get ready include:

Building relationships and communicating

Being with others

• Practising sharing and taking turns with toys
• Talking to them about how they are feeling and why
• Looking at story books together and speaking about how the characters are feeling and why
• Beginning to recognise what others are feeling

Communication and language

• Singing along with songs and nursery rhymes
• Talking happily to others about experiences and the world around them
• showing they need help by speaking clearly
• Recognising the pattern of their name (so they can find it on their coat peg or jacket, self registration etc)

Listening and engaging

• Paying attention for short periods of time
• Listening to and following simple instructions
• Carrying on with a task even when it is difficult and bouncing back if things go wrong. 

Physical Development

Getting moving for at least 3 hours a day

• Walking up and down steps (one foot at a time, using the wall for support)
• Climbing, running, jumping and playing
• Catching a large ball (most of the time)
• Doing simple craft activities and puzzles, strengthening grip with cutting and sticking

Healthy routines

• Going to bed around the same time each night, waking up in time to get ready for school
• Limiting screen time to the recommended daily amounts
• Eating a healthy diet and thing new foods
• Brushing their teeth with fluoride toothpaste twice a day (you'll need to supervise this until they are at least 7)

What if my child has additional needs?

• If your child needs additional support to settle into Reception, make sure you share as much information as possible with their new teacher. They can work with you to find strategies to support your child.
• Summer born children, or those speaking English as an additional language (EAL) may need more support.
• If you know or suspect your child has special educational needs (SEND), developmental differences or delays, some of these skills may not be achievable for them at this point.
• Early support makes a big difference - ask your child's nursery, healthy visitor or local children's centre for help. 

We have included some activity suggestions that you can use at home, including an introduction to the phonics approach that we use at SHPA.

When preparing to introduce any of the suggested activities with your child make sure it is a time when they are ready to engage, learning should be fun for everyone.  Outside is a great place to learn, included here are many activities that can be explored outside.

My name

• Can your child find their name?  Create a scavenger hunt around the house to see how many places they can see their name.  Maybe they could use a device to take a picture every time they find their name.  Talk about the differences and similarities between each picture.
• Cut up pieces of paper with the names of family members or significant others, can your child find their name amongst others (begin with just a couple of different names)?
• Use a tray or cake tin lid and add a thin layer of salt, use this to make patterns using a finger, this could lead on to exploring the letters in your child's name.

Funky fingers

• Make some playdough for your child to explore, be adventurous by adding different colours/herbs/spices. You will find some recipes here: https://abcdoes.com/abc-does-a-blog/2010/08/21/playdough-recipes/
• There are lots of dough disco songs on YouTube
• Let your child play with the peg bag, squeezing pegs is a great way to strengthen hands.  If you make a washing line be careful to ensure that this doesn't become a hazard.
• Threading things such as Cheerios or penne pasta.

Phonic awareness

• Here are the sounds that your child will be introduced to when they start school.  There is a new sound every day.  These videos introduce each sound in the same way they we do, watching the speed sound can be a good prompt to talk about the sound, how it looks, searching for it in favourite books or when out for a walk.  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDe74j1F52zSHkrG_OoWu0sHBTLCEzq1G
• Saying the 'pure' sound is very important when learning to read.  This video demonstrates how to say the sounds in a way that will make blending the sounds together to read much easier for your child.  It's a good habit to get into and will really support your child too. https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/reading-owl/find-a-book/read-write-inc-phonics--1/phonics-pure-sounds-video

Outdoor fun

• A bucket of water and a paint brush can provide hours of entertainment and believe it or not can really help when your child begins to write.
• A small broom with soapy water can create lots of bubbly fun on hard ground.
• A washing up bowl with recycled pots and containers of various sizes.
• Use your collection of old or holey socks and add them to the sand pit with spoons.
• Go on a bug hunt.
• Plant some sunflowers or beans.
• On a sunny day take out toy animals, place them on a sheet of paper and encourage your child to draw around the shadow.

Stories

• Take time every day to share a book.
• Encourage repeat readings of favourite books and let your child be the story teller.
• Take time to look closely at pictures in books, ask open questions and encourage curiosity.