What is school readiness?

Hello all our families and friends

I’m Donna an Early Years Practitioner and Henry Facilitator. I run Stay & Play sessions and other parent and child sessions at our Children and Family Centres.

Let’s talk about ‘school readiness’ and what we can teach our children to help them be ready for school.

What is school readiness?

Getting young children prepared and ready to start school is not about making sure they know their A,B,C or are able to read or write or stand in a straight line or sit quietly on a mat. School readiness is much more about the everyday practicalities, teaching your child the skills they will need to cope independently within the school environment, so they feel happy, safe and relaxed.

Physical skills you can teach your child that they will needed for school:

• Teach them how to put their shoes on the correct feet and take them off again. (see the heart trick below to help them identify their left and right) Laura will be showing us this trick on our Instagram page.
• Teach them to put on and take off their coat
• Teach them how to dress and undress independently so they can change for PE
• Teach them how to blow their nose and what to do with their tissue afterwards, especially now with Coronavirus.
• Teach them how to wash their hands correctly, especially important now with Coronavirus.
• Teach them how to go to the toilet independently, including wiping themselves, flushing the toilet and washing their hands afterwards.
• Familiarize them with their own lunch box and how to open and close it. Check our Instagram Page for tips on choosing the right lunch box for your child.
• Teach them how to put on gloves and take them off again.
• Teach them how to recognize their own belongings e.g. their coat, bag, lunch box, including how to recognize their name on any labels used to identify their belongings.
• Teach them how to peel fruit if you are putting it in their lunch box e.g. bananas, satsumas.
• Teach them how to take off the lid of yoghurt pots or deserts you give them in their lunch box.
• Teach them how to eat with a knife and fork.
• The heart trick for putting on shoes for school as outlined by Sarah Ockwell-Smith in her book  “The Starting School Book.”

Putting shoes on the right feet - starting school video:

This simple, quick and easy trick will help teach children which shoe goes on what foot.

I will be talking about more tips to help school readiness.

Donna