Preparing your child for School – Little Einstein Kids

Preparing a child for School

Preparing your child for primary school

Tell your child what to expect from school but don’t oversell it. Be positive, but also warn them gently that they may get tired and if they have any problems or feel sad they should tell their teacher.

Visit the school beforehand

It is a great idea for your child to see the school before starting so they know what to expect.

Many schools do set up ‘taster’ sessions for the new September intake at the end of the summer term: don’t worry, they won’t start grading your child’s reading level or anything; it’s just a little look-and-play in the classroom, so your child doesn’t have to walk into a totally unfamiliar room on their very first day.

Rehearse the school routine

Run through the school routine. There nursery routine may have been slightly different and there will be children much bigger than them too. It is always good to let them know what is to come.

Talk about school rules

Some children get confused or anxious about school rules. They may worry they won’t hear the school bell, won’t line up in time and then get some fearful punishment.

Reassure them and tell them to keep an eye on what the kids around them are doing. Some child-rearing experts suggest reading a book to your child about starting school and that’s fine, as long as it’s a happy one. Gently remind them that they are still learning and they will eventually get the hang of it.

Laying the foundation

Reading to your baby/toddler If you have been sharing books with your child from babyhood, they will already know that the same pictures or sounds can be visited again and again within a book. They will also know that it feels good to sit in a loving embrace and to have the enjoyment doubled by sharing a book. For them, looking at books is never a chore or a forced activity. This child has a head start.

You don’t need to stick to the text (such as it is) when you’re reading books with your baby. Feel free to tell the story your own way and look the pictures you’re looking at (“Look at that cat! Big, black cat! Just like Granny’s cat. Big, furry, cuddly cat.”) At this stage, it’s all about the intonation of your voice and the connection between books, pictures, sounds and fun.

Make sure at least some of your baby books are accessible, preferably in a toybox with other sources of fun, so your child can look at (and suck and chew) them whenever the whim strikes. Chew-friendly cloth books are the best bet here. Look for ones with different textures to touch, feel and crackle or squeakers to press and shiny ‘mirrors to stare in and giggle at.

As your child gets older and their understanding grows, you can move on to slightly more complicated picture books, with a tad more text to read. Look for simple, colourful illustrations and toddler-friendly subjects: mainly animals, vehicles and of course, other toddlers.

Oh, and intricately designed pop-up books are all very lovely but they will stay rip-free and sticky-fingerprint-less for about ten nanoseconds; wipe-clean board books really are the way to go for now.

Moving on

Pre-reading skills for a preschooler Don’t be tempted to get the flashcards out. However keen your child is on books, however keen you are to get your child reading for themselves (and there really is no rush, remember), there are some ‘pre-reading skills’ your child needs to grasp first.

By now, they should have the understanding that books have a front and a back, and that a book progresses page by page. Next on the agenda is understanding that words on the page are read from left to right, and that the different shapes of the letters inside these words are what helps you figure out what to say as you read the book aloud to them.

Of course, you don’t actually need to teach them this; they’ll just absorb it if you keep sharing books with them. Point to the words as you read them, moving your finger along the line. Look at the pictures and try to work out what the story may be about. During or after reading, talk about what the story was about, what they liked and didn’t like and so on. These are all very important pre-reading skills.”

Look for books with bright, funny illustrations and clear, uncomplicated text. Stories with strong rhymes are especially good: they help your child absorb the rhythm and structure of sentences and sharpen up the listening skills they’ll soon need to pick up on different initial letter sounds. Rhymes also encourage anticipation, a key pre-reading skill; try stopping before you finish the rhyme to see if they can fill it in for you (“Rain, rain, go away. Come again another…?”).

Sounds and Letters

If you feel your child is ready, you could also start talking to them about the letter sounds – building on what they’ve probably already starting to learn at preschool. Find a nice ABC book and look at some of the letters together. Start with the letter her name begins with and take it from there – let your child dictate the pace you go at (or not!). And pronounce them phonetically: “a” rather than “ay” and “buh” rather than “bee”, as this is the way they will learn them at preschool and school (if you’re not sure how to pronounce them, download the DFES guide to Letters and Sounds). “You could also try putting magnetic letters on the fridge door or buying foam letters to float about in the bath.”

Once they know some letter sounds well, you can ‘spot’ the letters when you see them on street signs and food labels, as well as in books (“Look, yuh for yoghurt.”) You could also think up some other letter-sound games to play together, from good old I Spy to more modern, splashy stuff… “We ‘fish’ those foam letters with a small net out of the bath: it’s a great game. I put about ten letters in, and say, ‘Where is m?’ and DS1 fishes it out. We also play I Spy and this game where I say, ‘This word starts with the ‘a’, and it’s a fruit, it’s red and crunchy’ and he has to guess what it is. I don’t really want him to read before he starts school, but I would like him to ‘want’ to learn to read and have an interest in letters and sounds and numbers.”

Each child is given next steps to work towards which you and your child’s Key Person will agree upon.