Last Thursday I attended an induction evening for my daughter's new entrant class. The teacher had this to say about what she would like to see 5 year olds coming to school with:
1. Know how to write their name
2. Know some letter names and sounds
3. Be able to identify some letters by sight e.g. letters in name and maybe family members' names
4. Be able to count to ten
5. Know their full name, address and phone number if possible
6. Be able to dress themselves and toilet themselves without assistance
She encouraged parents to provide lots of opportunity for children to talk about their experiences, family events and feelings to help develop their language skills and vocabulary.
Provide children with pens, pencils, crayons, paints and paper to explore writing and symbol making.
Show children how to hold a pencil.
Letting children see you reading and writing for a specific reason and also for pleasure is important to fostering a love of reading.
The most important aspect was that she said that the new entrant teacher will take your child from where they currently are so not to panic if your child is not doing some or all of the above.
That's reassuring to know as my youngest, Bronya (pictured above with my sister's dog in Nelson) heads to school in early August!
Jo
