Getting Dressed

 

One of the main things you can do to help your child get ready for school is teaching them how to get dressed by themselves. This really helps them to build their independence.

Coats - Practise putting on the coat and zipping it up. It is useful to practise taking it off by holding each sleeve to prevent the sleeves from turning inside out or teaching your child how to put their sleeve back the right way around.

Shoes - Practise putting shoes on the right feet. You could write an L and R inside the shoes to help your child know which foot each one goes on. 

Jumpers/ Cardigans - Practise putting on jumpers and cardigans and taking them off by holding each sleeve to prevent the sleeves from turning inside out or teaching your child how to put their sleeve back the right way around. If your child is going to wear a cardigan, it is helpful to practising doing up and undoing the buttons.

Polo Shirts - Although we won't be getting changed for P.E. in these current times, it is a good idea to help your child learn how to do the buttons on their polo top ready for when we are able to get changed for P.E. again.

Socks/ Tights - teach your child how to put these on and how to turn them back the right way if they become inside out.

Name Recognition and Writing

Start  by helping your child to recognise and know the letters that are in their name. point out that their name begins with a capital letter and then the rest are lowercase letters. This will help your child find their peg and drawer in their new classroom.

Once they know the letters in their name, they can begin learning to write each letter. Start with one letter at a time encouraging the correct letter formation. In the photos above, there are some less conventional and more engaging ways for your child to practising name writing - writing in playdough, in shaving foam, in mud with a stick, with a paint brush and water on the patio...

You can also encourage your child to use the correct pencil grip using the 'nip, flip, grip' method. (If they are finding this tricky, have a look at some of the fine motor activities below)

Fine Motor Activties