Learning

Here are some fun ideas to encourage good reading habits, explore letters and sounds, building up muscles.

• Snuggle up and read with your child every day.
• Have a special place to keep your books.
• Take your child to the library, let them choose exciting books with a library card.
• Let your child act out the story. They might be moving but they are still listening!
• Talk about interesting words and what is happening on the picture in the book.
• Make up a new ending (what would happen if … happened instead).
• Look at a new book, can your child guess what the story is about from looking at the pictures.
• Show your child how much you love reading and use expression and humour when reading to them.
• Use your finger to trace each word as you read it.
• Give your child their own short shopping list with words and pictures. Make your own picture books.

• Play I Spy (use the letter sounds, remember to learn to correct phonics sound).
• Play rhyming I spy.
• Do a rhyming scavenger hunt (what can you find that rhymes with box…)
• Make letter shapes out of play dough.
• Write their name in the sand at the beach or mud in the garden.
• Sing lots of songs and nursery rhymes.
• Make mistakes when singing (and get caught)…old MacDonald had a shop…incey wincey chicken… head shoulders beans on toast… etc.
• Look for environmental print, shop signs, lorries, tins in your cupboard, games boxes etc.
• Make your own picture books.
• Lots of drawing, painting, glue and stick.
• Make cards and allow them to write their own name in cards.
• Pick things up using tweezers and tongs.
• Baking, follow a recipe together.
• Threading beads and buttons
• Doing up their own buttons, shoes and zips.
• Crawl and climb.

Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton (Harper Collins Publishers 2008) read by Mrs Wood.

Is your little one a little nervous about starting preschool or school? Listen to the story of Splat’s first day at school read by pre-school’s Mrs Wood.

Make your own play dough

Print out an easy to follow recipe and encourage your child to follow it making the dough themselves. This develops your child’s understanding that print carries meaning, if you point to the pictures and words they will soon recognise what each one means.

The recipe we use in preschool:

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

2 cups water 

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon cream of tartar

food colouring optional (add to water)

scent such as essence optional (add to water)

glitter optional (add anytime)

*Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix together using wooden spoon.

*Microwave for 5 minutes on full power.

*leave to cool for a while then knead removing any hard or crispy edges.