Readiness for the Prep Year

School readiness falls into a range of areas all of which are important in ensuring that your child has a positive start to their schooling.

Physical development

The physical skills that children need include:

• those that foster independence and self-reliance such as, eating, toileting and dressing
• those that enable them to join in learning at school such as, hand/eye coordination and scissors skills

Social development

The social skills that children need include:

• sharing
• waiting for their turn
• being patient
• cooperating with a range of people
• helping others

Emotional development

The emotional skills that children need include:

• being able to separate easily from their parent
• maintaining self-control
• taking responsibility for their actions and their belongings
• being able to show resilience when things do not go the way they would like

Literacy development

The literacy skills that can be beneficial are being able to:

• discuss a story that has been read to them
• communicate their ideas and their needs so they can be easily understood
• use their auditory memory to listen to and then follow an instruction
• use the correct pencil grip in preparation for writing

Numeracy development

The numeracy skills that can be beneficial are being able to:

• complete jigsaw puzzles as these are great for spatial awareness
• use measurement language such as, ‘that Lego tower is taller than that one’
• sing counting rhymes such as, ‘Fish Alive’ in preparation for counting