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