How to help your child at home, so they are ready for reception

Here are lots of ways you can support your child, so they are ready to join us in EYFS for their reception year:

• Practise dressing and undressing themselves, including putting on their coat, reversing sleeves and clothing when they are inside out and using buttons, zips and poppers. 

• Encourage your child to toilet independently and wash hands afterwards. 

• Be active, daily movement walking, running, hopping, skipping, jumping, practise throwing and catching, riding bikes and scooters. 

• Develop your child’s independence and confidence eg. look after their belongings, tidying up after themselves, having an attitude of ‘I can do it’/‘I can try’. 

• Use a knife and fork to eat with. A great way to practise this is to make pretend food with play dough and practice cutting it up. 

• Play with your child, encourage them to be imaginative, express themselves, make choices and decisions and understand connections between play and their positive real-life learning experiences eg. make up stories and adventures, shopping, visiting the doctors or vets.

• Provide opportunities for your child to play contentedly on their own and discover their own ideas and ways to keep busy. 

• Plan ‘time to talk’ for just a few minutes each day without distractions such as the TV, mobile phone or other technology. Encourage your child to take part in conversation, taking turns to listen, respond and answer questions. Speaking clearly with confidence, using full sentences. 

• Listen to and carry out simple instructions. 

• Talk about and name everything around to develop and expand vocabulary eg. How many farm animals can they name? How many different fruits and vegetables can they name? Items in the rooms at home. 

• Encourage your child to use 'please' and 'thank you'. 

• Sing a wide range of nursery rhymes and counting songs.

• Play memory and matching games. Can they remember where the piece is that they need without having to turn lots over? 

• Learn how to handle and share books, listen to stories and talk about them. 

• Learn the names of colours. 

• Recognise and name 2d shapes - square, circle, rectangle, triangle, star, oval, heart, diamond. 

• Count and recognise numbers to 20 and beyond. 

• Recognise and practise writing their name, with a capital letter at the beginning followed by lowercase letters, using the letter shapes and formation shown below: