Preparing for big school.

I want to start preparing Lily for school next year but not sure where to start. She doesn't go to pre-school or chld care so i'm a bit lost.

Things she knows are..
She knows how to count to 20, does she need to know more than this? Does she need to know simple math?

She knows how to read letters and some words and all single digit numbers. How can i get her to know more?

She can't write yet which is the major thing i need to teach her. How can i do this?

She can't really draw either for some reason even though she has lots of practice. She can draw stick figure people, flowers, the sun, fish and a couple of other small things but she has a lot of trouble coping what i draw, even simple things like squares and triangles. What can i do to help her?

She has started to learn how to tell the time with a digital clock.

What else should i be teaching her?

You are doing a fabulous job Antheia!!!

She already knows so much which is fantastic.

The main thing I urge parents to do with their children before starting school is to expose them to books as often as possible. Read to her each night and talk baout the books afterwards, play little games with the books like finding all the letter "a" on the page or using her finger to point t where to read next (direction). She will leanr so much just being exposed to books.

With writing, dont be to concerned yet, however encourage her to put markings on a page (this will build her confidence and fine motor skill). You could say to her lets write a shopping list, tell her what you need to get at the shops and get her to write a list. (obviously it doesnt have to be legible, simple markings on a page are the first steps to writing). She will learn towrite her name properly at school however it is good if she can write her name before going to school. Maybe just practice one letter a week. She is lucky she has a short name. Ph and shapes are very hard for children to draw. so dont worry sounds like she already has quite a good reportoire (sp?) when it comes to drawing.

With maths, dont worry too much, the counting is great! Maybe count backwards as well (however these are all things she will learn how to do at school).

Other things you can do to help her prepare for school is to have her have a back pack with her things in it for the day and a lunch box, opening things for herself( even though teachers will always help), have some play dates. You could even play schools at home with her.

Hope that helps.

Grace is going to kindy this year, so that is like a preparation for Prep at the 'big school' next year. The main thing that I have noticed with DS going to kindy and prep and now DD, is that first of all, they like to teach the routine. So for the first couple of weeks or so it is all about teaching the kids about toilet breaks, washing hands, getting a drink, what to do at lunch time, how to sit and listen, share with your friends, and what is the correct sort of behaviour. They have a simple rule in kindy and prep - "kind words and gentle hands". Reading books together and being able to count, recognise some numbers and letters, scribble on paper, cut with scissors and make creations with glue and sticky tape etc is great and fun to do so encourage it, and you are probably already doing all that stuff with her now. Don't worry too much about academic stuff and Lily 'knowing' things. She does not need to know how to write proper letters and words, and if she can draw stick figures and things that is great. At kindy they encourage 'kid writing', which is basically scribble, but it is an important step in the process to learning how to write. And if they attach meaning to the scribble, all the better - eg Grace scribbles on a piece of paper and tells me that she has written her name. As far as maths goes, if she can count to 20 and recognise some numbers, she is probably already doing better than some of the kids she will be going to school with. Remember that the teachers will pretty much start from scratch with the kids - they know its their first year and don't assume any prior knowledge. What I have noticed is that the first year of school seems to be more about accustoming the kids to the routine and learning social skills, rather than pure academic learning, although that does happen. And start talking about school with her now - how she will have a teacher who will look after her when you are not there, and how there will be lots of new friends to play with and how she will have lots of fun playing and doing activities. Drive past the school to show her if you can, and take her along to any orientation meetings the school might have. Also, start encouraging a little independence with things like dressing herself and going to the toilet. The teachers will always help though. Grace is very good at going to the toilet at kindy and putting her knickers and shorts back on afterwards, but at home she still comes to me to put her pants back on! So we are working on that...

Sounds like she is pretty much ready to go then! She goes to the toilet without even asking anymore and can dress herself and put shoes on etc. She knows all about how school is done. Like she knows she has a lunch box and bag and writing books and has a teacher and is in a class full of kids her age etc. She has rattled on about it everyday for the past 6 months. The only reason they wouldnt let her in this year was simply because of her age!

Sounds like she will be fine then :) You won't know yourself with only 2 kids at home during the day lol...