School readiness:

At Longshaw Nursery School we recommend that children work on the following skills at home in order to prepare them for transition to school.

• Putting my own coat on
• Hanging my bag and coat up at school
• Putting my uniform and my shoes on all by myself
• Independently manage zips and buttons
• Table manners and feeding myself independently
• Tidying up after myself
• Independent toileting and hygiene
• Communication skills (ask your child open ended questions to promote two way conversations. Encourage your child to communicate their needs : for example: if he/she needs help with opening their lid on a lunchbox, teach your child to ASK for help, encourage your child to use their words to resolve problems)
• Strengthening my muscles in preparation for writing (funky fingers,threading, scissors, pegs and mark making)

As well as the above skills, at school we will be specifically focusing on the following skills:

• Building attention span
• Turn taking & sharing
• Forming and building friendships
• Participating in all aspects of the school day (i.e. singing, dancing, group games and activities)
• Listening and following directions from adults
• Following the classroom routine
• Physical development
• Creative skills
• Joining in discussions about the world around us
• Letter and pre-reading skills (such as recognising some letter sounds)
• Number, pre-mathematics & reasoning skills (such as recognising numbers, shapes, one more than/less than, counting in sequence)