Mary-ellen Rooney from Tightrope Learning has shared with us a quick, simple method that you can use (with very little materials) to help your child prepare for kindy. It’s called…

 

DRAW, TALK, WRITE, SHARE

When children begin school, they bring with them many life experiences which they can’t wait to share with their teacher and friends. As teachers, we have found that writing time allows the children these moments to express the emotions of these experiences.

 

DRAW

While some children are always the first to run to the writing table, reach for the resources and get going, there are others who have difficulty getting started. Allowing the children to first draw a picture of what they would like to write about, is a great start. It provides the idea and gives them time to think and recall the details of what they would like to include in the story.

 

TALK

Providing an audience for the children to discuss their picture, builds vocabulary and prompts questions which the children can provide more detail in order to answer. Interacting with other children at this stage stimulates more ideas for their writing.

 

WRITE

After the drawing and talking, the children are now ready to write. Whatever the children write at this stage is GREAT! Whether it’s just random sounds they know, shapes on the paper, experimenting with lines, or sight words they are attempting to spell, they are STILL WRITING! We need to encourage and foster a love of writing and self-expression. In these early stages, the focus should not be on letter formation, spelling or punctuation, it should be on getting the children to LOVE the EXPERIENCE of writing – the colours and textures of paper, the pencils, textas and crayons, the envelopes, stamps, tape, hole punch and staplers.

 

SHARE

Like everything children produce, it should be shared and celebrated. This work is their’s and it’s brilliant! Providing them with opportunities to share and talk about what they wrote gives the children a sense of accomplishment and success as a writer! Every time children feel success, they build confidence and that’s where the learning truly begins!

 

Get them ready at St George Montessori

St George Montessori fosters little learners and is enrolling final spots for 2021. Conveniently located on Woronora Road and open 52 weeks each year.

 

Their centre combines the Montessori curriculum with the Early Years Learning Framework to provide a holistic approach to learning. Every area of the centre has been thought-out to encompass this curriculum and to develop knowledge and skills that provide the foundation of a life long love for learning.

 

As part of the Montessori philosophy, sustainability is embedded in their program. They encourage nature play, growing and caring for the vegetable gardens, collecting eggs from the chickens, learning about recycling and caring for the world around us. Book a tour today to learn more about St George Montessori. Visit stgeorgemontessori.com.au or call (02) 9548 2332.

 

What else should I look for?

Before starting school, children need to:

• Cope with school – they need to have self-confidence and have a positive self-image.
• Have communication skills – they need to be confident, verbal communicators as well as effective listeners, understanding and comprehending conveyed messages.
• Follow instructions – they need to understand and follow simple and multiple-step directions.
• Be able to concentrate and focus – they need to build stamina at staying on and completing tasks in a given time.
• Be independent learners – they need independence around tasks such as toileting, taking care and responsibility for their belongings. They also need to be confident in contributing to class discussions and know when to ask for assistance.
• To have social skills – they need to recognise and regulate their emotions, They need to co-operate, be patient, take turns, verbalise their thoughts and share.

The content above has been published with permission from Tightrope Learning.

For more ways to tell if your child is ready and other tips to help them prepare, check out: How to tell if my child is ready for school.