During the Early Years Foundation Stage we ask you to focus at home on reading. Initially this will be reading books to your child and discussing what happens in stories. The reason we ask you to do this is to help the children to enjoy reading and to develop their comprehension skills.
As your child begins to learn about letters and words we will begin to send home a reading book. Your child will make the most progress if they look at their books regularly, ideally each day. When you have shared a book, we ask you to record this in your child’s reading record and then we can give them a new reading book.
We do not set any formal homework in the Early Years, but playing board games, counting out objects when doing practical tasks and just talking to your child will make a huge impact on their development. At this stage physical development is also really important so playing games such as football, throwing and catching and using equipment at the park is all invaluable! To help develop fine motor skills, letting your child draw, paint, cut with scissors and use playdough will all have a positive impact.
It is essential that your child has a good bedtime routine and that they get plenty of sleep. School is very tiring, especially when they first start!
