Should I teach my child letters before they start school?

by Em | Jan 23, 2020 | Phonics, Starting School

One of the most common questions I get asked as a teacher/ Headteacher when talking about children being ready for school is ‘Do they need to know their letters?’ and many parents worry about their child not ‘knowing enough’ before starting their school journey.

I think you will be pleased to hear that I always answer ‘No!’ There is no requirement for children to start school with any specific knowledge of letters, or numbers or anything else actually. Schools are ready for children to start at all different levels of knowledge and they teach letters to all children even if they come in knowing some already. Phonics (the method for teaching children to read and write by linking sounds to letters) is taught in Reception classes usually daily. It’s a big part of their first learning at school and it’s normal for children to have very limited prior knowledge of letters.

So the short answer is no, your child doesn’t need to know their letters. However, many children are interested in letter shapes and are keen to learn. If this is the case then there’s no reason to hold your child back from finding out about letters but this blog is about some key information to think about before splurging on a load of letter shaped toys. And just to add here, if your child has no interest at all in letters please don’t worry, that’s very normal. Read on to find some ways you can really help them to be ready for school without a letter in sight.

Before children are really ready for letter recognition there is a huge amount of foundation building that parents and carers (including nurseries, childminders etc) can support with. These foundation skills are vital in getting children ready for their formal phonics teaching. I compare it to building a house, you wouldn’t just start with putting the bricks straight onto the mud, you need to dig out and lay some solid foundations. In order for children to be ready for their phonics learning in school, they need lots of playful experience with sounds which acts as these foundations.

We run workshops in Exeter explaining more about these key foundations and giving ideas for games and play at home. In this Blog post I’m going to give a brief explanation of three key areas which will really help to get children ready for phonics including some easy ideas to try at home. If you are interested to find out more check out our instagram and facebook pages for more ideas and info about workshops.

Listening skills are the first key piece in the phonics foundations jigsaw. This learning starts from the moment our precious little ones are born and we are always being told how important talking to our children, playing music and interacting with noises is for their development. Children need to be able to hear sounds and interpret them to later be able to hear words and unpick the individual sounds in them.

There are loads of fun things to do with listening;

play music
make animal noises
play listening games when you are out and about
use household items to make sounds – bash pots and pans, boxes etc
make funny noises with your voices or bodies – clap, stomp, gargle, yawn and see if your child can copy you, apparently Alexa can make animal noises if you ask her!

Rhyming is another piece of the foundation puzzle and an important aspect of early phonics learning. Children don’t need to be able to make up rhymes but to be able to recognise when words sound similar or the same sets them up well for reading and writing skills later on. There is a huge selection of children’s rhyming books out there. Some of our favourites include the ‘Oi Cat’ series by Kes Gray and Jim Field, ‘Rhyme Crime’ by Jon Burgerman and anything by Quentin Blake or Julia Donaldson. Getting audio versions is really lovely especially if you can have them on in the car. Pointing out rhyming words to your children will really help them to distinguish rhyming and non-rhyming words even if they can’t hear the rhyme yet.

Some easy rhyming ideas for at home or on the go:

make up little rhyming phrases – let’s go to the park in the dark!
find objects/ toys which rhyme around the house and make a collection together (cat, hat, mat, rat etc, you can draw pictures if you don’t have all of the objects!)
sing nursery rhymes and childrens song’s as loads of these rhyme. See if you can change the words to make them funny while still rhyming. We often try new versions of ‘Twinkle twinkle’ and the current favourite is “twinkle twinkle little giraffe, how I wonder why you wear a scarf!!” There are much easier words to rhyme than giraffe, my tip is don’t choose giraffe!

Hearing Sounds in words is the third area I’m going to give a few tips on. Being able to hear individual sounds in words is key, it’s the most important skill children can grasp to help them be ready for learning letters. In order to read children need to link sounds to letters or groups of letters. Children who can hear the sounds in words and say individual sounds are really well prepared to start seeing how letters link to them. Making the sounds can be a challenge for adults, we often feel like we didn’t learn in this way and that it’s unnatural to us. We’re working on a page with sounds support and will link here when it’s done, watch this space. Until then there’s a little link to a helpful video under these ideas.

Ideas to practise at home:

focus on the first sounds in words and see if children can guess the word. Try “can you put on your sssssssss……..’ and see if you child guesses you mean socks.
Go on a treasure hunt around the house for items beginning with one sound eg ‘p’ you could find a pan, pen, pig some pasta etc.
Play I spy but use just sounds rather than letter names so say “I spy with my little eye something beginning with ‘ch’ for chair, ‘mmmmm’ for mummy or ‘ffffff’ for frog etc
Make up funny lists of words or names for people… magical, musical Mummy! Lovely, lively Lily!

Click Here for a letter sounds video

These are just a few ways to support early phonics learning and to give your child some strong foundations of sounds knowledge. If your child is really keen to learn letters or you feel like they are ready then there are lots of ways to do this too. We would always advise learning letter sounds first rather than letter names as this is how children will learn in school. If you do want to introduce letters here are a few ideas:

use letter shapes in play – cookie cutters, magnetic letters, stencils etc
recognising the letters in children’s name and others in your family
looking at letters, they’re everywhere – books, posters, newspapers, road signs etc
cutting and sticking letter shapes from magazines or papers – see if you can find lots of the same letter shape
messy play – drawing letter shapes in shaving foam, sand, mud etc

If you are able to get out to playgroups and local classes then these will offer great experiences for listening, communicating and getting ready for more formal phonics in school. We go to a great class specifically designed to support children with early phonics learning. It’s called ‘Sounds Right Phonics’ and they are nationwide, offering sessions for babies right up to aged four. The classes are loads of fun, they cover lots of the foundation skills, early letter recognition and even gross and fine motor development. If you are in Exeter/ Exmouth area check out Jess via the link below.

Click Here to find out more about Sounds Right in Exeter and Exmouth

Check out our instagram and facebook pages for more ideas and tips for early learning with your little ones and let us know if you have any comments or questions!

Visiting Schools – head vs heart!

by Em | Oct 10, 2019 | Starting School

So you’re getting organised and thinking about applying for your child’s Primary School place for September and you’re feeling smug about booking in some visits. Well done! But now what? If you’re worried about the impending ‘wander’ around a building full of small people with a professional teacher or Head teacher tour guide who is likely to say ‘have you got any questions?’ fear not, read on!

I’ve separated this post into two sections; Head and Heart. Actually ‘gut’ is probably more relevant than heart but it just doesn’t sound as friendly! This is because I feel that, as with lots of huge decisions we make in life when we’re pretending to be adults, there’s the practical aspects like ‘that’s not a sensible coat for the winter/ car with a baby in tow etc’ and then the deep seated feeling inside that tells you that somehow you must have it! So I’ve tried to sum up the key questions for both your head and heart which you might like to think about when visiting a school.

Let’s start with the ‘Head,’ the practical aspects that will affect your life for the next 7 years while your child attends Primary School.

Location – Do you want to be able to walk to the school? What is the journey like? If you are driving where can you park/ drop off? When you visit try the journey as you would do it in September. Lots of schools have limited parking options so if at all possible being able to walk or cycle will likely make your mornings much less stressful. You may want to consider schools which are near to family members or where you work. You will need to check if the school is likely to have space for children who live out of catchment area if you are considering one further away from your home.

Class organisation and sizes – On average how many children do you have in each year and class? Some schools will have a year group per class and others may have more than this. Larger schools may be 2 or 3 form entry. This means they take 2 or 3 classes each year. Legally class sizes for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 should not be more than 30 children but in years 3-6 they can be larger. Some schools will also have mixed age classes. This is where children from two or more year groups are in the same class. This can work really well so don’t be put off by it. Do ask about how the lessons work though and whether children are separated into their year groups for certain subjects.

Timings – Do you need ‘wrap around care? This is childcare before or after school hours. Many Primaries offer breakfast and after school club options and if you work or have other commitments during your days, ask about this when you visit. Do children in Reception start full time or is there a staggered start? This is something you may need to consider if you work as you may need to book time off in September if the children do half days or similar for the first few weeks. If you have older or younger siblings think about where they will be going and what times you might need to drop them off and pick them up. If you are looking at Infant schools then there will be a time when they need collecting from different schools. Most Infant and Junior schools work together to plan slightly different times to each other so you don’t have to dash about.

Transition into school – If your child is in nursery or pre-school, ask which settings children come to the school from as it’s nice to know whether friends might be going to the same school. Does the school offer transition sessions before children start? Are there meetings for parents to attend and do teachers visit children in their nursery or at home before they start? If there is a pre-school on site you may want to think about your child spending some sessions there before September to build some friendships.

Food – What is on offer? Children in England can have free school lunches in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 which is amazing for not needing to do packed lunches every day. Ask to see a menu if you are interested in the options.

Curriculum – This is a bit head and a bit heart actually as there may be parts of the curriculum that are really valuable to you as a family! Ask yourself, is there anything that for you is really key? If sport and being outdoors is important ask about how much time is spent doing sports and in which year groups. Ask about swimming, alternative sports, access to facilities, forest school and general use of outdoors for learning. If you are a techie family (or maybe you are really against too much tech time) then ask about how much time is dedicated to Computing, coding and ICT. Ask about the facilities and how much time children use technology for throughout the week. Schools are really focusing on their curriculum offers more than ever at the moment so it’s a good discussion to have if you can pinpoint subjects which you really want your child to love.

OFSTED – I’ve put this one last because these reports can be helpful or misleading depending on the date of review and any changes that have happened since. I’m not going to say too much about OFSTED reports other than; have a read if you are interested (you will find the latest one on the school’s website) but don’t let it rule your judgement. Go and see the school even if you are unsure about what the report says, you are likely to be pleasantly surprised.

The heart side of things is very much about how a setting feels. Here I’m going to ask lots of questions and really it’s about finding somewhere that you feel happy and comfortable sending your child. This will be so different for everyone. I know lots of Mums locally with children who are in nursery but only two of us use the same setting. It’s such a personal choice which will differ from person to person and child to child. Ultimately this is likely to be the part that makes up your mind and you may know instantly which school just feels ‘right’ for you and your child. It’s also the main reason we suggest you go and see at least 3 schools because you can only gauge so much from a website or OFSTED report!

Before you visited what was the communication like? Were the admin team happy and helpful? Did you get given all of the information you needed and did you feel welcome to come and see the school? Have a look at the website and see how much information you can find. School newsletters are interesting as they give you an insight into the weekly and monthly goings on and also the vibe!

When you arrive what is the welcome like? Many schools now have oppressive looking railings and fences around their grounds for safeguarding reasons but once inside is it clear how you get into the building and what are your first impressions? Is there someone in the office to help you? You will be asked to sign in and possibly read some safeguarding information which will be about who to report to if you are concerned about a child while you are visiting the school. Some schools also ask you to turn your phone off.

Who shows you around? This might be the Headteacher, another member of the Leadership team such as a Deputy or Assistant Head, a class teacher or sometimes children lead tours. Do the staff seem happy and friendly as you move around the school? Not all staff will be able to greet you as they may be busy supporting children but you will get feel for the atmosphere of the school. Ask those showing you around what the strengths of the school are and maybe what they are working on improving at the moment. Try asking ‘what do you like best about working here?

How are the children behaving when you walk around? And here I don’t just mean being polite. Are they busy, happy, focused, engaged? Can you imagine your child here? If it’s appropriate you could ask some children about the school. Try ‘What’s your favourite thing about school’ or ‘Can you tell me what you like best here?’

If you have your child with you on the tour looking at the way staff and children interact will be really useful. Do people talk to your child? Do they ask questions and are they friendly? After the visit what does your child say about it? Be careful about asking them too much, it’s possibly quite an overwhelming experience for them. Try telling them what you liked best or found interesting first and they are likely to respond with their own ideas.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of thinking points and I’m sure you will have other things which you question yourself. Hopefully you will enjoy visiting some local schools and will find making a decision relatively easy. Try not to get too stressed about the decision. While it feels like a huge deal and of course it is an important decision to think over and take seriously, ultimately there is time to make changes if you needed to. If for any reason it’s not working out once your child starts there is always the option to move. Remember that it’s best to put three choices down on your application. Good luck – I always believe you should trust your gut. If you get a good feeling about the school then lucky you, you may have found the place where the magic of learning is going to come alive for your child!

As always, any questions at all just contact us here or on our facebook or instagram pages.

Click Here for handy Exeter School Visit information

Applying for a school place!

by Em | Jul 23, 2019 | Starting School

It seems like only yesterday they were tiny babies in our arms and now somehow, in what feels like a parallel universe where everything runs at super speed, we’re expected to apply for them to start school. SCHOOL…..Holy Moly where did that time go?! I’m totally with you on this one, my little girl is three and I’m joining in the school admissions process this year for a September 2020 start. In expectation of this huge event for so many families I thought I would write a blog with key information and ideas about how to make the most of the process. I live in Exeter so I have included the information about school admissions in Devon alongside the general info. If you live outside Devon please look to your local County Council website for help. Or contact us if you are stuck, we can help to find the info.

Key info:

If you child was born between 1st September 2015 and 31st August 2016 you will need to apply for a school place for them to start in September 2020.
In Devon you can start applying from 15th November and the last date for applications is 15th January.
The law is that children must be in school full time from the term after they turn 5 years old. Reception classes take children in the September after their 4th birthday.
Schools offer different starting options (more on this below)
Apply for three schools – it’s not a great idea to put all of your eggs in one basket even if you only want one specific school. If you only apply for one and don’t get a space you could end up being allocated somewhere the other side of town because you haven’t given any other preferences!

There is lots to think about and it can feel overwhelming so I’m just going to give you a top 5 things which you can do in order. There’s a whole year ahead to prepare and lots can change so just take each step one at a time.

1. Find out which schools you are in catchment for and which ones you are interested in applying for. Schools work on having catchment zones which show which school children are designated to attend depending on where you live. Your catchment area will determine which schools you are more likely to get a place in. Some schools take children from out of catchment area so don’t panic if you want a school and you live a little too far away, just be aware that you won’t be top of the list to get in. Have a look on the County County Council website which shows the designated areas. You might find you have more than one school which you are in catchment for.

Make a list of the nearest schools to you and any others that might work, for example near where you work or close to a family member.

Click Here for Devon County Council Catchment map

The map shows the catchment areas if you click on a school name. It’s a bit glitchy and not the clearest but it does the job! I’ve found the best way to see your local schools is to use the ‘address search’ tab at the top left hand corner. Pop your postcode in and it will show you the school or schools which you fall into catchment for.

You can apply for schools out of your catchment area but admissions will take children from the catchment first so you won’t be first in line. You may have other reasons for applying such as siblings already at the school and you can list this on your application.

2. Do some research. Spend a little bit of time looking at the school’s website, you should be able to gather lots of information here and get a feel for the school. Try looking at things like the newsletter if they have one – this will show you the sort of events, trips and experiences that happen for the children. Also look for lunch menu’s (food is always top of my agenda!) after school clubs, expecially if you need wrap around care such as breakfast club. There will be some information about how many children go to the school and how the classes are organised. Many schools have mixed age classes where children in year 3 and 4 are together for example.

Talking to friends or neighbours who have children in local schools can be helpful. Be warned though, please do this with an open mind. Everyone’s opinions are different and we all like and value different things. You might find Vera next door hated the local school 13 years ago for her little cherub but things are likely to have changed significantly since then!

Click Here for Devon Schools information including links to websites

Click Here for the Good Schools Guide Website with similar school information (this website shows schools nationally rather than just Devon)

3. Visit some schools! This one is so important. It’s easy to listen to the gossip and make your mind up about a place without even seeing it. Your child is going to be in this setting for the next seven years so it’s a really good idea to get in there yourself and take a look. Lots of schools put on Open events during October and November where you can go and have a little tour, ask questions and get a feel for the setting. Some will offer 1:1 visits or other ways to see the school. Have a look at the websites and give the school a call to find out how you can visit.

Visit more than one school. As I said in the key info, you really need to apply for more than one school so it makes sense to visit more than one. Even if you have your heart set on one place, it’s great to get a comparison and to find out what else if on offer. I aliken it to buying a house, it would be rare (although I know it does happen) to but the first house you see and not even look at anything else. You won’t lose anything by visiting more than one school and if nothing else, it’s a fab opportunity to be nosey!

We will post more info about school visits including Exeter dates and what to look for etc nearer the time. Also, we are hoping to do some school visit videos in the Autumn, look out on instagram for more!

4. Fill in your application. You can do this in Devon online from 15th November, click the link below. Remember to apply for more than one school! The allocations will be released on 16th April 2020. You will receive an email with your allocated school.

Click Here for Devon County Council Application form

5. Enjoy the time before school starts! There is lots of information about ‘school readiness’ out there and of course there are loads of things you can do to help your child, and yourself, to get ready for the big day. Essentially though school is the start of a very very long formal education journey for your child and your family so once you have made this big decision and completed the form just try to enjoy the rest of the year. Whether you work full time and your child is in pre-school or you are a stay at home parent savour the time you have with your child before they start school in whichever way makes you happy!

What if…. notes for if some of the above doesn’t fit!

What if my child has additional needs? If your child has additional needs make sure you speak to the schools that you are interested in and talk over what they can offer. You might be able to do this during an organised tour or book an appointment to go in and see the class teachers or possibly the SENDco (Special Educational Needs and Disability co-ordinator) The 0-25 team can also be really useful (google; Devon 0-25 team)
What if my child is summer born? This may make no difference at all as lots of just 4 years olds are really ready for school and cope brilliantly well despite being almost a year younger than some of their classmates. If it is something that worries you though speak to the schools you are interested in. Some will offer part time or staggared starts, some will be happy to take a deferred entry where they start the following year. Be warned that some schools will want your child to start in year 1 rather than Reception if you defer so this is really important to check. Deferred entries need to be applied for through the County Council and agreed with the school.
What if I just don’t feel my child is ready? If, for whatever reason, you are worried about how your child will cope with starting school talk to the staff at the schools you are interested in. Even if your child is not a summer born schools may offer part time starts or be happy to delay them starting until the term after they are five, so possibly a January or April start. Again you would need to apply for a deferred entry to start at another time than September. There are pro’s and con’s to all of the options so look into it from all angles.
What if we are moving house? If you are planning to move before your child starts school, look for schools near to your new home. Call admissions when you apply as you may need the address of your new home to be included on the form and some proof of the move.
What if I want to home educate my child? If you are thinking about educating your child at home you will need to contact your County Council. Devon uses Babcock LDP’s Elective Home Education Service which has information about how to go about Home Educating and will assign you an Elective Home Education Advisor if you choose this route.

Hopefully this is a useful overview of how to start the process of applying for a school place. As always contact us if you have any questions.

Place Value

by Em | Jun 23, 2019 | Maths

Place Value is a vital part of maths learning for children. It can also include the prase ‘partitioning’ which I will explain briefly too.

Simply: Place value is the value of a digit (single number) depending on it’s place or position in a number. This involves children understanding ones, tens, hundreds and larger numbers.

Children start to learn basic place value for teen numbers from Reception but they might not call it place value For example in the number 13, there are 3 ones and 1 ten. Knowing that the 1 is a ten is place value understanding. They will start to learn it more formally in Year 1 with larger numbers. Place Value learning also includes decimals which children start to learn in Year 4 of Primary School.

Here’s a number with hundreds, tens and ones.

Children will learn that in the number above 4 is ‘4 ones’ (you might know this as units but we now call it ones so it doesn’t get confused with units of measurement such as cm, ml etc.) The 1 is ‘1 ten’ and the 6 is 6 hundreds. This understanding about the value of each number depending on it’s position is a valuable part of understanding how numbers work together and will be used so much when children start calculating.

In school your child will have lots of different methods that help them to see the place value in numbers. There are grids, pictures, cards, models and concrete resources (this means things you can touch and hold, like toys really. Don’t ask me why it’s called concrete resources, none are made from concrete, another bit of jargon nonsense just to confuse you!)

Here is a place value grid which shows a table with the different values at the top. Numbers could be written in each box so children can see what each one is worth. This one has decimals, grids for children in year 1 might just have tens and ones, grids in year 2 would have hundreds too. Decimals wouldn’t come in until year 4.

Place value cards or arrow cards are really useful to help children to see the value of each number. They are simply cards with the ones, tens and hundreds on (you can get larger ones and decimals too!) and they fit together with a point or arrow at one side.

Here’s a little video showing place value cards in action:

This is a good point to quickly mention ‘Partitioning.’ It’s probably enough for a blog post by itself but useful to know that simply: partitioning means separating numbers out into smaller parts. So, in the video above, the arrow cards help us to separate 245 into 200, 40 and 5 or 2 hundreds, 4 tens and 5 ones. Partitioning is used to help children when they are calculating. It’s easier to separate numbers to make them smaller first than add them as large ones.

Here is an example of a resource that children might use in school to help with place value. It’s called Big Ten, there are similar things called Base Ten and Dienes. They show the ones as single cubes, the tens as long blocks with ten cubes and hundreds as large cuboids with 100 cubes joined together. They help children to visualise the numbers and get used to counting in ones, tens and hundreds. Can you work out what each number is in the pictures below?

I’m sure you got them all correct but if you want to check… the first is 23 (2 tens and 3 ones) the second is 134 (1 hundred, 3 tens and 4 ones) and the lst is 234 (2 hundreds, 3 tens and 4 ones.)

If you are keen to help at home you might not want to buy any specific resources but using grids/ drawing tables like at the top of the blog can be helpful to show your child which column the numbers go in. You can use small objects at home to count groups of tens and then extras as ones. Money is a great way to show place value; seeing that 10p is 10 x 1p and that £1 is 100 x 1p is a really good learning point for children.

Place Value Book!

If you would like to buy something to help with Place Value at home we recommend this book. It’s sort of a story and it’s funny! It helps to show place value through some funny monkeys making a cake! There are large numbers in it but children from year 2 onwards should love it (or earlier if you like exposing them to big ideas.) Books about maths are a great way to get conversations started and might be different to the maths they see at school.

Click Here to buy on Amazon

We hope this has helped to explain a bit about place value and how your child will learn at school. We will be posting more ideas for practising at home on Istagram (all vids etc in highlights,) facebook and pinterest. If you have any questions or if you would like a printable place value grid just drop us a message here or email us. Please tell us the age of your child so we can make sure the grid is suitable.

Handwriting

by Em | Jun 16, 2019 | Phonics

Handwriting takes a very long time to develop and as with lots of other learning how quickly children pick it up and how ‘easy’ they find it to learn is dependent on their strengths and interests. Children aren’t expected to develop their own style of handwriting until they are in year 5 of Primary school, so no need to panic, but the sooner they feel confident to write neatly and at a reasonable speed then the more time they will have to be able to focus on what it is they are writing. It is a very personal thing, I’m sure you know lots of adults who have beautifully neat writing or those whose writing you can hardly read! Handwriting is a process and it’s learning begins from the baby years. Before even thinking about forming letters or numbers for writing, it’s about developing strength and co-ordination in their hands.

Strength and co-ordination –

All of the activities that babies do to develop grip strength and co-ordination will help them with their handwriting as they grow up. Practising big movements such as grabbing, throwing, catching, arm movements are called ‘gross motor’ skills. ‘Fine motor’ skills are things like pinching sequins and pom poms, using pegs, posting and lacing activities which focus more on the smaller and more detailed movements. Lots of pre-schools and schools especially in Foundation/ Reception class will have daily sessions or activities out all the time for this practise. The learning comes into the ‘Physical development’ part of the curriculum. You might hear the phrases ‘finger gym,’ or ‘funky fingers’which will be fun and playful activities set up to help your child develop strength in their hands and what we call ‘pencil grip’ – where they are able to hold a pencil, pen or painbrush effectively.

Pencil grip –

Pencil grip will develop at different times for children. Some will have mastered a ‘tripod grip or grasp’ where they use three fingers when they are around 3-4 years old and for some children this takes much longer. All of the above strength and co-rdination learning will help to get ready for developing pencil grip.

Below is an idea of the stages which your child may go through when developing their pencil grip. As you can see a good tripod grasp can take until they are 7 years old. Schools may offer extra help for your child to develop this, they might call it an ‘intervention’ and should talk to you so you know how you can help at home.

Here’s a little video idea to help develop the tripod grasp. Lots more ideas on our instagram, facebook and pinterest pages.

Writing Letters or ‘Letter formation’

Children will learn to write lower case letters first. Often this happens alongside phonics teaching so they might not learn the order a,b,c,d they might start with s,a,t,p,i and n.

Find out more about phonics in another of our blog posts - click here

Schools and pre-schools will have different methods for teaching letter formation. I will go into cursive and pre-cursive a little bit but I don’t want to bore you to tears! Many children will learn letter formation in the same way you and I probably did. Some letters start from the middle and some at the top. You might have learnt ‘one armed robot letters’ and ‘caterpillar letters’ or something totally different. I would advise asking your school or pre-school which method or ‘scheme’ they use so you can copy this if you want to help your child at home.

What is pre-cursive/ cursive writing?

Below are two ways to form letters. The top row is probably how you learnt to write them and it is still how lots of schools and pre-schools teach. Children writing in this way won’t join their letters until they can form them all, usually in year 2 or later. The letters start in different places, some at the top and some in the middle. In the picture the coloured dots show the starting position for forming the letter.

The second row of letters shows ‘pre-cursive’ formation. This is where all of the letters start in the same place (see the dots again.) Some schools will use this way of writing and it can seem really alien if you haven’t used it before. There is lots of research to say this way of writing is helpful. It means children don’t have to learn another way of forming letters when you start to join letters together because when you join you have to start all letters from the end of the last letter which is mostly on the line. It also means all letters start from the same place and this can be helpful for children who get letters the wrong way around. To counteract this, there is lots of research to say this way of writing isn’t helpful for very young children. I know that’s a bit of a pain and we’re not advising either way is better. Teachers will do what they believe to be best in each setting so really it depends on what your school has chosen but hopefully it’s useful to know the different ways.

The video below shows a being written in pre-cursive first and then in print.

Want to practise at home?

Some children will love mark making, drawing, writing, developing find motor skills and all of the activities involved. But as with everything some might hate it or find it really challenging and need some help. Our advice for practising at home is to keep it fun and low pressure. Children are always likely to do more and learn if they don’t realise it’s learning, if it’s packaged as play! Practise those gross and fine motor skills with everyday items:

string penne pasta or beads onto spagetti (dried!) or onto laces
pegging activities – helping to put the washing out gets two jobs done at once!
using squeezy bottles with water, make shapes and letters on a patio if it’s sunny
playdoh – great for developing strength
Anything arty with sequins, stickers pom poms etc helps the fine motor development
Mark make or write with loads of different objects – this can really help children who don’t want to write. Try feathers dipped in paint, chalks, novelty pens, sticks, anthing you can think of that isn’t a pencil or pen but that can be held like one!

Here are a few resources and apps that you could use to help at home too if you fancy it!

Apps:

Singalong Cursive Handwriting

A fun little tracing app with catchy songs and different levels – this is for teaching pre-cursive letter formation.

Click Here to view and download free from Amazon

Writing Wizard

This is a really funky app with very engaging visuals. Lots of settings to practise letters and words. They do a cursive version too.

Click Here to view and download free from Amazon

Alphablocks

No letter formation practise but great for recognition and hearing sounds. There are loads of other paid for alphablocks apps and the TV programmes are fab if you want some help with phonics.

Click Here to view on Amazon

Resources:

If you do want to buy some letters and numbers to use at home here are some we like. Lots of shops sell letter and number formation wipe clean books which can be great if your child likes these. Remember to check which sort of letter formation the school teaches so you can match this.

Tactile letters

A great little set to use in everyday play. Check our our instagram videos for some ideas!

Click Here to buy from Amazon

Lowecase Sand Moulds

A lovely little set to use in sand, soil, playdough etc. Trace the shapes, fill the moulds, great for indoors and out!

Click Here to Buy on Amazon

Playfoam numbers set

I love playfoam, heres a little set to form numbers which is really practical. They do a letters set too which is capitals.

Click Here to buy on Amazon

Hopefully this has helped out with some knowledge about handwriting development and ideas to help at home. Check us out on instagram, facebook and pinterest for more!

« Older Entries

Next Entries »