Having been a primary school teacher for over 10 years now, I’ve seen a great variety of students walk through my door, some prepared for school and some not. Let me tell you – it makes the world of difference being in the former camp, for both student and parent!
To help you help your child, here are my top 5 ways to prepare your little one for school:
1. Read, Read, Read
You’ve heard it before, but let’s say it one more time for impact: reading is seriously important! Yes, your child will learn to read at school, but they’re also at a major advantage if they enter the classroom having secured the reading basics. But how exactly can you best help your preschooler in their learning-to-read journey?
We’ve said the words, now let’s count the numbers. Mathematics is another key element to classroom learning foundations, but finding the time to fit numeracy teaching into our already jam-packed schedules is another story. The easiest way to do so is to incorporate numeracy teaching and learning into everyday tasks:
It’s time for fine motor skills! These involve activities which require small muscles in the hands. Honing your preschooler’s fine motor skills can hugely benefit things like handwriting and lays the foundation for legibility and neatness. Here are some great activities to assist with developing fine motor skills:
Now for the hard part – it’s time to let your child fly on their own. As protective parents, we can all too easily fall into the habit of doing everything for our kids. If we want to help them in the long run, however, we need to resist the urge to over-nurture and rather encourage their independence. Sure, they might get stuck sometimes, but this challenge is both necessary and rewarding for their confidence. Here are some things your preschooler can on their own to foster independence:
5. Make Feelings Matter
Last but not least, let’s talk about feelings. Your child’s social-emotional wellbeing is vital to ensuring a happy and successful transition from preschool to primary. We all want our children to be happy at school, but how can we best prepare and maintain their emotions during this big step?
In The End…
Okay, let’s face it: we all want our children to be star students! Effectively preparing our preschoolers for their exciting school journey will give them a definite advantage (and will no doubt impress their teachers). With these tips, you can send your little one to school knowing you have best prepared and excited them for one of life’s most significant steps. Oh, and you can rest a little easier knowing they’re truly ready for school and all its adventures.
Which of these ideas have you found most helpful? Let me know in the comments!
Written by Natalie Barlow
]]>Feeling like you’re home life is out of balance? Everyone’s weekly routine and daily schedule have been forced to change thanks to COVID-19 and self-isolation. Suddenly the kids are at home, work has completely changed, and household budgeting has got a whole lot more complicated. It’s normal to feel confused and frustrated, but it’s time to take back control! Nows the time to take stock of what’s important, enjoy the little things in life, and make the most out of what you’ve got.
But how best to this? Say ‘I got this’ to the COVID-19 and start planning and organising your life to meet the new challenges.
Creating a game-plan for daily and weekly tasks will make you and your family feel less overwhelmed. You’ll feel more in control knowing you have a plan every day and can get on with life without all the clutter. You might even find you have time to work on personal projects or hobbies!
A great place to start with organisation is to write everything down. Get out all your thoughts and concerns from your sub-conscious and brainstorm possible solutions. Physically writing things down relieves your brain from carrying around demanding thoughts and lets you logically get to work on making improvements. Once you’ve done this, you’re ready to create some plans!
There are plenty of ways to plan your week, but my tried-and-tested 5-steps are a great place to start building a routine. On Sunday night before my week starts I sit down and look at my entire week. I use the app Lifesorted to schedule our weekly activities so that both my husband and I are on the same page. I also use the Saint Belford Curation diary to map out my week because I love to use paper and pen and get the benefits of physically writing things down.
Your family might have daily routines for work and school mornings, bath time, bedtime and mealtimes. You might also have weekly routines for washing, cleaning, meal preparation and calendar organisation. A well-run routine helps family members know who needs to do what, when, and how often. Daily, weekly and even monthly routines develop with repetition and practice. Even if you had a working home routine, you’re going to need to adjust to the changes from COVID-19. You should consider adding new activities like kids online activities, online appointments, walking, exercise at home, meetings and online socialization to your routine.
An organised and predictable home environment helps children and teenagers feel safe, secure and looked after- particularly in stressful times like now. Routines can be extremely useful for children with Autism, ADD, ADHD and other developmental delays. These children thrive with structure and predictability.
I use David Allens concept of creating lists with context. These are like tags about where you will do the task. The ones I’ve been using that I find most useful are phone (messages and calls), laptop (emails, purchasing), errands (in-car), home (around the house).
The important thing is to be able to look at your list and work out when and where in your week you can do that task. It will help you stay focused and save time. The weekend is generally when I have time to do the home things, but with COVID-19 I’ve had more time to do things during the week. Take note of how COVID-19 has changed your week, and incorporate that into your weekly task schedule.
Take it easy on yourself and keep your days manageable. Limiting daily tasks stops you from feeling overwhelmed, and helps you to feel a sense of achievement. Make sure you consider the time and energy you have on each day before you add a task. Don’t forget to delegate to other members of your family, especially if you feel like you are taking on too much.
Some questions I ask myself are-
Does this need to get done today? Is it important? Is it urgent?
Is it going to help me to achieve a goal?
Could this be completed by someone else?
Trying to remain calm won’t be possible if your home is a mess. This is always the case, but particularly important now with COVID-19 isolation. A clutter-free home runs smoothly because every member knows where to find the things they need each day. It also reduces stress and anxiety, creating a calmer atmosphere for everyone. Now’s the perfect time to work on decluttering projects.
Here’s how I like to tackle decluttering:
Eg. search on Pinterest or Instagram for organisational ideas, sort the games and toys, organise them into – keep, donate or throw away if it’s broken and can’t be fixed, find the tape measure, measure area for boxes, research boxe sizes, purchase boxes, research labels, purchase or make labels, reorganise the games & toys cupboard.
Including the family in your weekly plans to important to ensure they can be maintained and everyone contributes. Every week, meals, calendar events, daily tasks for kids are all added to our command centre. My kids are young and still need to see what’s going on each day so they can’t use digital options yet. It’s in the kitchen so everyone can see it. Everyone has a routine to follow and know’s what is happening when.
Now that you can create a weekly routine, it’s time to think about exercise and relaxation to help you get through COVID-19! One of the best things to support your mind and body at the moment is with movement like Yin & Nidra Yoga. They help to relieve stress so that you can support your immune system.
If you’d like to Calm Your Mind & Body in 5 days at home with just a mat and blankets using Yin & Nidra Yoga then join me on the mat. Just 10 minutes each day, no yoga experience needed, it’s perfect for all ages.
Origionally Published by Narelle King
https://simplyhappy.com.au/self-isolation/
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Before you make yourself feel like a total mess, we want to let you into a little secret: highly organised people aren’t in fact the boring creatures you thought they were… they’ve just created habits that help them stay on top of their game, even when the tough gets tough!
From forward planning and writing things down, to getting rid of unnecessary clutter and systemising your routine, read on for Lou Hammer from One Day P.A’s top 10 essential habits that will help you live a more organised life.
A big thank you to Lou Hammer from One Day P.A for sharing her top 10 tips for living a more organised life! Head on over to visit Lou at
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Originally published in September 2019 by Holidays with Kids
Raise your hands if you have an office drawer overflowing with notepads and pens or a fridge covered in random reminders and event invites? Sometimes the everyday gets away from us all and it feels impossible to find the time to stay organised. But never fear … Debora Schultz has designed an eco-friendly solution that also donates to charity.
Proud mother of three, former foster carer, celebrity stylist and advocate for children’s safety, Debora Schultz was saddened to learn that two million children are sold into slavery every year. Schultz decided to turn her shock into action and merged her love of organisation with her passion for children’s wellbeing. The result was the birth of My Family Planner – modern magnetised calendars with sleek designs – allowing families to organise their days and meals with ease.
In partnership with Destiny Rescue, a not-for-profit organisation aimed at rescuing and rebuilding victims of child slavery, Schultz strives to provide 1,000 schoolbooks for these children each year, through the profits of her new venture.
The new product aims to make household organisation sustainable through paper-less planners, meaning there is minimal waste and no need to throw it away at the end of the year like traditional calendars. Instead, the reusable, soft magnet whiteboard can just be wiped clean each week.
Whether you have an obsession with all things stationary or you are a busy parent who needs a new way to get the family organised, be sure to plan with a conscience.
Read the full article here.
I’m not sure how or when it happened, but with three kids (aged 4, 2 and 3 months), our lives suddenly got busy! Between daycare, days with their grandma, swimming, ballet, play dates and outings, my phone was struggling to keep up.
That’s when Cassie (my four year old) started asking: “What day is it today, Mummy?” She wanted to know whether it was a ‘home’ day, ‘daycare’ day, ‘neen’ day or ‘daddy’ day. That’s when I realised we needed a visual aid to help us all out and we came across the gorgeous Family Planner.
What could be better than a family planner that sticks to your fridge. This means it is always there when I need it, always visible to Cassie, and everyone can be across what is happening throughout the week.
At the moment, we just use a spot for Cassie, Mummy and Daddy (poor Vivi and Elliot just go with the flow at the moment), and we write down what each person is doing each day.
It has helped Cassie know what is going on during the week, and given her a great visual to get her head around the days of the week.
Plus, it has a spot for groceries! I am always forgetting what we have run out of during the week, so this is handy.
One of the best parts about the My Family Planner, is the way it gives back to the community.
Not only is My Family Planner Australian made and designed, but they fund the work of Destiny Rescue a not-for-profit organisation rescues children from the horror of the sex trade in countries across Asia and India.
Every 26 seconds, a child somewhere in the world is forced into sexual slavery.
Destiny Rescue ensures children are given immediate medical care and protected for the future. The goal is to educate 150 girls this year. Read more here....
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