Ten top tips for starting school

I can do these on my own

• I can blow my nose, wash my hands and go to the toilet.
• I can eat my packed lunch by myself, even undoing the wrappers!
• I can put on my coat and do it up.

What you can do to help your child

One mum said this to help her child learn to blow their own nose: “I asked him to put his fingers under his nose and tickle them with air from his nose. When he needed to blow his nose, I asked him to do the same thing, but harder, into a tissue.”

More information

• Help with handwashing – YouTube
• Thinking about wee and poo now you’re on the way to school
• Daytime wetting
• Children’s continence service

Healthy affordable eating:

• Change 4 Life
• The NHS Eat Well Guide
• NHS Choices – Eat4Cheap
• Love Food, Hate Waste has tips, advice and healthy recipes.

These websites have fun physical exercises that you can do with your child:

• Physical activity guidelines for children under 5
• 49 fun physical activities to do with kids aged 2 to 4

It’s important that your child can express their needs clearly.

Learning conversations and telling stories: 3 to 5 years – Hungry Little Minds has suggestions of everyday activities you can do with babies and young children to help them develop communication skills.

Sing at every opportunity! Here are some songs you might like:

• The Little Red Hen
• Deep, Deep Down in the Sea
• Nursery Rhymes

Learning conversations and telling stories: 3 to 5 years – Hungry Little Minds has suggestions of exciting daily activities you can do with babies and young children to help develop their communication and language skills.

Lots of Portsmouth pre-schools and schools have taken part in a reading project called ‘Read With Me’.

Here are 10 recommended reads for you and your child to explore over the summer holidays. Visit your local library to find these books:

• ‘Oi Frog’ by Kes Gray and Jim Field
• ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury
• ‘Shark in the Park’ by Nick Sharratt
• ‘Dinosaurs Love Underpants’ by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort
• ‘Mixed up Fairy Tales’ by Hilary Robinson and Nick Sharratt
• ‘This Old Man’ by Pam Adams
• ‘Owl Babies’ by Martin Wadell
• ‘You Choose’ by Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart
• ‘Ten Little Superheroes’ by Mike Brownlow and Simon Rickerty
• ‘Dear Zoo’ by Rod Campbell

Just have fun drawing and making marks with your child! If you have an outdoor space, use big chalks and mark on the ground and then enjoy washing the marks away.

Show your child how to hold the scissors correctly and practise using scissors to snip and cut all sorts of shapes. Try different materials – you don’t have to use papers.

By making marks and using scissors, children will be developing their hand strength and this will help them when they start writing. Using other tools and equipment helps too – can your child help with gardening or cooking and use the equipment needed, can they practice using knives and forks?

Encourage your child to stick at an activity for a few minutes and talk about what they have achieved. You could plan your day with your child so they can make some choices of their own and have lots of opportunities to talk about what they’re doing and learning.

Why not set them a challenge? Use a timer on your phone to see how long they can keep going. Let them set you a challenge too so they can time you!

Try playing some board games or turn taking games over the summer holidays. Play catch or roll a ball between you or take turns on a slide in the park.

Encourage children to take turns and share their toys with their friends or brothers and sisters – give them lots of praise when they do.

Be positive about starting school. You could read some stories together. Top 8 books about starting school – Oxford Owl.

Look at your child’s new school website together and see if you can find photos of the staff who will be teaching your child and what the classrooms, hall, playgrounds look like.