OLD Y1C Ascot Blog: This week's Home Learning

So, to date you should have a writing area set-up and children have been practising writing their names. Please continue with these two as writing is an ongoing skill.

For this week's home-learning, I would like children to practice some key skills in self-care and independence. Below is a list of the skills that children need to master at this age. Each skill helps children on the road to being fully independent and each skill is important for their overall health and wellbeing. Please take photos and email them to me so I can add them to this Blog page.
Good Luck!!

Blowing noses - Children often forget to blow their runny noses and will wipe it on their hand! Please talk to your child about the importance of blowing their nose if they feel a drip! Encourage children to carry a little pack of tissues in their pocket so they can independently blow their noses.

Left and Right! - Show your children the difference between each shoe and which way they should be pointing. Talk about how they feel if they put them on the wrong foot. Also show children how to hold the tongue of the shoe so that it doesn't get squashed inside when they put their shoe on.

Washing hands - Practice washing hands with soap and talk about why we do this. I always smell the children's hands after they have washed to check that they smell of soap!

Washing faces - Encourage children to check their face in the mirror after eating. Ask them to wash their mouth and chin and check again in the mirror.

zzzzzzzzz - Talk to children about the benefits of sleep and what we should do when we feel tired - go to bed!

Meal times - At this age children should be in total control of feeding themselves. They may make a mess, but thats ok as they are learning to be independent at the same time! This skill helps to develop hand-eye coordination which will later benefit skills such as holding a pencil and forming letters correctly.

Tidying up! - Children actually enjoy the responsibility of tidying up after themselves. We always ask children to tidy and to take responsibility of their mess! Ask your child to do little jobs for you around the house, such as making their bed, sweeping the floor (kids love sweeping!), or washing up the dishes.

Getting dressed - At this age children should be dressing themselves...even if they do it badly, the practice is very important for independence. Practice makes perfect!

I would love to hear how you get on with the tasks. You will be amazed at how much children can do for themselves and how much they enjoy being independent. Independence supports so much of their learning that takes place in school.

Here is a fun story that should help!

Dirty Birtie