Holiday activities to prepare your child for Grade 1

The upcoming school holidays are not only a great chance to spend extra time with your child but also an opportunity to help prepare your Grade R child for the 2022 academic year.

We chat with Kristen Strahlendorf, Educational Psychologist at the Family Tree Therapy Center, on how you – and your child – can make the most of this break.

Writing, letter recognition, and beginning sounds

• Help your child practice writing letters, especially the letters of their name starting with a capital letter.
• Start writing by making it multi-sensory. Use foam, salt, or finger paint to make practicing more fun as they spell and write words with their fingers.
• Use fridge alphabet magnets and see if they can spot the missing letter to basic words which makes this fun and interactive.
• Make your child aware of the sounds that match each letter of the alphabet.
• Playing ‘eye-spy with my little eye’, is an easy way to find items around the house that begin with the same sound in order to identify the alphabet letter.

Number recognition and counting

• Making numbers an everyday occurrence. Start by asking your child to help you count the socks that you take out of the washing machine or the number of vegetables in the fridge.
• When out of the house, ask your child to spot a number 7 or to count how many red cars they see while being a passenger. This will keep them entertained while learning. If they get it wrong, help them understand how many there actually were.

Shapes and colours

• Paper shape cutting is a fun way to develop fine motor skills and learn shapes. Start by helping your child draw them on paper and cut them out.

Attention and following directions

• Bedtime stories are one of the best ways to develop your child’s attention and comprehension skills. Try to extend their attention by reading longer chapter books, one chapter each night, or as long as your child remains interested and focused.
• Big school involves following directions. You can build this by giving your child two and three-step directions. For example: “put your toys away, brush your teeth and pick a book to read.”
• Playing ‘Simon Says’ is an exciting way to engage your child. Use two or three-step directions. For example: “Simon Says touch your head and jump.”

Social skills

• Social interaction plays a huge part in your child’s development. Start early by letting your children interact with other children in Grade R, playgroups, or playdates.
• Teach your child how to express their feelings correctly by helping them identify a feeling with the appropriate name or “emoji” picture.
• Your Grade 1 will come across conflict and different situations that need resolution. You can help them through role-playing. This is where you can demonstrate different situations that might occur and brainstorm with them on some solutions for typical problems that they may encounter.