Getting ready for big school: 6 skills to practise through play

Starting “big school” is often more daunting for parents than for children. Good news: your child doesn't need to read before they start. That's exactly what the first year is for. However, a few skills make the transition much smoother.

1. Listening to and following instructions

In class, children need to understand an instruction given to the whole group and carry it out on their own. At home, practise with two- or three-step instructions: “Take your sheet, circle the stars, then colour the sun yellow.”

All our sheets start with a short, precise instruction: read it together, then ask your child to say it back in their own words.

2. Holding a pencil properly

A good pencil grip (the “pincer” between thumb and index finger) tires the hand less and prepares for handwriting. Mazes, path tracing and colouring inside the lines are excellent practice.

3. Spotting sounds and letters

Without learning to read yet, children can already:

• recognise the letters in their name;
• find words that rhyme;
• hear the first sound of a word (“boat starts with /b/”).

Visual discrimination activities (finding all the matching letters in a grid) also help them look carefully at letter shapes.

4. Counting and understanding quantities

Reciting numbers up to 30 is nice; understanding that there are 5 objects, however they are arranged, is essential. Dice, dominoes and fingers are great allies for recognising small quantities at a glance.

5. Finding their way in space

Top, bottom, left, right, above, between… This vocabulary is used every day in class (“write at the top left of the page”). Grids and arrow codes make it very concrete.

6. Focusing for a little while

A 5- or 6-year-old can stay focused for about ten minutes on a calm activity. To help:

• offer one sheet at a time;
• choose a moment when they are rested;
• stop before they lose interest, on a success.

The goal isn't to get ahead of the curriculum, but to give children confidence when facing a sheet of paper and an instruction.

Find sheets suited to ages 5-6 in our printables and our activity catalogue.