No items found.
Home
Contact us
Home
navigate_next
Early years offer
Early years offer

Here are some of our top activities you can be doing at home to prepare to your child for starting school or nursery.

Before your child starts

Fun activities to add to your routine

  • Try sharing familiar books at bedtime. Pause when reading so that your child can join in. Talk about the sounds at the beginning of words and words that start with the same sound (like words beginning with P).
  • Encourage your child to recall what has happened in the story. For example, ‘Why is bear feeling sad?’ Ask them to guess what might happen – ‘What should they do next?’ – or how the story might end – ‘Do you think they’re going to find the treasure? Where could it be?’

Other ideas

  • Try role-playing games together such as shopping. Set items out on the sofa, give your child a bag and some pretend money. Then switch roles and let them be the shopkeeper.
  • Play teddy bears’ picnic. Put soft toys in a circle and give your child a few cups and spoons. Give your child a chance to tell you what to do like, ‘Stir teddy’s tea.’  You could chat to them as you are doing actions, for example, ‘let’s cut the cake in half’.
  • Start conversations by using open questions with lots of possible answers, for example, ‘What are you going to play with today?’
  • Plan a treasure hunt game, where your child has to listen to your instructions to find a clue or an object. For example, ‘Try looking behind the sofa’. Help your child look for a specific number of objects and count them together – such as 3 cups, 2 pink socks, 5 pens.
  • Help your child make a puppet show about their favourite story using objects around the house.
  • Play sorting games together. Collect a range of different household objects and practise sorting them into different groups, perhaps by size or colour. Once you have finished, count all the objects in each group.
  • Play a make-believe journey game with your child. Make a car out of a cardboard box that you decorate together, or just grab some cushions, pile in a few teddy bear passengers, and let your child drive you off on an adventure.
No items found.

We understand that being a parent of a child starting school can be a daunting experience. We have put together some frequently asked questions and their answers in order to answer as many questions as possible. If you have any other questions, please do get in touch. No question is a silly question.

FAQ's
News and events
More
Introducing a new look for our school
Details
Accreditations
Useful links:
Statutory informationContact usWebsite accessibility
Contact us:

Lift St Helen's
St Helen's Way
Monk Bretton
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S71 2PS

Telephone:
01226 295210
Email:
contactus@liftsthelens.org
A work of Genius