5 – 7

Building it into your day

Your home is a place where lots of learning is happening every day. Your child will improve their vocabulary and speech by hearing how words are used in everyday life. Chatting to your child, asking them questions and encouraging them to ask you questions will help build these essential skills.

In the morning

Talk about the time for different things your child does every day – it’s half past eight, time for school. Use time words like early, late, weekend, second and minute.

Mealtimes and cooking

Ask your child how many plates, knives and folks you will need to set the table.
If you are cooking, you could weigh out ingredients together.

Out shopping

Give your child a notebook and pencil. You could make a list of items you want to buy and ask them to tick off the items as you find them.

Birthdays and special occasions

Encourage your child to make and write cards for special occasions.

Bedtime

Reading books aloud shows your child that you think reading is important. It helps your child to link the words on the page to how they are spoken and to begin to recognise words.