Fast little learners – top tips for parents of 5-7 year olds

Have you a child aged 5-7 years? Do you want to find out more about how they learn and how you can support that learning, especially now as you are home schooling? The http://helpmykidlearn.ie/ website has lots of good information, resources and videos like the one below.

This website was put together before our current lockdown but you can adapt ideas to living at home. You can find plenty of  learning activities, ideas and resources for your 5-7 year old at http://www.helpmykidlearn.ie/activities/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.

Ages and stages

School now becomes an important part of your child’s life. They are learning to be with other children more and they use talking to build new relationships. Other people can usually understand them clearly, though they still may have difficulty putting some sounds together.

By about 5

School now becomes an important part of your child’s life. They are learning to be with other children more and they use talking to build new relationships. Other people can usually understand them clearly, though they still may have difficulty putting some sounds together.
Your child can follow a short sequence of instructions just by listening.  They respond to questions and give information.

They are starting to understand sequencing: first and last; next; after. They also understand the meaning of words like ‘might’ and ‘maybe’.

They can talk about how things feel when you touch them – soft, smooth, rough.  They like games with sounds and rhymes. They know what words and letters are.

At this age your child is beginning to understand time more clearly, especially what happens on different days; morning, afternoon, day and night.  They may start to read the clock.

5 year-olds often like to talk about and explain what they are doing. They can also tell you about what they like or don’t like and how they feel.

Between about 5 and 7

Many children now follow simple stories without pictures. They can tell a story back to you in the right order and answer more detailed questions about stories as well as about what has happened during their day. They can discuss characters and events in stories.

They understand that letters represent sounds. Some children like to pick out words they see around them – on cereal packets, posters, TV. Some children start to read words and sentences during these years, others wait longer before they start to read.

Their drawings are getting more detailed as they are able to use pencils with more skill. Pretend play and dressing-up is still an important part of their creativity and learning. Some children like to play pretend games together.

Children at this age are starting to understand that words can be divided into 2 or 3 parts or syllables. They can learn to count the syllables. When they learn new words they like to try them out when they are talking to you.

They are starting to understand how to take turns in conversation. They express feelings and respond to people and events.

During these years children recognise more shapes in the world around. They like to look out for shapes such as circles, squares or triangles outside or at home. They can add and take away from groups of objects. They recognise and look out for numbers in shops or along the road. They enjoy games that are about counting, adding and taking away.

Top Tips

1. Encourage your child to retell a story they have heard. This will help your child to put ideas in the right order.
2. Ask questions which encourage your child to give more than a yes or no answer “What do you feel about that?”
3. Talk about the time for different things your child does every day – “It’s half past eight, time for school”. Use time words: early, late, weekend, second and minute.
4. Talk together about numbers – “How many have we for dinner?” (How many legs on chairs? Dogs have 4 legs. How many legs are there with 2, or 3 dogs? 7 days in a week, 14 days is 2 weeks).
5. Count with your child and involve them in home activities that involve measuring, weighing and counting.
6. Encourage your child to read things around them – cereal packets, notices and signs in shops. Discuss words. Read with your child – 5 minutes a day can help.
7. Give your child puzzles to do like mazes and dot-to-dots – write out their name in dots and get them to trace over dots. Look for opportunities to do real writing – cards for birthdays, titles for drawings they have made.