If you had a reception age child at home in the last school closures...

[Anotherunimaginativeusername]

...please can you give me your hints, tips and words of wisdom for home learning? School closures are looking increasingly likely.

DS is in reception, enjoying school and making progress with reading/phonics. But he is quite behind with fine motor, does not enjoy drawing, can't colour in, finds it hard to exert enough pressure with his pencil etc. Is very resistant to any drawing/writing activities. Won't spend any time doing threading activities, beads etc. If I can get him to draw he will just draw the same picture over and over (a boat, he is quite fixed in his interests).

He also has some speech issues, he is still unable to make certain sounds, I have chased up speech therapy through school but we are still waiting for assessment.

He loves numbers and has a good understanding of a lot of number concepts so I'm less concerned about that.

I'm most worried he will end up back in school in the summer term still unable to write. He's also quite difficult to engage in activities if he's not really interested, so I'm concerned about how I'll motivate him. He likes doing things on apps on the tablet (eg phonics app) but isn't good with video calls, he just gets silly after a few mins. I also have a small baby at home so quite a bit to juggle.

Any hints and tips for helping along a reluctant writer and just general tips for home learning in reception year very gratefully received. And is there any kit I should buy? Beyond paper/pencils,pens, glue, etc. He tells me he writes on a whiteboard at school? We have an android tablet.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and tips.

Op white boards are very cheap, places like the range, the works sell them, I get white board pens from wilko..
Look on amazon I have three medium ones and one large! I love them.
Different colour pens help to me it more fun.
Can you get threading toys?.Tracing mazes stuff like that?

Magazines.

I wouldn't push just aim for e teeny bit each day, I had to heavily bribe dd but she's so used to it now I don't need to bribe.

I got her to write one hfw a day..

Flash cards of hfw for reading, get some of his reading level books..

My DS is in year 1 now & still struggles with writing for the same reasons. Have a look at Dough Disco, it’s exercises with playdoh to help strengthen their hands. Lego is also very good for developing fine motor skills. We have bought finger grips for pencils & a writing slope which he says make writing a lot easier.

DS was exactly the same last year, trying to get him to write anything was like pulling teeth & I now know it’s because he found it so hard. Something clicked since he’s been in year 1, same with reading.

I think the best thing we did was read regularly & practice his phonics, not loads just 10 minutes per day. Both DH and I were working at home & also had a toddler so I was worried he would be very behind but he’s not. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, do what you can

@PandemicPavolova

Op white boards are very cheap, places like the range, the works sell them, I get white board pens from wilko.. Look on amazon I have three medium ones and one large! I love them. Different colour pens help to me it more fun. Can you get threading toys?.Tracing mazes stuff like that?

Magazines.

I wouldn't push just aim for e teeny bit each day, I had to heavily bribe dd but she's so used to it now I don't need to bribe.

I got her to write one hfw a day..

Flash cards of hfw for reading, get some of his reading level books..

Whiteboards aren’t the best of he’s struggling with applying pressure on the page. You barely have to apply any pressure at all to make marks with a whiteboard pen on a whiteboard, and they slide across the board with very little friction. Writing with a pencil on paper is totally different. Our Early Years advisor at school advised to get rid of whiteboards from Early Years classrooms (they’re fine for older children for writing quick answers to hold up and show the teacher etc). If he’s struggling with applying enough pressure on the page then he needs to strengthen his muscles- finger/hand, wrist and elbow. As PP mentioned, dough disco (search on YouTube) or any play dough play- squeezing etc, Lego or other little fiddly toys, grabbing things- monkey bars at the park are great for building up hand strength!

Kids magazines are good. They usually have some type of writing practice thing and colouring in. Hopefully one he likes in will keep his interest.

We did quite a few sticker books (usborne and national trust have good ones). Dd could then be encouraged to write down some words like the birds name she had learned. Dd also liked the wipe clean math books.

We were given some phonic flashcards which proved useful.

Our school work was only for about an hour a day, if that. Mostly just repetition of phonics and counting games.

LittleRa thankyou for your reply. With the whiteboards, is there any merit in using one to help him get to grips with the shapes for letter formation? He's so slow and struggles with a pencil so its hard to get any actual practice done! Meaning he still struggles to firm the shapes too. This would be alongside paper and pencil work too of course and building up his muscle strength and stamina. I always get him to "sky write" the shape in the air first before he writes a letter on the page.

Great suggestions, thanks all, keep them coming!

Primary a teacher here. He really does need to spend some quality (but not necessarily quantity) time each day doing drawing and writing if he is going to improve.

Try and find some different things to write and draw with and on. Mazes and dot-to-dots mights seem more appealing for example. Using gel pens, felt pens, whiteboard and pens can all be a bit more engaging than a normal pencil. Try a ‘special’ writing pencil. Something a bit fancy with a nice grip. Make a big deal of setting a table and chair where he is to do his writing.

We do fun writing warm ups (wiggling and stretching fingers and arms), and very dramatically get into a good writing position (scoosh bums to the back of the chair, place feet flat on the floor, angle the paper, hold pencil properly, etc).

Vary the types of writing that you do. For example, if you’ve looked at ‘a’ set a timer and see how many ‘a’s he can quickly write in 30secs. Then see how slowly and neatly he can write an ‘a’.

At this age, I find giving no time for discussion or argument helps. ‘Quick, I’m going to set a timer, see how many times you can write ‘a’, oh no the timer is running out! Oh you wrote 12 ‘A’s that was fast. Which one do you think is the best? Put a circle round it! Fantastic, now let’s write one reaaaaaaalllllly slowly.... Oh look how much neater that one is, let’s do 5 more and then we’ll try a maze!’

Set a visible timer for a writing activity so he can see it will be over soon. Do short bursts and build up the time that he can concentrate for. Big up his efforts so he feels proud and wants to do more. Use an app as a reward for once he has successfully completed his pencil time.

Good luck - home schooling is tough!

Search for Squiggle Whilst You Wiggle on YouTube too (as well as dough disco)

What are his gross motor skills like? Can he hop on the right and left? Ride a bike? Does he slump over when he sits or sit up nice and straight?

If you were a parent in my class, I would first of all tell you not to worry, and secondly, try and get out and do as much running and climbing as you can. If you have a park with monkey bars near, force him on them as they are very good for developing all that shoulder and upper body strength.

Then onto fine motor. If you can afford them, plastic tweezers are very good for developing hand strength and tripod grip. Most children can be occupied for a quite a while with a big tub of rice, shredded paper, pasta, acquabeads (may be good if he likes boats), etc while they dig out coins/ numbers/ letters/ gems.

Don't force the writing. Playdough is great, and if you can get an old fashioned chalk board (Ikea sell a v reasonable easel) that encourages more drag/resistance than the whiteboard. Try and get him to write naturally or through his interests, e.g. a shopping list for something he really wants, or a birthday card for gran or a friend.

He will be fine

Not so much for writing, but our DS used Reading Eggs and Maths Seeds so much we had to start limiting his time on them. When he went back in June he was so improved with his reading in particular.

Our school recommended Letters and Sounds phonics on YouTube which was pretty good.

To be honest, we quickly learnt we couldn’t get him to do much alone and as we both work from home full time that was challenging. Hopefully it won’t be for such an extended period this time.

Another my DS got sent home with a small whiteboard last time so definitely worthwhile.

Hopefully the school will offer a good remote learning package.

Not going to say its easy but I wouldn't worry too much.

We had access to reading books online. We had whiteboard. They gave us other things home like phonics sounds, and aids they used in school.

We used Ruth Minskin I think for phonics and they had some short pre recorded lessons.

Can't say for the speech. My DS started getting support just before closure last time and i don't think its as far on as it would otherwise have been. I don't know if he will get extra support this time, although his is nothing major just some pronunciations.

I think the writing was the one thing that didn't move as far forward as it could have done. But he's really progressed so far this term.

And reading seems to have clicked a lot more now.

I don't feel he's really behind where his sister was at a similar point.

But be realistic to what you can achieve too. They are very different at home to school and it is tough.

I would say our tips from last year:
Read everyday but doesn't matter what it is (magazine, book, cereal box, instructions for a game etc)
Use different media for writing practice eg writing in foam, writing with water on the patio outside
Find your child's best time for work - mine is first thing
Allow them choice - I would set up thee activities but let her choose what order
Imo tablets have their place but writing practice with them isn't that useful. I do tablet/screen activities once all other things, else she pester to stay on all day
Do as much practical work as you can - counting, halving, doubling, weighing etc
Try to keep in touch with their friends via weekly zoom if your school aren't doing online lessons. We set this up and it was great.

I’m going to go a bit against the grain here and say don’t bother forcing it, the writing. Letter recognition with flash cards and games and videos and singing. Does he like maxes? I used to draw ‘follow the line’ type mazes for DS, like chicken to the coop etc. That all helps with pencil control and fine motor skills but without the pressure of writing.

My daughter has dyspraxia and when in y1 had theraputty to help strengthen hands. It comes in different levels though so although you can order from Amazon not sure if you need an assessment first to know which one you need. She had yellow I think.

I was advised writing on a whiteboard that's upright can also help.

Try pen grips. They are rubbery things you slip over the pencil to help group.

Does he have hypermobility. My dd's index finger bends back on itself way past where mine can get to which is what causes her issues.

Also, bear in mind that an hour of one to one 'teaching' in a day is far more than they would get in school. So if you only do 3 lots of 20 minutes, you will definitely see progress. Take a photo of their first and last peices of work and you will be amazed

Buy some colour in/paper table cloths and tell him as a special treat he can draw on the table? Or cookie/cupcake decorating (I know its not the same as writing but its fine motor skills), freeze ice cubes and have them slide those around to draw with - again not exactly the same as holding a pen but its mark making

There's some nice links to training videos on using playdough and improving handwriting here from occupational therapists www.bsat.london/training/

@Anotherunimaginativeusername I just kept learning to short bursts for my son. We did a couple of homework assignments a day. I also got some flashcards with letters of the alphabet on and we practised those every day.

My son is now in year 1. He struggled with reading and writing and was behind in September. He really wasn't motivated to do either and it was a real slog to get him to practice at home. But by November he'd caught up and is now very enthusiastic to read every evening and is currently sitting at the table writing Christmas cards! I didn't do anything, in particular, to make this happen, its all just ’clicked’ for him recently. Friends have had similar experiences where suddenly their lo just suddenly ’gets’ it and then they have a leap in their progress.

Do you have a sand pit, or could you get a sand tray, for tracing letters. Or letter shapes that you can cut out of sandpaper and he can trace. Although, it might be difficult for you to find the time to get things organised with him and a baby around. Mazes, dot to dot and all the other stuff people have suggested will hopefully make it more fun and less of a chore for you both.

www.facebook.com/1421902784737951/posts/2702794963315387/?d=n
Go with his interests

I would also work on gross motor skills (throwing and catching, running etc) since they feed into fine motor skills and if he is anything like my son are done much more willingly

My son is also in reception, similar to yours - loves phonics and numbers but hates colouring. We bought the alphablock and numberblock activity packs from 5 minute fun. You trace letters, circle things, colour in small drawings which has really got our boy interested and his finger strength has massively improved as a result. He now writes sentences!

I’ve got a reception aged child and we’ve had a 2 week isolation period for home schooling. A white board was actually really helpful. She liked that she could practice but rub things out really easily. Functional writing has also been good so things like lists and Christmas cards. I got her to write the names of paint testers when we were decorating abs she loved that. During lockdown she was very reluctant to do any writing with me and to be honest being in school is what made the difference and wanting the approval of her teachers. By the end of the 2 weeks she has lost her motivation and will so can’t say I’m looking forward to the prospect of closures.

Watched number blocks and Alphablocks.
Read to him every day.
Did lots of baking - measuring, mixing, cutting biscuits out with cutters.
Scissor skills - did cutting shapes out, or things for a craft.
Readingeggs subscription helped
Watched the BBC Bitesize daily - he loved the variety of subjects
Cosmic Yoga - great for balance
Play dough and made bread rolls, things with pastry to roll out and cut
CBeebies magazine or Peppa Pig Magazine - stickers, drawing lines, over dots
A dot to dot book

I have a child not into writing either! All of the above were easy to do with my dc.

I had a reception and Yr1 in lockdown #1. Since we both work full time ours learned via Maddie & Greg and Oak Academy (both YouTube). They did nothing of what (little) school sent home since a)we didn’t have time, b) they weren’t remotely interested.

I worried about the youngest since her reading was non existent - really struggled.

Turns out that six months playing did neither of them any harm, and within a couple of weeks in September both seemed to have magically learned a huge amount.

Anyway, just survive and keep them
Occupied is my recommendation. There is a lot of ‘educational’ TV, bingo, Orchard games, Twinkl online worksheets, CBeebies comics, Lego, junk modelling and twice daily walks.