I am Hollie Johnstone, Family Learning Worker for your school. I am based here in Whitehirst Park Primary four days a week from Monday to Thursday and hope to get to know all of you. My job is to encourage and support active engagement and collaboration with parents and carers while developing a range of strategies to support learning and mental and emotional wellbeing, giving all children the tools to go on to reach their potential.
North Ayrshire Family Learning Team have also prepared an excellent website which is full of ideas and activities to help prepare you and your child for Primary 1.
Family Learning Transition Activities
Number Ideas at Home
1,2,3 … Sing with me!
Number songs and counting rhymes are great for helping children to remember the order of numbers e.g. 5 little ducks went swimming one day: One, two, buckle my shoe …
1,2,3… Count with me!
Help your child to develop their counting skills by encouraging them to touch items while counting. This will help your child to realise that the last number word tells them how many there are all together. “1,2,3,4,5 … There are 5 altogether”.
1,2,3 … Play with me!
Dice games are a great way to play and help your child quickly recognise dice patterns without having to count each dot on a dice. Playing board games like Snakes and Ladders also helps to develop your child’s counting skills.
1,2,3 … Question me!
Ask your child about numbers e.g. “How many fish fingers are on your plate? What age are you? Can you show me what age you are using your fingers?”
Literacy Ideas at Home
A,B,C … Talk to me!
Say and name what you see when out a walk, going to the shops and even around the house. Add a word or two to develop your child’s language e.g. your child says ‘A doggy’. You can say, “Yes, it’s a big dog”.
A,B,C … Read to me !
Find a quiet 10 minutes each day to share a book together. Look at the pictures and discuss them, point out things and share ideas. Don’t hesitate to repeat parts or all of the story when your child asks. Children love repetition and this gives them a chance to fine tune their language.
Most importantly keep it fun, it doesn’t matter if you don’t get through to the end of the story, its about spending quality time together. You can always finish the book tomorrow.
A,B,C … Say rhymes with me!
Have fun with rhymes, make up silly rhyming words like: ‘Twinkle, twinkle little star; car; far; jar; tar…….’
