Virgin Mary Girls' National School
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Preparing your daughter for school

Let’s face it:  School isn’t what it used to be.  The following suggestions are intended to help prepare your child in an assortment of developmental areas to make the transition into School as smooth as possible.  Believe it or not, just 15-20 minutes of playing and learning with your child makes a world of difference! 
     
Social/Emotional Development
 
Encourage your child to persist in tasks when encountering a problem by giving her tasks slightly above her current ability level.  When your child cannot find a solution on her own, encourage her to calmly ask for help.
Play board games to practice taking turns.
Set up several play dates with friends of various ages.
Allow your child to stay with other trusted adults for a few hours at a time prior to School (especially if she has rarely been in the care of someone other than mam and dad).
 
Language Development
 
Verbally give your child specific one-step and two-step directions and encourage her to follow through.
Read to your child for a combined total of at least 20 minutes each day.
While reading, point out how to hold a book (right-side up with the spine on the left) and the orientation in which we read the words and look at the pictures (left to right).
After reading, ask your child what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.  
 
Cognitive Development
 
Have your child help you sort items according to colour, size, and shape (laundry, blocks, silverware, toys, and other household items work well).
Teach your child to make various patterns (red, blue, red, blue). 
Practice counting aloud to 10 while on the bus or driving in the car.  
Count objects in your home.  Have your child point to each object as she counts.
Go on a shape hunt.  Point out circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles to your child while you are taking or walk or grocery shopping. 
Talk about positional and directional concepts like up/down, over/under, in/out, behind/in front of, top/bottom, beside/between, off/on, stop/go.
Talk about opposite words (big/little, empty/full, slow/fast). 
 
Physical Development (Gross & Fine Motor)
 
Give your child plenty of opportunities for outdoor play: running, jumping, and climbing.
Play catch on a regular basis.
Practice skipping.
Stack blocks together.
Play with play dough regularly.  Roll, squish, stamp, and even cut it! Encourage your child to cut out various shapes using child-safe scissors. String large beads to make a necklace.  
Play with an interlocking puzzle together.
 
Creative Arts
 
Always encourage pretend play.…. occasionally join your child in her fantasy world.
Teach your child to recognize the following colours:  red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, brown, and pink. 
Give your child plenty of opportunities to draw. 
Ask her to draw the things she sees around her.

Location

Address

Shangan Road, Ballymun,
Dublin 9, 
​D09 T2X6.
​​

Contact Us

  • Home
    • Attendance
    • Newsletter
    • So How Was School Today?
    • Mission Statement
    • Preparing Your Child for School
    • Cyber Bullying: Some Advice for Parents
    • Staff 2020-2021
    • Board of Management
    • Szkoła Podstawowa Virgin Mary
    • Uniform
    • Headlice >
      • Infections in school
    • Reading Over the Summer
    • Help at home >
      • Online Resources >
        • Primary Online Database
      • HSCL
  • Class Work
    • JI 2021
    • SI 2021
    • 1st 2021
    • 2nd 2021 >
      • 2nd A 2021
      • 2nd B 2021
    • 3rd 2021 >
      • 3rd A 2021
      • 3rd B 2021
      • Reading 3rd Class
    • 4th 2021 >
      • Reading 4th Class
    • 5th 2021 >
      • Reading 5th class
    • 6th 2021 >
      • Reading 6th class
    • Rainbow Room
    • Memory Lane >
      • Active School Week 2021
      • 1916 Flag Ceremony >
        • Ten Little Known Facts About
      • MunFunRun
      • 1916
      • 2020-2021 >
        • JI 2020
        • 3rd 2020
        • SI 2020
        • 1st 2020
        • 2nd 2020
        • 4th 2020
        • 6th 2020
        • 5th 2020
      • 2019-2020 >
        • Junior Infants
        • Senior Infants
        • First Class
        • Second Class
        • Third Class
        • Fourth Class
        • Fifth Class
        • Sixth Class
      • 2018-2019 >
        • Misc
        • Junior Infants
        • Senior Infants
        • First Class
        • Second Class
        • Third Class
        • Fourth Class
        • Fifth Class
        • Sixth Class
      • 2017-2018 >
        • Junior Infants
        • Senior Infants
        • First Class
        • Second Class
        • Third Class
        • Fourth Class
        • Fifth Class
        • Sixth Class
      • 2016-2017 >
        • Junior Infants 16/17
        • Senior Infants 16/17
        • First Class 16/17
        • Second Class 16/17
        • Third Class 16/17
        • Fourth Class 16/17
        • Fifth Class 16/17
        • Sixth Class 16/17
      • 2015-2016 >
        • Junior Infants 2015/16
        • Senior Infants 2015/16
        • Other >
          • School Lunches
          • Support Services for Families
        • First Class 2015/16
        • Third Class 2015/16
        • Fourth Class 2015/16
        • Sixth Class 2015/16
    • WOW Wall
  • School Policies
    • Policies >
      • Healthy Eating
      • Medical Conditions
      • Mobile Phone
      • Anti-Bullying
      • Anti Cyber Bullying
      • Administration of Medicine
      • Custody & Separation Policy
  • School Programmes
    • Guide to school curriculum
    • Maths >
      • Maths Recovery
    • Reading Recovery
    • Suas Literacy
    • First Steps
    • Sacraments >
      • Our School Prayer
      • Policy-Religious Education
    • Library
    • Gaeilge
    • Computers
    • Early Start
    • Green Schools
    • HSCL
    • Incredible Years
    • Music
    • Book Rental
    • School Routine/Homework
    • Breakfast
    • Aisling Project
    • Story Sacks
    • Standardized Tests
  • Sports
    • Sports Day
    • GAA
    • Soccer
    • Active School Flag
    • Athletics
    • Swimming