Primary Classroom News

Foundation A

The beginning of foundation is a big step for children. It requires the development of independence and the ability to complete self-care tasks. Children also need to be well rested and fed to be ready for busy school days.

By the beginning of foundation children should be able to

• Hold and use a pencil,
• Recognise and write their own name and
• Use scissors to cut along a line.

Check and see how many of these skills your child already has and practise the others at home.

In class the children have begun to count and learn to recognise numbers. An abacus is a great tool for learning to counting. It teaches children to match a spoken number to a bead and can later be used to learn about how numbers are organised into groups of ten.

In literacy the children have been introduced to five keys words. These words are:

• ant
• cat
• tin
• tap
• sun

These words are all made using the letter sounds:

• a – as in ‘ant’
• n – as in ‘ant’
• t – as in ‘tin’
• i – as in ‘tin’
• s – as in ‘sun’
• u – as in ‘sun’
• p – as in ‘tap’

These letters can be used to build all kind of other simple words including tap, tip, nap, cap, pat, pit, pat, cap, at, an, it and in.

Invest in some magnetic letters and play dough at home and sit with your child and help them to make words using these letter sounds. Focus on the sound the letters makes rather than the name of the letter. Encourage your child to listen for the sounds in the beginning, middle and end of the word.

Foundation is a big year for learning and it will be exciting to see the children grow and change as the year progresses.