Great games to prepare your child for school

Playtime is recognised by all educationalists as absolutely crucial to a child’s development. Through play, children learn about themselves and the world around them. It’s deemed so important, it has become enshrined in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) which is a set of requirements that must be followed by providers of care for children under five years old. Games, role-playing and reading with mum or dad will prepare them for what’s ahead at school. And introducing other children into playtime will help their sociability, too.

Acting is a great outlet for those who are loud, energetic and naturally confident but is also of huge importance to those less so. By playing with props, parents and children can talk about and begin to understand emotions.

Dr Harriet Tenebaum is a child psychologist at Kingston University who specialises in play. She says helping children learn about their feelings will stand them in good stead for coping with the many new experiences they will face at school: "In our own work, we have found that explaining ('he feels happy and sad because he likes the new bicycle, but thinks he might fall off') and getting children to explain why people feel the way they do ('why does he feel happy and sad at the same time?’) increases children's emotional understanding." For particularly shy youngsters (and parents who may feel self-conscious) puppets are a great way to ‘act out’ a variety of situations and emotions. Or use fuzzy felt and make faces change expressions!