The next part of our series responds to the government’s plans for a phased reopening of schools from June with advice and recommendations for all those not going back to school from Suzanne Jessel. Suzanne is a volunteer who has shared her many years of teaching experience and a specialist interest in students with SEND to support Bell House’s dyslexia project.
So the news is out. Only Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 children might be going to school this term. What about all the other children aged 6 to 10? If you are a parent of one of these children, how are you managing with the home schooling?
Your children will be missing the interaction with their classmates and being a part of the varied life at school. But wait. If your child is Dyslexic, perhaps they are enjoying freedom from the heavy demands of the school curriculum.
Take time to enjoy games and child play
This is an opportunity to take time to enjoy games and child play. Take a board game and adapt it, for example, a snakes and ladders game. Every throw of the dice, means picking up a card from the pile (one for adults with super hard words, one for your child with words they need to learn to spell) and you only get to move on if you spell the word correctly.
Create a treasure hunt in your local park that involves reading clues and writing the answers. Give them the interaction they are missing and keep the learning fun.
Make your own gingerbread man, boy or girl!
Print out this activity sheet from Oxford Owl, then put the images in order. Match the words to the pictures and then follow the recipe!
Teaching your child to read in the same way they do at school can be done systematically using the levelled sets of eBooks that have been made free during Lockdown generously by Oxford Owl.
Make this an opportunity to build the confidence of your child by developing their talents.