Big School Ready Australia

🔢 Unlock Early Math Skills with Dominos! 🔢

Did you know that playing with dominos isn't just fun, but it's also a fantastic way to introduce young minds to essential math concepts? Here are some benefits:

1️⃣ Number Recognition: Dominos help kids recognise and identify numbers as they match the dots on each tile.

2️⃣ Counting Practice: Counting the dots on dominos encourages basic counting skills, helping children understand numerical order and quantity.

3️⃣ Addition and Subtraction: As kids play with dominos, they naturally start to see patterns and make connections, laying the foundation for addition and subtraction.

4️⃣ Problem Solving: Setting up dominos in different arrangements encourages critical thinking and problem-solving skills as children figure out how to balance and arrange them without toppling over.

5️⃣ Social Interaction: Playing dominos with others fosters social skills like taking turns, sharing, and communicating strategies.

So next time you're looking for a fun and educational activity for your little ones, grab a set of dominos and watch their math skills grow! 🎲

Another name kit off to a new home. Hope you enjoy it, Koa!

New Product Alert 🚨

Our new Name Tracing Mats have everything you love in our name kits rolled into ONE.

READ IT
SPELL IT
BUILD IT
TRACE IT
WRITE IT!

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 Available in Bright Rainbow Pastel Rainbow
or
Montessori themes
❤️💙

My daughter is absolutely obsessed with writing and drawing at the moment. She is forever writing me little love notes and leaving them for me to find around the house. She's a total sweetheart. 💕

Most of the time I have to use my teacher detective skills to work out what she has written but I love seeing how her brain is working hard to turn the sounds that she hears in her head and converting them into written form. It's such a complex process and it take time and lots and lots of encouragement.

Giving her the opportunity to practise her letter formation like this enables her to have more confidence when writing them on her own.

These tracing practice sheets are available for download on the Big School Ready website. Check them out! 👍

With the start of school just around the corner, I thought I'd share some of my favourite picture books on the topic.

Starting school for the first time is a big step. Sharing picture books, like these, with your child can help them understand what to expect and get them excited about the new adventures ahead.
It also allows us to openly discuss any emotions and worries they may be feeling.

If you don't have access to these book at home or you are avoiding the shops like I am, here's a tip! You can find many of these books being read to you on YouTube. Just google the title, pick a video and enjoy. ❤️

✂️Scissor cutting activity

This morning I set up a simple cutting activity for my daughter to help get some scissor skill practice in before starting school.

Using scissors can be a difficult skill to master and it does take time and lots of practise. The developmental progression of scissor skills are:

1. Ripping paper
2. Snipping
3. Fringing paper
4. Straight lines
5. Zig zag lines
6. Curved lines
7. Right angles

Even with this activity I could see the wave pattern was too difficult for my daughter and she was getting frustrated so I asked her to focus on other patterns. It really does take time and patience.

Something I found helpful is buying a pair of scissors that have a spring loaded opening like these. These ones were purchased from Officeworks. It's helps those children with the opening and closing action to begin with and then you can switch it to a normal scissor action.
And if I haven't mentioned this before always remind your child to point their thumb to the sun.☀️

Happy snipping!

⋒ Hello all and Happy 2022!

Its been a while between posts so I thought I'd start the new year with a little intro about me.

Hi 👋 I'm Marisa (with one 's') and I'm a experienced primary school teacher with a passion for all things early years education.
I have two beautiful children, my eldest  has had the craziest first two years of school with lockdowns and remote learning a plenty. He hasn't had one full term at school but here's hoping for a better 2022! 🤞🤞
My baby is about to start school in a few weeks (cue the tears 😭) and is the inspiration and chief product tester for Big School Ready.
When I'm not being a wife, mum or teacher I love spending time with friends and family and doing anything creative.
Thank you to all who follow this little account and I look forward to sharing some exciting ideas with you all.

The Mini Name Kit is just packed full of fun activities to help your little one recognise, spell and write their name.

Kits are available in every Australian state/territory font to help your child learn their name with the correct letter formation.

Kits include
🌟 Personalised Name Plate
🌟 Playdough Name Mat
🌟 Name Matching activity
🌟 5 x Personalised Name Activities
🌟Whiteboard marker

All of these activities come in a handy document wallet.

Free Shipping is available within Australia. 👍

Amen to that! 🙌

I love seeing our kits in action! 🥰 Look at that concentration, so sweet!

While waiting for my son to finish school this afternoon, I looked down to find Miss A making little shapes and pictures using the twigs she found on the ground.

I couldn't pass up the chance to take a photo of that moment. The way children find the possibility for play and learning in almost any situation is amazing.

Hope you had an fabulous Friday! Bring on the weekend 🥂