Activities for families and children

Knowing the primary schools within your schooling zone is an important first step in preparing your child’s transition into kindergarten. Enrolments are open now and close on Friday 21 July 2023, so now is a great time to research and apply for enrolment at the school of your choice.

If your child has been attending an Early Learning Centre, you can ask them for a Child Profile which outlines your child’s developmental journey. This profile can assist your child’s new teachers in getting to know your child and assist in a smooth transition.

At the time of enrolment, you will need to provide a copy of your child’s up-to-date Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). This register is created automatically when you complete your child’s immunisation schedule. Find out more on how to obtain a copy of your child’s AIR.

For more information on schooling zones and enrolment procedures, visit the Department of Education website.

Little brains need large amounts of nutrition to keep them going. What children eat plays a crucial role in their learning and progress at school. Below are 10 tips to help with healthy lunch box preparation:

1. Pick a lunch box your child will like. This may be their favourite colour or have their favourite cartoon character illustrated, they do not need to be costly.
2. Trial opening and closing their lunch box before starting school. Some lunch boxes can be difficult for young children to open leading to kids avoiding their lunch or feeling anxiety when it’s lunch time.
3. Make time to prepare a week of lunches. This includes time to go grocery shopping (buying enough to last the week) and to wrap and freeze appropriate food items.
4. Make your own healthy snacks using ingredients you can buy in bulk such as oat bars and muffins.
5. Pack the lunch box the night before school and keep the food in the fridge overnight.
6. Search lunch box ideas and recipes online. Websites such as Crunch&Sip and the Raising Children Network have lots of recipe ideas.   
7. Include a range of coloured fruit and vegetables.
8. Ask your school if they are a Crunch&Sip school. Crunch&Sip schools have a set time during the day when the students are allowed to eat vegetables or fruit and drink water in the classroom.

Be sure to become familiar with your school’s allergen policy, as this can determine what food your child can take to school.

For further information on lunchbox nutrition, see the Packed with Goodness booklet.

Implementing a morning and after school routine can help your child feel supported during their transition into school and throughout their schooling life. Routines are a great way for all members of your household to know what is ahead for the day; feel safe and secure and develop healthy life skills. Children usually enjoy being involved in school routines as they can demonstrate their independence skills. Tasks such as packing their bag or putting on their school hat are simple ways to support their self-help skills and build confidence.

You can begin creating a routine with your child well before they begin kindergarten. This can include eating recess and lunch at home at the same time as their school or practicing packing their backpack and lunchbox. Incorporating these new school routines into your traditional bedtime and daily routines will help children to be prepared for school and cope with their transition into kindergarten.

Before school routine tasks may include:

• toilet
• breakfast
• brush teeth
• get dressed
• make bed
• pack lunchbox in school bag
• hugs goodbye.

After school routine tasks may include:

• unpack schoolbag
• healthy snack
• change clothes
• free time.

You may like to create a school morning reward chart using stickers or coloured pens to mark off tasks once they are completed. This offers praise and positive reinforcement for your child.

The final tip for setting school routines is that a stress free morning starts the night before. Being prepared the night before school can make a big difference and takes pressure off school mornings making them more enjoyable. You may like to prepare school uniforms, have lunches made and pack spare underwear or pull ups in the school bag the night before.

Toilet training is a common topic for parents and guardians as they prepare their child to start school.

Knowing the signs of your child being ready to start toileting along with consistent toileting practices can assist you and your child to have positive toilet training experiences. If you would like additional information or support on toilet training, Ngala Rockingham delivers workshops throughout the year. To see if there is a workshop delivered near you, visit the Ngala website.

Before you start toileting, it may be helpful to decide whether you will use a toilet or potty and to implement a rewards system. Both have varying pros and cons; doing a bit of research can help you choose the right one for your lifestyle.

Once you have decided you and your child are ready to commence toilet training, it is important to start during a time when you will not have any big changes such as moving house or having a baby. This ensures a consistent and secure routine for your child. 

It’s important to remember that starting school can occasionally lead to a regression with toileting as children begin to cope with a new environment. You can help them by ensuring they know where the toilets at school are and by encouraging them to let their teacher know if they need to use the toilet.

If you would like additional information or support on toilet training, Ngala Rockingham delivers workshops throughout the year. To see if there is a workshop being delivered near you, visit the Ngala website. 

Starting kindergarten is a big transition and change for children and their families. You may notice your child having mixed emotions leading up to starting school and they may show signs of feeling anxious. As parents and guardians, there are things we can do to support our children and guide them in managing these feelings. Below are a few tips:

• Show your child lots of love and reassure them by being enthusiastic and excited when talking about school/kindergarten.
• Attend a transition into school program at your school if there is one available. This provides opportunities to make connections with fellow class mates prior to school starting.
• Have conversations and read books together about understanding emotions.
• Look after yourself as a parent/guardian and chat to a friend such as fellow parent if you are feeling a little sad yourself.
• Reach out to services who can assist with information or financial guidance, including The Smith Family and Vinnies WA.

Talk to your child about their upcoming start at school. Having positive conversations about the transition well in-advance can reduce anxiety for children and encourage them to ask you questions and feel prepared to begin kindergarten.

If you would like additional information or support on managing emotions, Ngala Rockingham delivers workshops throughout the year. To see if there is a workshop being delivered near you, please visit the Ngala website.

Engaging in local community groups and implementing activities in the home environment can help support your child’s transition into the school environment by fostering their development – language, emotion, communication, physical and social skills. Accessing community resources or participating with community groups is a good way for both you and your child to meet others, and build the skills for school readiness. You child’s interactions with family, friends, school or early learning centre can foster their development and confidence, ready for school. 

Knowing what resources and facilities are available in your area, can be difficult to identify. The Rockingham area offers age appropriate facilities and activities to support your child, this includes: 

• playgroups
• parenting workshops
• early learning centres
• toy library
• libraries
• playgrounds
• parks
• child and parent centres.

Early Learning Educators may positively assist in your child’s transition. If you are uncertain on how they can support you, please ask your child’s educator or centre director. An early learning centre can support your child’s transition by working alongside you to develop their necessary skills for school. You may also like to reach out to your local primary school to see what transition into kindy program they offer or ask during the enrolment period.

The Early Years Learning Framework is the curriculum that Early Childhood Centres follow when structuring developmental activities for your child. Early childhood coordinators will document their learning through daily journals and will include details of what the child did during the day. This is done via an online platform, so can be easily accessed by parents and guardians. With parent permission, this information can be shared with their kindergarten teachers so that teachers can review the child’s learning before they even step into the classroom – this can go as far back as three to four years. Developmental summaries, which are completed by early learning coordinators every six months, can also be shared with both parents and teachers. These summaries cover skills the child has mastered, in addition to those that they are still developing, as well as other holistic comments, such as their social and emotional progress.

Early Learning Centres can also set up meetings with parents to discuss their child’s development. This is a great opportunity to discuss any extra support that your child may need as they transition into kindergarten, including suggestions for therapies, extracurricular activities or community groups.

Even if you are not yet engaged with the local community, you still have time. There are also activities that you may like to implement within the home environment to support your child’s development and school readiness. Below are a few activity ideas and tips that you can do at home to support your child’s development:

• reading story books together
• cooking healthy meals and snacks (including measuring, counting and naming ingredients)
• play outside or go on a nature walk together
• role play and dress ups including puppet play
• messy play (collage, playdough, paints, water or mud)
• sing songs or dance to music
• stacking and building games.

Find out more about services and activities available within the Rockingham area.

Preparing for school is a great opportunity to visit your local doctor to have a check-up and to ensure your child’s immunisations are up to date.

Child and Adolescent's Community Health is a free universal service to families with children from birth to school age. To promote the health, wellbeing and appropriate growth and development of children in Western Australia, child health services are available at critical times in a child’s development. The child health nurse uses the Ages and Stages Questionnaire screening tool to monitor the development of children and identify those who have, or are at risk of any developmental delay. Early detection and intervention of developmental delay improves long-term outcomes and starts preparing your child for school. For more information, please refer to your child’s purple book, or call 1300 749 869.

When enrolling your child in kindergarten, be sure to talk to your school’s principal or teachers about your child’s development. By providing your school with this information, your child’s teacher can be sure to provide the right support for your child as they enter kindergarten.

To book an appointment to have your child’s immunisations given at a Community Health Clinic nearby, contact 9419 2266.