Welcome to Teaching Your Child

'Teaching Your Child' provides advice and support for parents and carers on how to develop their child's learning and support them during their early years.

From preparing your child for their first day at nursery to helping them stay safe online, this site aims to offers a wealth of information, to ensure you provide the best foundations for your child.

A range of activity ideas and resources are suggested to support your child's development The site also provides information on behaviour management strategies, how to develop your child's social and emotional intelligence as well as how to encourage healthy lifestyle choices.

The Benefits of Supporting Your Child

One of the most valuable things you as a parent or carer can provide for your child is a supportive, stimulating  and happy family environment. Whether you have a short time in the evening after a long day or a full weekend, there are a range of activities for you to do together with your child. Activities are designed to be beneficial and fun, whilst providing you with suggestions on how to ensure your child makes progress in all developmental areas during their early education.  We also have information for those parents who may be considering home schooling.

Teaching your child to read is an essential skill and through introducing stories and nursery rhymes at a young age you can help your child to acquire language and speech, so your child has a wider vocabulary and is prepared for literacy learning. For our step-to-step guide on learning to read, see Reading and Jolly Phonics.

Maths is a necessary life skill and there are many daily routines and activities which can be used to incorporate mathematical knowledge and understanding into your child's day. There are a range of suggested numeracy activities on this site from learning to tell the time to singing number songs. For more ideas on supporting your child's number skills see our pages on  Numeracy.

Learning to write is a complex skill which children are expected to master at an early age. By introducing your child to letter sounds and practising letter formation together, you can develop their ability to write and spell simple words and phrases. For suggestions on how to develop writing skills see Early Writing.

Children need time to socialise and make friends with others their own age, if they are to develop socially and emotionally. By organising activities for your child with their peers they will have opportunities to develop respect and consideration towards others. For ideas on how to improve your child's social and emotional skills see Social Skills and Good Manners.

Your child's behaviour is key to them being able to learn and progress in all aspects of their development both at school and at home. For advice on how to manage your child's behaviour and ideas on how to use rewards and praise see Behaviour Management. We also have suggestions for developing bedtime and sleep time routines.

Settling your child into school for the first time can be difficult for both child and parent, for information, tips and advice see our section on Starting School. We also have information on Forest School which is an initiative now popular in both primary and nursery education.

The importance of your child leading a healthy lifestyle and having a balanced diet is also explored on this site with advice on Healthy Eating and healthy lunchbox choices. We also have advice on how to help your child remain physically active by encouraging them to ride a bike and learn to swim.

With the increasing use of the internet in our daily lives E-safety is now becoming an important consideration for the well-being of children. For information on how to help your child stay safe online see our suggestions on Internet Safety. We also have advice on how to discuss stranger safety. 

By setting aside quality, one-to-one time each day and choosing the right activities for your child, they will make progress across all areas of development. With all the suggested activities, it is advised that you adapt them to suit your child's individual needs and interests.  Praise and encouragement is also necessary, so your child develops confidence and is motivated and excited to learn.  We are based in Bristol so those who would like some additional educational support for their child are able to use our Bristol primary tutoring service or contact us info@teachingyourchild.org.uk.

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