Learning Specialists 

Literacy and Numeracy

At Miners Rest Primary School we are committed to effective family and school relationships, as the research shows that when families and schools work effectively together, children and young people’s outcomes improve.

Throughout Term One, parents of Foundation students have been participating in our Connect-Ed program. They have attended weekly sessions at school learning about Oral Language, Reading, Writing and Numeracy. These sessions provided parents with practical application tasks and resources to use at home with their child/ren to support the important work that teachers engage in every day at school with students.

We would like to sincerely thank our Foundation parents for attending and investing in the crucial partnership between home and school. Attendees were presented with a certificate at the final session, along with a coffee voucher. We know the information provided and shared will be useful in supporting your child/ren in their schooling years.

With the end of Term One fast approaching, we would like to wish everyone a safe and happy school holiday break. Here are some suggestions for school holiday activities which link in literacy and numeracy skills:

Take a Camping Trip: The purpose of this activity is to get kids involved in planning the trip. Even a camp out in the backyard with some friends is fine for younger kids. Ask your student to work out how many tents and sleeping bags are required, and what supplies to pack. Give them a budget to plan meals and tell them to write a list of ingredients. Older kids can shop and manage money. If camping is not your child’s style, they can plan a picnic or a small party.

Design a Picture Book: Reading is very important during school breaks, but children need to keep writing too. Designing a picture book is an ideal way for kids to express themselves creatively and develop their literacy skills. To get them started, look through some of their picture books together and ask them about the story and images. They can draw or paint pictures for their own book or find them online. When it’s finished, they may enjoy reading it to a younger child, a family member or friend.

Start a Garden: Many kids will jump at the chance to get their hands dirty. Encourage them to start their own garden in the backyard or buy a planter box for a balcony or windowsill. They will need to research appropriate plants, read labels and estimate how much room to give each plant. They’ll also have to work out how much fertiliser and watering is required. Encourage your child to document the garden as it grows by taking photos and even creating a blog.

Watch Sports: Watching sports and following a favourite team is something many young people enjoy. You can turn this into a learning activity without taking the fun out of it by talking about game statistics. Encourage kids to research their team’s performance and discuss things like batting and bowling averages, strike rates, possessions and the ratio of goals scored compared to attempts made.

Do Crossword Puzzles: Crossword puzzles are an easy and fun way to enhance literacy skills. You can do them with your child or challenge each other to complete a puzzle a day. The trick is to find puzzles that are appropriate but still challenging. There are many great puzzle books available to buy or you can find quality free puzzles online.