Learning about computers is as essential as reading, writing, and arithmetic. Varsity Scope shows how to support your child’s ICT learning at home.
Many early years activities are centred on developing your
child’s understanding of their environment.
As part of the National Curriculum, your child will be
encouraged to use ICT resources, such as computers, to develop their skills and
support their learning and understanding.
So help them get to grips with technology at home to give
them a head start in the classroom.
Computers and your four-year-old
There is specific curriculum guidance linked to ICT skills
at Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), and your child will be given
opportunities to use ICT to develop skills across the areas of learning. By the
end of EYFS most children should be able to:
- complete
a simple computer program
- perform
simple functions using mouse and keyboard
- log on
to a computer network such as the school’s Learning Platform
- use
appropriate internet-based games and activities to support their
learning.
How to help your child at home
Activities to develop the ICT skills of your child include:
- Using
the keyboard to input the alphabet in lower and upper case, using the
space bar in between each letter.
- Using
the keyboard to write their own name, holding the ‘SHIFT’ key for the
capital letter.
- Playing simple
games on a site such as CBeebies – encourage your child to type the
web address into the address line or a search engine, then let them play
the games to develop mouse and keyboard skills.
Computers and your five year old
During Year 1 (the start of Key Stage 1) pupils learn to
explore ICT and use it confidently to achieve specific objectives, building on
what they learnt in Reception. Your child will learn how to:
- develop
their ideas
- record
and present their creative work
- use
hardware and software.
How to help your child at home
Activities to develop the ICT skills of your Year 1 child
include:
- Taking
a digital photo, uploading and manipulating it.
- Create
a self-portrait using an app or web-based photo embellisher like Typic
Kids, then printing and displaying it.
- Using
the keyboard to create words and simple sentences.
- Talking to your child about how computers help them to learn.