Tane · ages 5-6
Tane group: the school readiness year
Five and six years old. Readiness starts with attention and hands, not with sitting at a desk.
When families hear "school readiness" they think of letters and numbers. But what makes primary school hard for a child is rarely not knowing the letters. It is holding a pencil badly, not being able to wait a turn, losing the thread of an instruction, and not staying with a task for thirty minutes.
So in the Tane group we do not put children at desks early. Attention, hand muscles and self-management come first; the letters follow on their own.
What this year is about
Pre-literacy
Sound awareness, line work, sequencing. We prepare the ear and the hand before teaching letters.
Maths and thinking games
Patterns, matching, number sense, puzzles and strategy games.
Pencil grip and hand strength
Scissors, dough, threading, pegs. Strong fingers make neat writing.
Guidance for the move to school
Through the year we talk with families about readiness, and review together what is strong and what needs support.
What families ask most
Will my child leave able to read and write?
That is not our aim. Reading and writing belong to primary school. Our job is to send a child ready for it: attentive, capable with their hands, and sure of themselves.
Do you set homework?
Not in the usual sense. We share small things to notice and play together at home.
Come and see the school
Choosing a preschool online is hard. You need to walk in, feel the place and hear the children.