Parents wanting practical ways to ready children for school next year can gain insights directly from experts.
The Be Ready: Transition to School information sessions will be held at Narooma, Moruya and Batemans Bay as part of Families Week activities in the third week of May. Parents will hear early childhood researcher Dr Lyn Cronin, speech pathologist Claire Price, and Lynelle Hamer for EACH Inclusion Support Programs discuss and answer questions on the skills children need to start kindergarten and what can be done ahead of time.
Attendees of the evening session will also receive a free transition-to-school kit, packed full of activities that encourage children to learn as they play. Eurobodalla Council's transition to school coordinator Justine Tominey said the sessions had proven to be invaluable.
"We've been running these sessions since 2015, with 90 percent of attendees saying they left with a better understanding of their own child's level of development and practical steps to ease them into school," Ms Tominey said.
"We know this helps because research shows 70 percent of pre-schoolers well prepared for big school fit in more quickly, do better in literacy, and even have fewer emotional and behavioural difficulties later in life."
Ms Tominey said feedback from last year's participants highlighted the need to include Lynelle Hamer in the panel.
"This means we can discuss the importance of inclusion and advocacy for supporting children with developmental delays or disabilities under expert guidance," she said.
