Stage 4 of 5 · Ages 5–6

KG 2 at home.

Reading short sentences, writing one of their own, number bonds, adding within 20, time, money and the science of everyday things.

Also called: Senior KG, Kindergarten, Year 1 readiness.

What this stage covers

  • Two-letter sounds (sh, ch, th, ee, oa…) and reading short sentences
  • Writing a sentence with a capital letter, finger spaces and a full stop
  • Number bonds to 10, adding and subtracting within 20
  • Counting in 2s, 5s and 10s, o'clock times, days of the week
  • Push and pull, materials, sound and light
Every day: 15 minutes of games, 15–20 minutes of one activity, and 5 minutes of your child reading to you.
Ready to move on when: Your child reads a short sentence on their own, writes one, and knows the pairs that make 10.

This week's plan Skills checklist

The units, in order

Work on one unit from each strand at a time.

Start at the top of each list. When your child can do most of a unit's checklist, move on to the next one in that strand.

Reading & talking

  1. 1 Two Letters, One Sound: sh ch th ng ckabout 4 weeks Read and hear sh, ch, th, ng and ck as two-letter spellings of one sound in familiar words. 🎮 Sound Hunt · Word Builder · Sound Start
  2. 2 Q and U: Two Sounds in quabout 2 weeks Recognise Q and q, and blend words beginning with qu while hearing /k/ followed by /w/. 🎮 Letter Match
  3. 3 Long Vowel Sounds: ai ee igh oa ooabout 5 weeks Read words with long vowel sounds such as rain, see, night, boat and moon. 🎮 Sound Hunt · Word Builder · Rhyme Time · Sight Words
  4. 4 Reading Words with ar and orabout 3 weeks Recognise ar and or in familiar words, blend those words and notice rhyming endings. 🎮 Rhyme Time
  5. 5 Two Sounds of ooabout 2 weeks Read familiar oo words using moon and book as examples, and listen for rhyming endings. 🎮 Rhyme Time
  6. 6 Reading ur, ir and erabout 2 weeks Recognise ur, ir and er in familiar words, read them with help and listen for rhyming endings. 🎮 Rhyme Time
  7. 7 Reading ow, ou, oi and oyabout 2 weeks Read simple ow, ou, oi and oy words and notice rhymes across different spellings. 🎮 Rhyme Time
  8. 8 Word Familiesabout 3 weeks Read and make rhyming families of words: -at, -an, -ig, -op, -ug, -ell. 🎮 Rhyme Time · Rhyme Families · Word Builder
  9. 9 Change One Soundabout 3 weeks Change the first, middle or last sound in a familiar three-sound word and read the new word. 🎮 Sound Hunt · Word Builder
  10. 10 Tricky Words 2about 4 weeks Read the next tricky words on sight: he, she, we, me, be, was, you, they, all, are, my, her. 🎮 Sight Words
  11. 11 Reading Sentencesabout 4 weeks Read short sentences and simple books aloud, and say what they mean. 🎮 Sight Words · Story Steps · Listen & Remember

Writing & pencil control

  1. 1 Writing a Sentenceabout 5 weeks Write a simple sentence with a capital letter, finger spaces and a full stop. 🎮 Trace It · Word Builder · Sight Words
  2. 2 Writing a Little Storyabout 4 weeks Plan a three-part story with pictures, then write a sentence for each part. 🎮 Story Steps · Word Builder · Sight Words
  3. 3 Write a Message for Someoneabout 2 weeks Choose words for a short message, form familiar letters and check that a reader understands the request. 🎮 Trace It · Sight Words
  4. 4 A Menu for Our Tableabout 3 weeks Write a few food names with useful sound spellings and arrange them so someone can choose. 🎮 Word Builder · Trace It
  5. 5 Questions for Someoneabout 3 weeks Write one or two short questions using familiar words, then use them in a real conversation. 🎮 Sight Words · Trace It
  6. 6 A Diagram with Labelsabout 3 weeks Draw an object and write labels connected clearly to its parts. 🎮 Trace It · Word Builder
  7. 7 A Small Fact Pageabout 3 weeks Write a heading and two short factual sentences about something they can observe. 🎮 Sight Words · Trace It
  8. 8 Labels on a Room Mapabout 3 weeks Write short labels on a simple room map and use them to guide a reader along a drawn route. 🎮 Trace It · Position Quest
  9. 9 Two Pictures with Speech Bubblesabout 3 weeks Write a short exchange in two speech bubbles and show which character says each line. 🎮 Sight Words · Trace It

Numbers & shapes

  1. 1 Number Bonds to 10about 3 weeks Know all the pairs of numbers that make 10, and the pairs for 5. 🎮 Make the Number · Ten-Frame Fill · Add & Take Away
  2. 2 Two Equal Sharesabout 2 weeks Share a small even collection between two people and check that both shares contain the same number. 🎮 Share and Group · Counting Stars
  3. 3 Adding and Subtracting to 20about 4 weeks Add and subtract within 20 by counting on, counting back and using number bonds. 🎮 Add & Take Away · Make the Number · Number Train
  4. 4 Doubles to 20about 3 weeks Make doubles up to 10 + 10 with fingers and objects, and check a double by sharing it into two equal groups. 🎮 Share and Group · Add & Take Away
  5. 5 Counting in 2s, 5s and 10sabout 3 weeks Count in twos, fives and tens, and count to 100 in ones. 🎮 Counting Stars · Number Train · Pattern Parade
  6. 6 Measuring with Hands and Cubesabout 3 weeks Measure length using the same unit again and again (hand spans, blocks, paper clips) and compare results. 🎮 Size Safari · Counting Stars · Number Train
  7. 7 Heavier and Lighter: A Hanger Balanceabout 3 weeks Compare two objects on a simple balance, say which is heavier and which is lighter, and order three objects from heaviest to lightest. 🎮 Size Safari
  8. 8 Time and Daysabout 3 weeks Order the parts of the day and the days of the week, and read o'clock times. 🎮 Clock Steps · Day & Night · Story Steps
  9. 9 Money and Shoppingabout 3 weeks Recognise coins, count small amounts and pay in a pretend shop. 🎮 Pay and Change · Counting Stars · Make the Number · Add & Take Away
  10. 10 Shapes: Sides and Cornersabout 3 weeks Describe circles, triangles, squares and rectangles, and recognise them when their size or position changes. 🎮 Shape Detective · Shapes & Colors
  11. 11 Sorting and Tally Chartsabout 2 weeks Sort a small collection, record one tally for each item and compare the group totals. 🎮 Sort It Out · Counting Stars

Science & our world

  1. 1 Push and Pullabout 2 weeks Say whether things move by a push or a pull, and see how to make them go faster, slower or stop. 🎮 Gravity Drop
  2. 2 Materials and Waterabout 3 weeks Name what things are made of, and test which ones float, sink, soak up water or keep us dry. 🎮 Sink or Float · Sort It Out
  3. 3 Sound, Light and Shadowsabout 2 weeks Make loud and quiet sounds, find where light comes from and make shadows. 🎮 Five Senses · Day & Night · Listen & Remember
  4. 4 Healthy Meabout 2 weeks Explain what keeps our bodies healthy: food, water, exercise, sleep and keeping clean. 🎮 Living World · Five Senses · Helper Heroes
  5. 5 Animals and Habitatsabout 3 weeks Describe different habitats (desert, ocean, forest, polar) and how animals are suited to them. 🎮 Living World · Eco Helpers · Hot & Cold Lab
  6. 6 Caring for Our Surroundingsabout 2 weeks Choose simple ways to save water, reuse safe materials and care for shared spaces. 🎮 Eco Helpers
  7. 7 Sunlight, Moonlight, Day and Nightabout 3 weeks Compare day and night and use a simple model to explore Earth turning in sunlight. 🎮 Day & Night
  8. 8 Water to Ice and Backabout 3 weeks Observe or describe water freezing and ice melting, and put the changes in order. 🎮 Hot & Cold Lab
  9. 9 Air Can Move Thingsabout 3 weeks Notice the effects of moving air and compare a small paper test with signs of wind outdoors. 🎮 Weather Watch
  10. 10 Watch Small Creatures with Careabout 3 weeks Observe or discuss a small outdoor animal, record a visible detail and choose a way to leave its surroundings undisturbed. 🎮 Eco Helpers

Thinking & feelings

  1. 1 Puzzles and Logicabout 3 weeks Solve logic puzzles, explain their thinking, and keep trying when something is hard. 🎮 Odd One Out · Pattern Parade · Shape Detective · Focus Farm
  2. 2 Plan, Try and Improveabout 2 weeks Plan a small construction, try it and explain one change that could improve it. 🎮 Shape Builder
  3. 3 Kindness and Teamworkabout 2 weeks Work with others to finish a task, share fairly, and fix a disagreement with words. 🎮 Feelings Friends · Helper Heroes · Focus Farm
  4. 4 Listen, Check and Doabout 3 weeks Remember a short spoken instruction, ask for a repeat and check what happened. 🎮 Listen & Remember · Focus Farm
  5. 5 Choose with Two Cluesabout 3 weeks Choose something that fits two clues together and explain the choice. 🎮 Focus Farm · Sort It Out
  6. 6 Make My Calming Planabout 3 weeks Notice a feeling or body clue and choose a comforting next step with an adult. 🎮 Feelings Friends
  7. 7 When a Game Does Not Go My Wayabout 3 weeks Name feelings about a game result and choose how to finish or pause kindly. 🎮 Feelings Friends
  8. 8 A Choice While I Waitabout 3 weeks Recognise a feeling while waiting for a shared turn and choose something helpful to do. 🎮 Feelings Friends
  9. 9 What I Know and What I Guessabout 3 weeks Notice visible details, separate an observation from a guess and look for a way to check. 🎮 Focus Farm

Moving & making

  1. 1 Plan a Movement Routeabout 3 weeks Plan a short route using position words and adjust movements to send and receive a soft ball. 🎮 Position Quest
  2. 2 Weave and Build with Paperabout 3 weeks Practise using two hands together to weave wide paper strips and build a patterned surface. 🎮 Pattern Parade · Shape Builder
  3. 3 Rhythm and Role Playabout 2 weeks Repeat a short rhythm and choose voice, movement and sounds for a character's feelings. 🎮 Pattern Parade · Feelings Friends
  4. 4 Matching Prints and Mirror Movesabout 3 weeks Explore how a folded print makes matching sides and copy a partner's movements as a mirror would. 🎮 Match Paths
  5. 5 The Sound of Our Shopabout 2 weeks Coordinate hands and voices in a pretend shop and use hearing to explore quiet household sounds. 🎮 Five Senses
  6. 6 One Bounce to My Partnerabout 3 weeks Coordinate a gentle bounce pass with a ready partner and describe where the ball travels. 🎮 Position Quest
  7. 7 A Puppet with a Feelingabout 3 weeks Make and move a simple hand puppet, choosing gestures or words for its feelings. 🎮 Feelings Friends
  8. 8 Step or Hop Along a Number Gridabout 3 weeks Move with control along a short numbered grid, pausing and following numbers in order. 🎮 Number Train
  9. 9 Gentle Animal Shapesabout 3 weeks Choose comfortable animal-inspired balances and stretches, describing hands as beside or above the body. 🎮 Position Quest
Guides for parents

For parents of children aged 5–6

All guides for parents →

All stages

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