Making it REAL - ideas for practice​

Opportunities focus on the many and varied ways children can be supported through ordinary everyday events, such as:​​

• To talk as you walk to the bus together,​​
• Parents giving their children pen and paper to write and draw to support emergent writing
• Providing a child with a small dish of water and a paintbrush so that they can make marks on the footpath on a sunny day​​
• Practitioners can also discuss the need for lots of physical play inside and out to support developing large motor skills through balancing, running, climbing, and dancing which all underpin later handwriting skills.

Recognition of children’s efforts and achievements. Practitioners can encourage parents to stand back and notice what the child likes to do and how they like to play. Giving appropriate praise to a child for doing something well may be easily understood even if it does not come easily for parents/carers who were not themselves praised as a child. However, giving a child encouragement to keep going when they find something difficult and supporting them to persevere and solve their problems, rather than doing it for them, may be a new experience for many parents. ​

Practitioners can support parents:​

• To see that early marks as ‘scribble’ is a child beginning to give meaning to their marks and to look out for ‘letter-like’ marks as they gradually emerge, value this and respond positively.​
• The positive response encourages children to do more and not worry about ‘getting it wrong’. Then they are more prepared to keep thinking, trying and taking risks.

Interaction supports parents to interact with their child, they play, talk, listen, and let their child join in everyday tasks. ​

Children enjoy being included in writing for a real purpose, such as:​

• Signing their name on a greeting card ​
• Adding items to a shopping list. ​​​​

Modelling where parents can act as a powerful model, such as:​

• If a child sees their parent or a practitioner writing notes or sending text messages, with the adult explaining to the child what they are doing, then the child is likely to want to copy or join in.
• Practitioners are highly attuned to how they relate to parents and children. They are conscious that communication, verbally and non-verbally, may form a different and potentially new way of relating to their child.

We have created a comfortable book corner with puppets, nursery rhymes and a wide range of books for all ages. An environmental print display board with examples of writing from the surrounding area. A discussion with parents about environmental print walks, pointing out, letters, numbers, and prints to their children. Using old packaging in the home corner. Encouraging parents to use their local library. Creating a borrow box, containing books and 50 Things to Do Before You're Five cards. Using sticks to make marks in mud and sand. Environmental print collage. Lending story sacks. Providing whiteboards and pens during role play for writing lists, making appointments at the doctors, hairdressers, etc. Taking pictures of the children's activities to display. When the children return, they often talk about and point to these pictures, telling other people what they have been doing. The pictures are at the child's level. We use more props and puppets during story and song times.

On home visits, I deliver the Bookstart programme modelling to parents on how to introduce nursery rhymes and stories in a way that is meaningful for them and their children. I deliver Bookstart Storytimes in local libraries to parents and their children in a fun and accessible way. I have a Storytime Suggestion Box which parents and children can pop in names of books they would like to hear read. I work collaboratively with local libraries to make it easy for parents to sign up for a library card and borrow books to take home.

I have used it in some ways such as having real food boxes in the home corner, adding printed road signs from around, etc. Using books to share stories in different ways with props, and sharing nursery rhymes with props alongside.

I regularly visit homes and work with families and under-fives. I use a modelling method and then a coaching method to support access and learning outside of the setting. I use the Making It REAL principles whilst explaining how to use everyday routines and activities to extend language and literacy. If a child is in a setting, I discuss what I am working on and try to plan alongside their topics and strands to show the parents how it all links together and how to make sure it is accessible.

I work with children under the age of five most days. During all of these sessions, I embed the principles. For example, we do a lot of creative activities with extensive use of mark-making. I make parents aware of the importance of mark-making and playwriting. Most of my sessions involve some kind of storytelling or book reading. We have also adapted our current literacy-themed courses to cover the REAL principles, this includes our courses that run.

I have printed the REAL flyers that I was sent and when I do rice or playdough, etc. I place the flyer next to the tuff tray for parents to read and talk about the importance of early writing.

I have really taken on board the 'explaining why' to parents aspect of Making it REAL and have tried to incorporate this component into the families I work within a variety of contexts, both for literacy development as well as other aspects of their child's development.

Talking to parents about how they can support their child/children.

We delivered a four-week programme looked at a different book each week and made a display of the crafts we created. Along with this, we have an environmental print display board.

We model language, following the child's lead. Our activities are all low-cost. We share the leaflets from the course.

I stocked the role-play area with environmental print examples of food packets in a variety of languages.

Real-life food boxes within the home corner. Using props along with books. Using props along with nursery rhymes. Printing real-life pictures of signs, places, writing, etc.

I now support the whole team in reflecting on and using the principles and framework. It will become an embedded part of our early years standard items, and I attend networking meetings to keep it fresh.

I tell parents the benefits of each principle and why it is important for their child’s development. I model basic things they can do to support this.

I haven't held an event, but I always put out jigsaws and a variety of books to cover for all ages in my play sessions. I also do a creative or messy play activity, for example, painting or playdough which encourages early writing, and I have a tuff tray with dyed rice or sand for the children to scoop and write in. I also have a chalkboard easel for the children to write on.

Support children in group settings, and give parents support and information for home learning opportunities. Incorporating environmental print and lots of early writing activities, sharing stories and singing.

We have a suite of flyers which share the Making it REAL message and I will often present these in groups alongside activities for parents to visually see the impact/importance of specific activities.

Mark making, we let the children explore mark-making.

To think outside the box, ignite the fun.

Explained crafts and resources to parents in a different format so they understood why the child was doing a certain activity.

Help parents to recognise what their children can already do and how we respond. We model valuable back-and-forth conversations with their children, following their lead and engaging with their chosen activity.

In the Bookstart sessions, we have pre- and post-evaluation parents score out of 10 where they think their child is related to enjoying rhymes and sharing stories in session one and they do it again in session four so that we can see any evidence of progress.

In one of my library story times I had visitors from another organisation and they remarked, without prompting, how they had observed me modelling singing and sharing stories and talked about how this had an effect on the parents watching who were all joining in.

We always give parents suggestions and support through different activities they can do to support the children.

Regular home visits from birth throughout their early years settings.

I model recognising and valuing their progress in sessions through verbal praise and certificates that are given out at the end of our course.

I will praise parents when I see them effectively engaging with their children and make comments such as "Wow they are watching you" or "Look, they are copying you" when I notice effective engagement and modelling.

Modelling to families and explaining the importance of praise.

We have been sending books home to parents, giving information about how to read, repeat and use the pictures to tell the story.

Speaking to parents every week to see if they have noticed any difference in their children.

During groups we model playing, alongside the parents, to help develop children's literacy development. We encourage parents/cares to recognise and talk about children's achievements.

I often remind myself of the ORIM grid and ensure I have covered all aspects.

When adapting our current session plans and when creating our new literacy themed session that we are developing.

Sharing knowledge and handouts with parents for home learning.

Talking to parents about how they can support their child/children with different styles of learning. For example, road signs, shop signs, packaging and so on.