This page is one of a suite of pages to support families learning at home during Covid-19. We hope this page helps you to enjoy life at home.

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Life Skills

Hello everyone,
I hope you and your parents are all staying safe and learning a lot. My name is Sarah and I work with the Junior Infant children mostly. 

Today I am going to talk to you about something called 'life skills'.

Life skills are'A skill that is necessary or desirable for full participation in everyday life'. 
These skills are to help you become a more independent person, how cool !

Each week there will be two life skills that we can practice while we are learning from home. 
While teaching life skills to children at home I would make it as fun as possible to avoid possible frustration. 
Below are the life skills for this week and some ideas to go with them. 


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Setting the table 

Setting the table can be very exciting for children as it is something grown up that they can help with.

It is important to explicitly teach children how to set a table. While siting at the table quickly revise the names of the utensils that you use at your house. 

Following this you can place the plates and forks in their correct place and discuss them. 
After that you can ask your child to close their eyes. 
you can move the items around and see if you child can put them back in the correct spot. 
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Another activity that you could do with your child is creating a dinner placemat. Ask your child to arrange their dishes and utensils on the plate then ask them to trace it. They can then colour it in and decorate their own cool placemat. 
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***** Challenge *****

Younger children: Can they set their own place setting for their breakfast/lunch/dinner ?

Older children: Can they set the whole table for their family? (check with parent about knives might be safer if the parent/guardian puts these on the table)

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Tidying up after meal times 

Cleaning up after themselves is a very important skill for children to learn. 

It is important that we teach children what we want them to do. Show your child how you tidy up your plate after meal time. Challenge them to copy you. 

If you hand wash your dishes, show the child your normal routine and ask them if they could try it too Show the children where they go when they need to be put away.

If you use a dishwasher show your child where you put your plates/ spoons/ cups etc. Test them and say if I had a spoon/cup/ plate where would I put it. Show the children where the plates cups etc go when they are finished in the dishwasher.

Please watch your child while handling knives as they can be dangerous. 

***** Challenge*****
​Can your whole family tidy up after their meal by the time (song/countdown etc) is finished. 

Can your child clean up their dishes/cutlery  without being asked. (tell them this challenge and challenge them to do it without you noticing)

Can you child help you unload the dishwasher/put away the dishes? (can be done independently by older children)