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My 5 year old

A young girl looking through a magnifying glass

Five to Thrive

Respond – Cuddle – Relax – Play - Talk

Do these five things each time you interact with your child from the time they are born and you will help to grow a healthy, strong and confident child.

To find out more about more about each of the Five to Thrive expand the boxes below.

Respond

My brain grows better when you respond to me.

My brain works very slowly at first. But when you respond to me in the same way over and over again the connections you are helping to build grow strong. Then they can carry messages between the different parts of my brain more quickly.

Key milestones

  • I like to talk with my friends and grown-ups and tell them what I know about the things they talk about.
  • I can tell you what I know about things I like to play with or things that I like to do. I ask grown-ups and my friends questions to find out more about the things I like.
  • I like to talk with my friends and grown-ups and tell them what I know about the things they talk about.
  • I can tell you what I know about things I like to play with or things that I like to do. I ask grown-ups and my friends questions to find out more about the things I like.

Cuddle

My brain grows better when you cuddle me.

Before I was born I was more aware of touch than of any other sense, and I was safely held in a small space. Now I can move freely, but I still feel most safe when I am in contact with a grown up who loves me.

Key milestones

  • I know that if I take my friend’s toy or shout at them they might get upset or cross.
  • When I make my friend upset or cross I might get upset too or I might try to give them a hug.
  • I know what I should do to help me and my friends share things, keep safe and be happy.

Relax

My brain grows better when you relax with me.

I know that having a baby is stressful. But if you can find ways to relax when you are with me, you can make a big difference to the way my brain works.

Key milestones

  • When I am singing rhymes or songs or sharing a story with a grown up, I am able to listen really carefully to what is happening.
  • I can listen to what you tell me you want me to do and then I can do it.
  • I can use lots of words to tell you about something that I have made or something that I have done.

Play

My brain grows better when you play with me.

When you play counting games, or singing games or action games, my brain builds connections that help me to make sense of the world around me and to have fun.

As I get older, playing with me and helping me to play on my own or with other children builds connections in my brain that make it possible for me to think and plan, to make sense of the world around me and to develop social skills.

Key milestones

  • I like to move in different ways like running, skipping, hopping, jumping or rolling.
  • I can move on my feet, back and tummy to get over, under, along or through tunnels, climbing frames and steps.
  • I can push, pat, throw, catch or kick things like a large ball, a balloon or piece of fabric.
  • I can use different things like scissors, paintbrushes, pens, hammers or bricks to make the things I want.
  • When I use a pen, pencil or paintbrush I am beginning to be able to make anti clockwise circle marks and lines that go down and up and up and down.
  • I write letters that you can begin to recognise. The letters I write are often a mixture of capital and lower case letters.
  • I can tell you lots of words that rhyme with a word like 'hat'.
  • I can say each of the sounds in a short word like 'cat'. When you say each of the sounds like 'c-a-t' I can put the sounds together and tell you the word. I can write each of the letters I need to write the word.
  • I can read short sentences which are made of up words like 'the' or 'and' and words that I can say each of the sounds in like 'hat' or 'dog'.
  • I use my favourite stories to help me make up my own stories when I am dressing up or using toy people or animals.
  • When I am interested in things, I can look in books or on websites to find out more things.
  • I can guess how many things I can see in a bucket and then count them to see how close my guess was.
  • I can tell you which basket or bucket has got 'more' or 'fewer' things in.
  • I can put two baskets of things together and tell you how many things I have altogether.
  • I can tell you what 'one more' is when you say a number.
  • I can tell you what 'one more' or 'one less' is when you give me a group of up to 5 things, then up to 10 things.
  • I can use words like 'more', 'add', 'less' and 'take away'.
  • I can use marks and pictures to show you my counting.
  • I can use counting to help me solve problems that are important to me, like splitting my sandwich in half to share with my friend.

Talk

My brain grows better when you talk to me.

When you talk to me I copy you. At first I can only make a few sounds, but the more you talk to me the more I can make sounds into words. I need you to tell me everything right from the start. I know nothing, so everything I learn in my life will be built on what you are teaching me now. Involve me in life by telling me about it.

Key milestones

  • I like you to use new words to talk to me about what I am doing or what I am using. Then I like to try to use these new words as I am playing.
  • I can pretend to be different people and can pretend to do different things, like being a nurse and making sick patients better with bandages and care.
  • I can use words like 'first', 'next' and 'then' when I am telling you a story or telling you about something I have done.
  • When I am dressing up or playing with toy people I like to make up stories using what I know, what I have seen or what I have heard to help me.

Activities for 5 years old

All the fun activities that you do with your child at home are important in supporting their learning and development and have a long-lasting effect on your child’s learning as they progress through school or nursery or at a childminder.

Personal, social and emotion development

Physical development

Communication and language

Understanding the word

Mathematics

Literacy

Expressive arts and designs

Early years and preparation for school

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