What’s the best way for children to start the day?
There are two very different ways in which children start the day. Some start with difficulty, getting up with reluctance, taking longer than necessary to get ready, and so on.
Others go through a very different sort of routine, which may well include some physical or mental work, before they go to school.
These two very different approaches can be explained by the “personality” of the child – some being “morning people” and some “always finding it hard to get going.”
Yet there is real evidence that all children can respond to a regular pre-school routine – and that where it is provided they will all fit in and do it – irrespective of their personality type.
One only has to watch children who are becoming competitive swimmers or athletes, or those who are learning a musical instrument, to know that it is possible for the pre-school routine including some serious work to become an accepted part of the morning routine.
Now it is possible to take this further by undertaking some calm yet mentally invigorating activity for ten minutes or so each morning before leaving for school.
Your child will enjoy the activity, and it will make the child ready for the day’s teaching and learning that lies ahead.
The approach, “Good Morning Children,” is mentally stimulating for all children – including regular challenges for gifted and more able children.
The aim is to develop a range of thinking skills, while reinforcing independent learning. The materials are all prepared by teachers so you can have confidence in the fact that your child is working on materials suitable for his or her ability.
And of course, the use of these materials is not just restricted to the morning. Some children ask to work on them in the evening, while others who find it hard to get up in time for morning work, discover they are exactly the sort of thing to do after tea.
Of course it may be that your child’s school is already using “Good Morning Children” – but even if they are, you will find that there are hundreds of activities that the child will not have used and which can build on the in-school experience. 
