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Learning Tip: Before, during and after

When you are planning an outing with your child (whether to the supermarket or to a special event), encourage your child to talk about it before, during and after.

For example, on the way to the supermarket ask: Do you know why we are going to the supermarket? Yes! We’re going to buy things to make a birthday cake.

At the supermarket: Do we need candles? Look, here is a pretty cake! Let's put it in the shopping trolley.

At home: Look at all the things we bought at the supermarket! We found your favourite ice cream. I paid for the shopping with my debit card.

Use and encourage your child's use of the appropriate verb tense for the time period: future tense for before, present tense for during and past tense for after. The purpose is less about grammar than it is to help your child gain familiarity with time sequence words, the foundation for memory awareness.