Home-Based Activities in Support of New Zealand Children’s Literacy and Numeracy Skills

Little is known about the possible benefits of parent-led activities to enable school readiness for New Zealand young children. A two-year longitudinal study of parents and their children (102 4-year-olds and 104 5-year-olds at Time 1) was conducted. Parents completed the Encouragement of Academic Skills in Young Children (EASYC) self-report measure of in-home academic activities, and children’s literacy and mathematics achievement were tested initially and one year later. Several parent-led activities were found to predict improved child academic ability across the sampled age range: 1) teaching basic addition and subtraction; and 2) writing and drawing practice.