Get Ready for Kindergarten

Now-a-days kindergarten can seem very difficult for students who have not been to a schooling experience before! Especially compared to students who have been through PreK. But I usually see students who are experiencing school for the first time catch up to their classmates who've been to PreK by the spring.Nonetheless, if you'd like to start thinking about how you can get your child ready for school, I have made a list of things to work with your student this summer!

1. Make sure your child can get along with other children and be comfortable spending the day at school away from the family.  Separation anxiety is real! Start talking about their first day in advance and reassure them that they will be going to school by themselves, but they will meet nice teachers and new friends. Just remember that on the first day, you drop them off, kiss and hug them goodbye, and leave. No matter how many tears, it's better for the student to get accumulated without parents trying to sneak a peek. We can arrange classroom visits when your child adjusts to school! For more information, download the pamphlet below or check out my Separation Anxiety Pinboard on Pinterest!

Tips for Separation Anxiety
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2. Help your child to learn to write his or her name, independently.  A child's name are the first letters he or she learns to identify. You can help them practice by spelling with magnet letters on a refrigerator. You can also write the name out for him or her and have the child trace it with a finger. When the child is ready to write, you can guide the child's hand has they write with a crayon or pencil. Eventually, they will not need any help and take pride in themselves as they write their name all by themselves!

3. They should learn the names of the letters through flashcards or identifying them in the environment. In the past, parents have taught their children the ABC song and thought this was enough. Then they are surprised when their students cannot recognize the letters in school. Make flashcards with index cards or paper. Start with a few, like the letters and their name, and gradually add more. They should know uppercase letters separate from lowercase letters. Help them spy different letters in their environment such as in print, on signs, on product boxes, TV, etc. If they can name the letters, start getting them to recognize letter sounds. Kids LOVE Starfall.com. It's a great tool for teaching letters, sounds, and associating each with words. Click the picture to the left to check it out!

4.They should learn to count to ten, how to count things out to ten, and the numerals. Teach them to count to ten which should be pretty easy. I like to search for YouTube videos with fun songs that they can remember (like the one below).  If they get good at it, teach them to count to twenty. However, counting orally is different than counting out objects. Children need to learn to count one number to one object (one-to-one correspondence). Practice counting toys, buttons, pennies, etc. Make flashcards of the numbers or help them find them in their environment. Start with having them identify the number for their age, and gradually add more numbers. Too many can be overwhelming.

These are some suggestions to get your child ready for kindergarten. Many of these skills I have found to be crucial to starting kindergarten over the years. I follow a teaching blog of a teacher who has taught for over 25 years! She goes more in depth than I do, so if you have time, I recommend reading it. She has a ton of good ideas! You can read the blog post by clicking the picture below!