How exciting! Even if the big day is still months away, it’s not too early to start preparing your child for that first day of kindergarten.
Today’s kindergartens expect 5-year-olds to arrive with basic academic and social skills so they are ready on day one to start learning to read, write and do basic math. You can help your child develop the skills they’ll need with some fun, easy, everyday activities:
Make reading part of your daily routine. Read with your child for at least 20 minutes per day. Try books that repeat words and involve activities like counting, identifying colors, objects or letters. Look for books about things your child likes, and ask questions about the story like, “What do you think happens next?”
Get them chatting. Back-and-forth conversations help kids develop articulation, language and vocabulary skills. The more the better, so talk and sing with your child everywhere – at home, in the car or at the toy store. Make up stories or songs about your outings.
Writing begins with scribbling. Give your child safe writing tools to play with–like crayons, chalk or markers and blank paper–and let them create. They’re developing the fine motor skills they’ll need to be able to write. And ask your child to tell you about their drawings. You can also use salt or sand as a tactile way to practice writing alphabet letters. (Another opportunity for an outing to East Coast perhaps?)
“Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share.” It's never too late to help your child get used to putting their toys and things back where they found them. Habits developed at home will carry over to kindergarten and beyond. And work on sharing with others, too. Social skills are a big part of being ready to learn and succeed in school.
Stay on schedule. Having regular, daily routines at home will help your child get used to the structure of the school day. Set and keep a schedule for waking up and dressing, meal times, along with bath and bed times.
Practice good hygiene. Teach your child how to use the bathroom by themselves, to wash their hands after going to the bathroom and before eating, to blow their nose in a tissue and sneeze into their elbow. Developing good habits now will help keep them healthy once they start school and that means less missed school days.
Children who have positive and nurturing experiences from birth to age 5 are more likely to be prepared when they start kindergarten and to do well in school. By turning everyday moments into learning moments, you can help children develop the skills and a love of learning that will help them succeed in school and in life.
At EZY Phonics, we prepare children to be kindergarten-ready by greatly enhancing their reading, spelling, writing and expressive fluency ahead of time. Learn more about our Starlings programme for Young Explorers from age 3 to 5.
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