It’s pretty common when you are starting to prepare your preschool child for that first day of kindergarten for her to ask you, probably with tears in her eyes, “But Daddy, why do I have to go?” And while you have your parent answers to give her and you will obviously refocus her attention on how fun it will be and how it will be her next step toward “being a big girl”, you might ask yourself that question as well. It’s important that dad and mom have a firm idea of what kindergarten is all about as well so you can do a good job of preparing your little one for this big step in life.
It is a mistake to see kindergarten as a huge academic leap into the future. When parents pour so much energy into preparing their children to excel academically before heading off to kindergarten, they miss the point of this important year of school. Moreover, by “prepping” the child for school as though this first year was going to be their freshman year at MIT, you create even more stress and anxiety because the child begins to think they are going to walk into a situation of high stress. The result is the child goes off to kindergarten already stressed and far more anxious than is justified for this first step out of the home.
Now this does not mean that preschool is not a good idea. Not only does preschool give the child an early love of learning, it is also an excellent way to help your child begin to acclimate to the idea of going to school out of the home. And learning to go somewhere else and become part of an organized curriculum is a big purpose of kindergarten. So preschool gently starts that transition both academically and emotionally.
To a very large extent, the purpose of kindergarten is to help young children begin that transition to a structured environment of school. If by the end of this important first year, kindergarten children come to school happily, know how to work with a schedule, sit at desks, listen to speakers, write things down and take them home and then bring them back again the next day and walk through the structured schedule of a normal school day, that is a huge step forward in preparing your child for school life that will begin in first grade.
Yes there is a curriculum in kindergarten and simple lessons are taught. Very often grades are not even kept or a child is given a good or passing grade just for being in class, participating in the group activity and trying to work with the program. The learning objectives that any kindergarten teacher will have for this year of life with these first year students is heavily slanted toward behavioral and social goals and not as heavy on academics.
The kindergarten teacher is a much different kind of teacher than any others your child will meet in his or her academic career. You will find your child’s kindergarten teacher to be very interested in each child as an individual and in helping your child make that transition away from living at home every hour of the day and toward using a significant part of their day at school. Commonly kindergarten teachers have special training in child psychology and are as much counselors and guides as they are teachers of lessons from books.
Get to know the teacher of your child’s kindergarten class. You will find she is eager to know all she can about your child to achieve her goal of preparing each kindergartner for the more academic years ahead. And if you are in sync with those goals, you can reinforce the experience your child is having with encouragement and interest at home. And working as a team, you and the teacher will help your child have a wonderful and successful first year in school.
Find tips to help your child with learning the alphabet letters at http://www.squidoo.com/learningthealphabetletters
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Activity Preschool Education - But Why Can't I Say That? And More Parenting Advice
I often wonder if little kids are so fascinated with the discovery of themselves that they have to share all their incredible information with the world. Perhaps because subjects are so openly discussed at home, children feel that it's alright to discuss private affairs in public. Whatever the reason, kids often say the funniest things, and what they say usually involves body functions.
Because they're darling innocents, that's why. The world hasn't taught them yet that such conversation with total strangers isn't socially appropriate. If Mommy is concerned about a rash on a toddler's pee-pee, why can't that concern be related to the postman, the grocery store clerk, or the neighbors? Little kids just don't comprehend the censorship that our society will eventually inflict upon them. If it can be said at home, why can't it be said in public? Again, toddlers have no concept of personal privacy; just ask any frazzled mother whose child just has to go "number two" right this minute! Or so the child agonizingly informs everyone in the checkout lane at Wal-Mart.
If you have ever been in one of these situations, then you will be able to sympathize with the following real life stories. And if you are a parent with children too young to speak yet, just you wait, your time will come!
"I was breast feeding my little girl when the doorbell rang. I covered up quickly and answered the door with my child still in my arms. To my dismay, there were two young, very polite young men; Mormon missionaries they were! My daughter, who's a very friendly child, pulled aside my shirt and gleefully announced 'See Mommy's boobies!' I'll never forget the look on those nice young fellas' faces. I was so embarrassed; I excused myself and shut the door. Glaring at my daughter, who looked at me with wide, innocent eyes, I started to laugh. And every time I tell this story, I still laugh!"
"I took my four-year-old son to the hardware store with me," one red-faced father recounted. "I thought it was time to introduce him to the world of tools, like big kids. Together, we picked out a new hammer and screwdriver, and some brackets I needed to hang our new drapes. At the counter, the elderly owner of the store rang up my purchases. About this time, my son announces at the top of his lungs, 'Daddy's tool is a lot bigger than mine, but he says mine's gonna grow a lot.' The old gentleman never batted an eye. He just said 'I sure hope so, sonny.'
"It was Christmas," said the mother of an adorable three-year-old daughter. "Of course all we were hearing were Christmas carols. My daughter was just learning about God and Jesus and what Christmas is really all about. When "Silent Night" came on the radio, my daughter turned to me and asked 'Mommy, what's a virgin?' I thought about it for a moment - how to explain virginity to a little girl? Finally, I said 'A virgin is a young unmarried woman.' 'Oh,' said my daughter with wisdom beyond her years, 'then my cousin CeCe is a virgin cause she's only sixteen.' From behind the newspaper, my husband snickered and said, 'I wouldn't count on it.' From then on, every time I saw CeCe I couldn't help laughing."
"Out of the mouth of babes…" Nothing could be truer. Children will speak their minds, regardless of the social circumstances around them. You spend several months coaxing those first words from your baby and then spend the next couple of years telling them to be quiet or not to say that. You can't win, so the next best thing you can do is laugh and enjoy your children's' faux pas. Don't try to tell your toddler to hush; that tactic won't work and may even make the situation worse. You'll get a never-ending string of "Why"? One day, when your toddler is grown and bringing home that one true love to meet the family, you can be sure that their significant other will want to hear stories and anecdotes about the sparkle in their life. Then you can regale them and entertain with tales of a certain chatty toddler in the line at Wal-Mart.
Learn more about activity preschool education at http://www.squidoo.com/preschooleducation
Because they're darling innocents, that's why. The world hasn't taught them yet that such conversation with total strangers isn't socially appropriate. If Mommy is concerned about a rash on a toddler's pee-pee, why can't that concern be related to the postman, the grocery store clerk, or the neighbors? Little kids just don't comprehend the censorship that our society will eventually inflict upon them. If it can be said at home, why can't it be said in public? Again, toddlers have no concept of personal privacy; just ask any frazzled mother whose child just has to go "number two" right this minute! Or so the child agonizingly informs everyone in the checkout lane at Wal-Mart.
If you have ever been in one of these situations, then you will be able to sympathize with the following real life stories. And if you are a parent with children too young to speak yet, just you wait, your time will come!
"I was breast feeding my little girl when the doorbell rang. I covered up quickly and answered the door with my child still in my arms. To my dismay, there were two young, very polite young men; Mormon missionaries they were! My daughter, who's a very friendly child, pulled aside my shirt and gleefully announced 'See Mommy's boobies!' I'll never forget the look on those nice young fellas' faces. I was so embarrassed; I excused myself and shut the door. Glaring at my daughter, who looked at me with wide, innocent eyes, I started to laugh. And every time I tell this story, I still laugh!"
"I took my four-year-old son to the hardware store with me," one red-faced father recounted. "I thought it was time to introduce him to the world of tools, like big kids. Together, we picked out a new hammer and screwdriver, and some brackets I needed to hang our new drapes. At the counter, the elderly owner of the store rang up my purchases. About this time, my son announces at the top of his lungs, 'Daddy's tool is a lot bigger than mine, but he says mine's gonna grow a lot.' The old gentleman never batted an eye. He just said 'I sure hope so, sonny.'
"It was Christmas," said the mother of an adorable three-year-old daughter. "Of course all we were hearing were Christmas carols. My daughter was just learning about God and Jesus and what Christmas is really all about. When "Silent Night" came on the radio, my daughter turned to me and asked 'Mommy, what's a virgin?' I thought about it for a moment - how to explain virginity to a little girl? Finally, I said 'A virgin is a young unmarried woman.' 'Oh,' said my daughter with wisdom beyond her years, 'then my cousin CeCe is a virgin cause she's only sixteen.' From behind the newspaper, my husband snickered and said, 'I wouldn't count on it.' From then on, every time I saw CeCe I couldn't help laughing."
"Out of the mouth of babes…" Nothing could be truer. Children will speak their minds, regardless of the social circumstances around them. You spend several months coaxing those first words from your baby and then spend the next couple of years telling them to be quiet or not to say that. You can't win, so the next best thing you can do is laugh and enjoy your children's' faux pas. Don't try to tell your toddler to hush; that tactic won't work and may even make the situation worse. You'll get a never-ending string of "Why"? One day, when your toddler is grown and bringing home that one true love to meet the family, you can be sure that their significant other will want to hear stories and anecdotes about the sparkle in their life. Then you can regale them and entertain with tales of a certain chatty toddler in the line at Wal-Mart.
Learn more about activity preschool education at http://www.squidoo.com/preschooleducation
Monday, April 14, 2008
Preschool Education - Getting Used to People
A child between the age of zero and five lives in a protective bubble. And that is a good thing because that little one needs to be surrounded by people that she trusts and that love her and will protect her at all costs. But even if that child has some siblings, those years are often relatively quiet and ones in which the majority of the people that child knows are primarily dedicated to one thing and that is satisfying all of her wants and needs.
Obviously this is not the kind of world that child will eventually live in. To say that very young children are spoiled is stating the obvious but that is natural and the way it should be. It is the task of older childhood and adolescence to begin to reprogram your children to live in a world the rules of social behavior are far more complex.
The first time your child will be exposed to that kind of environment other than an occasional hour in the nursery at church or at day care will happen when your little one begins kindergarten. There are a lot of surprises waiting for her there. But one that kindergarten teachers know is going to be a huge challenge is reprogramming those kids to the idea that everyone in that room is not all about them but that they are there to be part of a larger society.
This will be quite confusing for your child and many days when she comes home unhappy or upset about what happened at school, the heart of the problem will be this orientation issue. So anything you can do before your child goes to kindergarten to help your little one to learn to socialize in a larger circle of people and in a setting that is more normalized than the one at home will serve your kiddo well when those school days get underway.
Preschool is a great way to start that process early in life so much of that socialization is well underway before kindergarten days arrive. But if that is not an option or there are good reasons not to go the preschool route, you can find situations of socialization in which you can have your child in a group of many other children her age where there are some rules and the children have to learn to get along.
Even if you do not work, day care has some value in this area. You may wish to begin leaving your child at day care for an hour every other day starting around the age of 3-4 just to give her some time with others her age to learn how to behave in groups. This is a good approach because even if there are problems, you are right back and able to take her home and talk through what happened to help her make adjustments. And if she doesn’t go back until a few days later, she has time to process how to handle conflict and deal with authority differently so she has more success on the next outing.
This little exercise is also a good chance for mom to get used to dropping off her baby and leaving that child in the care of others to come back and pick her up later. Not all of the adjustments about the start of kindergarten are on the kindergartner because the parents also have some processing to do. And as you get used to seeing your child go into a social situation and come out better for it, you will be more confident. And your confidence will be picked up by your child who will grow more socially adept and able to deal with the rules of society long before kindergarten days get underway.
Learn more about activity preschool education at http://preschoolerslearnmore.info/
Obviously this is not the kind of world that child will eventually live in. To say that very young children are spoiled is stating the obvious but that is natural and the way it should be. It is the task of older childhood and adolescence to begin to reprogram your children to live in a world the rules of social behavior are far more complex.
The first time your child will be exposed to that kind of environment other than an occasional hour in the nursery at church or at day care will happen when your little one begins kindergarten. There are a lot of surprises waiting for her there. But one that kindergarten teachers know is going to be a huge challenge is reprogramming those kids to the idea that everyone in that room is not all about them but that they are there to be part of a larger society.
This will be quite confusing for your child and many days when she comes home unhappy or upset about what happened at school, the heart of the problem will be this orientation issue. So anything you can do before your child goes to kindergarten to help your little one to learn to socialize in a larger circle of people and in a setting that is more normalized than the one at home will serve your kiddo well when those school days get underway.
Preschool is a great way to start that process early in life so much of that socialization is well underway before kindergarten days arrive. But if that is not an option or there are good reasons not to go the preschool route, you can find situations of socialization in which you can have your child in a group of many other children her age where there are some rules and the children have to learn to get along.
Even if you do not work, day care has some value in this area. You may wish to begin leaving your child at day care for an hour every other day starting around the age of 3-4 just to give her some time with others her age to learn how to behave in groups. This is a good approach because even if there are problems, you are right back and able to take her home and talk through what happened to help her make adjustments. And if she doesn’t go back until a few days later, she has time to process how to handle conflict and deal with authority differently so she has more success on the next outing.
This little exercise is also a good chance for mom to get used to dropping off her baby and leaving that child in the care of others to come back and pick her up later. Not all of the adjustments about the start of kindergarten are on the kindergartner because the parents also have some processing to do. And as you get used to seeing your child go into a social situation and come out better for it, you will be more confident. And your confidence will be picked up by your child who will grow more socially adept and able to deal with the rules of society long before kindergarten days get underway.
Learn more about activity preschool education at http://preschoolerslearnmore.info/
Preschool Education - Making a Game of Getting Ready for Kindergarten
If you have a child under five, you have already watched many amateur productions of plays that were composed entirely in that sweet little mind. Role play and acting scenes out just seems to come naturally to children. Perhaps it’s because they see it on television and videos. But it’s more likely because children just naturally have strong imaginations and creating alternate worlds and then making them come to life is just a natural part of being a child.
We see this kind of play happen nature when we witness bear cubs or even kittens in our own homes as they seem to be all about play every day. But there is a reason for their play. Often the games they “play act” are their way of trying out hunting, stalking, fighting and even running away. In the same way our own children use their creative imaginations to “play act” scenes in life that they will one day encounter for real In that way, nature seems to have put it into babies of every species to use play to get ready for life.
As parents, one of our great joys is to join our children in play. We get to sort of “become children” ourselves all over again for a while which is great fun. And if we think its fun for us, just watch as grandma or grandpa get down on the floor and suddenly become five year olds for a while. The only shame is one day our young ones will grow up and then we can’t play with their toys any more.
This impulse to act out scenes of life that they will eventually grow into is a wonderful resource you can use to begin to prepare your child for kindergarten. Very often, even though they may not know they are doing it, children use this skill to cope with fears about life and changes that may be on the way. So you can use kindergarten skits and games to help your child feel less frightened of that big change and even come to see the coming of kindergarten days as a time of fun and excitement so when it gets here, she welcomes it with glee rather than with dread.
You can set up a mini kindergarten room in your living room using play chairs from your child’s toy table and using stuffed animals to be the other students. The lessons can be silly things at first like the plot of the Wizard of Oz or the names of all of her My Little Pony dolls so your child gets to jump up and yell, “I know teacher, pick, me!” and begin to experience the thrill of being recognized publicly for being smart, even if the public are stuffed bears and Shrek characters.
Once your little one sees how fun it is playing school, you can begin to do more to make the game more realistic by implementing a schedule with a time to lay down her head, a time to draw, and a daily schedule including “single file to the lunch room” and back. These will be fun games that will get a giggle from your child but also introduce these concepts in a fun way so when they happen for real when she starts kindergarten, they wont be frightening but have an association of playtime with mom.
By taking the time to play out what will be happening in kindergarten, you can prepare your child for all of the aspects of school she can expect. Its an outstanding exercise and you can take her through it without ever letting her know that this is a big part of the “work” of getting ready for school, even though to her its just a game.
Learn more about activity preschool education at http://teachyourpreschooler.info/
We see this kind of play happen nature when we witness bear cubs or even kittens in our own homes as they seem to be all about play every day. But there is a reason for their play. Often the games they “play act” are their way of trying out hunting, stalking, fighting and even running away. In the same way our own children use their creative imaginations to “play act” scenes in life that they will one day encounter for real In that way, nature seems to have put it into babies of every species to use play to get ready for life.
As parents, one of our great joys is to join our children in play. We get to sort of “become children” ourselves all over again for a while which is great fun. And if we think its fun for us, just watch as grandma or grandpa get down on the floor and suddenly become five year olds for a while. The only shame is one day our young ones will grow up and then we can’t play with their toys any more.
This impulse to act out scenes of life that they will eventually grow into is a wonderful resource you can use to begin to prepare your child for kindergarten. Very often, even though they may not know they are doing it, children use this skill to cope with fears about life and changes that may be on the way. So you can use kindergarten skits and games to help your child feel less frightened of that big change and even come to see the coming of kindergarten days as a time of fun and excitement so when it gets here, she welcomes it with glee rather than with dread.
You can set up a mini kindergarten room in your living room using play chairs from your child’s toy table and using stuffed animals to be the other students. The lessons can be silly things at first like the plot of the Wizard of Oz or the names of all of her My Little Pony dolls so your child gets to jump up and yell, “I know teacher, pick, me!” and begin to experience the thrill of being recognized publicly for being smart, even if the public are stuffed bears and Shrek characters.
Once your little one sees how fun it is playing school, you can begin to do more to make the game more realistic by implementing a schedule with a time to lay down her head, a time to draw, and a daily schedule including “single file to the lunch room” and back. These will be fun games that will get a giggle from your child but also introduce these concepts in a fun way so when they happen for real when she starts kindergarten, they wont be frightening but have an association of playtime with mom.
By taking the time to play out what will be happening in kindergarten, you can prepare your child for all of the aspects of school she can expect. Its an outstanding exercise and you can take her through it without ever letting her know that this is a big part of the “work” of getting ready for school, even though to her its just a game.
Learn more about activity preschool education at http://teachyourpreschooler.info/
Preschool Education - The Basic Skills of Kindergarten
Children love to learn. In the first years of life, there really is no distinction between learning and play to a child and they get as much fun and joy from learning new things as they do from any game they play. So the years before kindergarten are a perfect time to use play time with you to begin their path toward conquering some basic principles that will be very helpful to them when they reach kindergarten.
Many children’s games and books focus on helping your little one learn colors, shapes and other basics that will be good to have a firm grasp of before they reach kindergarten. You can make a game of knowing the color names and you will be surprised how quick witted your child is and able to pick up not just the basic 5-10 colors but many nuances of color as well. The same is true of shapes. While a child may have trouble saying “octagon”, don’t underestimate their ability to learn the names of the various shapes of their toys and blocks.
You can use play and reading time to also help your preschool child get a good grasp of the alphabet, how the letters look and numbers and counting. These will all be excellent basic skills of kindergarten that will make the step into formal school easy and smooth for your child. In fact, it isn’t out line to expect that your preschooler could learn to sign her name and do some basic letter shaping exercises before she starts kindergarten. How great would it be for her not only to have these core skills and areas of knowledge well in hand before school starts but to be able to start with that much confidence that she is smart and ready for school? That kind of confidence translates into big time success for any student starting on a big new adventure.
Along with using play time in such a productive way, there are many studies that have shown without a doubt that reading to your child every day is one of the finest ways to get them ready for school. If you read stories to your little one and allow them to look over your shoulder, you will be surprised how many words they will learn to recognize just from that casual time of loving relaxation with mommy or daddy.
But reading is also one of the best ways to improve your child’s vocabulary and ability to speak clearly and expressively. Don’t be surprised if you find your child with books open early and often because you took the time to read to her even before she starts at kindergarten. And that love of learning is something that will stay with that child for the rest of her life. What a wonderful gift.
If your child loves to run and play as is very common in young children, you can use that to help them develop strong motor skills which will help in dozens of ways in school. Hand eye coordination not only will help your child do well in gym and playing sports, it will help in learning to write and many other related physical dexterity challenges that she will face in school.
By looking at many of life’s simple pleasures that you enjoy in raising a preschooler as also opportunities to develop your child intellectually, physically and even socially in preparation for kindergarten, you are giving your baby wonderful skills, knowledge and abilities that will pay off big when kindergarten starts officially when she is five. And you will be thrilled to see her naturally step into the formal school world so well and begin to succeed because you took the time to get her ready well ahead of time.
Learn more about activity preschool education at http://teachyourpreschooler.com/
Many children’s games and books focus on helping your little one learn colors, shapes and other basics that will be good to have a firm grasp of before they reach kindergarten. You can make a game of knowing the color names and you will be surprised how quick witted your child is and able to pick up not just the basic 5-10 colors but many nuances of color as well. The same is true of shapes. While a child may have trouble saying “octagon”, don’t underestimate their ability to learn the names of the various shapes of their toys and blocks.
You can use play and reading time to also help your preschool child get a good grasp of the alphabet, how the letters look and numbers and counting. These will all be excellent basic skills of kindergarten that will make the step into formal school easy and smooth for your child. In fact, it isn’t out line to expect that your preschooler could learn to sign her name and do some basic letter shaping exercises before she starts kindergarten. How great would it be for her not only to have these core skills and areas of knowledge well in hand before school starts but to be able to start with that much confidence that she is smart and ready for school? That kind of confidence translates into big time success for any student starting on a big new adventure.
Along with using play time in such a productive way, there are many studies that have shown without a doubt that reading to your child every day is one of the finest ways to get them ready for school. If you read stories to your little one and allow them to look over your shoulder, you will be surprised how many words they will learn to recognize just from that casual time of loving relaxation with mommy or daddy.
But reading is also one of the best ways to improve your child’s vocabulary and ability to speak clearly and expressively. Don’t be surprised if you find your child with books open early and often because you took the time to read to her even before she starts at kindergarten. And that love of learning is something that will stay with that child for the rest of her life. What a wonderful gift.
If your child loves to run and play as is very common in young children, you can use that to help them develop strong motor skills which will help in dozens of ways in school. Hand eye coordination not only will help your child do well in gym and playing sports, it will help in learning to write and many other related physical dexterity challenges that she will face in school.
By looking at many of life’s simple pleasures that you enjoy in raising a preschooler as also opportunities to develop your child intellectually, physically and even socially in preparation for kindergarten, you are giving your baby wonderful skills, knowledge and abilities that will pay off big when kindergarten starts officially when she is five. And you will be thrilled to see her naturally step into the formal school world so well and begin to succeed because you took the time to get her ready well ahead of time.
Learn more about activity preschool education at http://teachyourpreschooler.com/
Preschool Education - Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?
When we think of going into the “preparation mode” as that first day of kindergarten approaches, the two areas we most focus on are the academic and the emotional. If your little one has conquered shapes, colors, counting and basic vocabulary, these are some of the academic skills that she should have as she heads off for that first day of formal school. You may have given her some home school or even preschool exposure to get those skills in place and all of that was good preparation for this big day.
From an emotional and social point of view, the big change from staying home with mom every day to being in an institutionalized setting is one that your child will cope with better with some preparation. So letting her meet the teacher, the other students, sit in on one day with you there and then have time to role play or talk through what it will be like all will be very helpful at reducing that feeling of disorientation that your kiddo may experience the first day at school.
But there are other areas of competency that you would do well to gauge in your child as she prepares for a day without you there to do everything for her. And if you start developing those check lists in the last full year before kindergarten, you have time to help your baby develop those skills well in advance. For example, when your child goes to lunch at school, she will probably go through a line to get her food, find a table on her own to sit with relative strangers to eat and have to get through meal time without guidance or encouragement. You can give her some of those experiences by eating at buffets where you let her handle her own tray and even pick the table and “be a big girl” by making all of the decisions.
The more independent your child becomes in that last few months before kindergarten, the more that feeling of self reliance will pay off when school starts. Being able to dress and undress herself is a basic skill that we work on with our children. And while this will not be necessary at school, there may be times when your child needs to go to the bathroom to adjust his or her wardrobe. And not having to have a teacher there with him will make this a much smoother operation.
The basics of being able to perform simple student tasks such as how to hold a writing implement, how to draw the basic shapes, how to color a picture and how to answer questions from the teacher without mumbling are things that can be worked on well before the first day at kindergarten that will make that transition much smoother for your child and for the teacher as well.
There are also mental or intellectual talents that your child can pick up just from being part of your family but they will be of great advantage in school. This includes being able to listen and understand a story and then ask intelligent questions about it, being able to understand humor and even make simple and appropriate jokes when the time is right in class and knowing the fundamentals of alphabet, numbers and vocabulary that will equip the child to start the curriculum at kindergarten without need for remedial help.
Observe and help your child develop the simple social skills of being able to enter a room and meet new people, understanding authority and rules and learning to live with them and making friends and identifying and avoiding problem personalities in class. These are skills that will go a long way toward facilitating a happy social life at school and learning to stay out of trouble which is a lifetime skill your kiddo will need throughout a long school career.
By thinking through not only the academic but the physical, hygiene, social, language and logical skills that are sometimes taken for granted, you cut down on the surprises that wait for your child on that first day at school. And the smoother that first day goes, the better her entire year at kindergarten will go which will lead to a happy and creative attitude toward school and education for life.
Learn more about activity preschool education at http://preschoolerslearnmore.com/
From an emotional and social point of view, the big change from staying home with mom every day to being in an institutionalized setting is one that your child will cope with better with some preparation. So letting her meet the teacher, the other students, sit in on one day with you there and then have time to role play or talk through what it will be like all will be very helpful at reducing that feeling of disorientation that your kiddo may experience the first day at school.
But there are other areas of competency that you would do well to gauge in your child as she prepares for a day without you there to do everything for her. And if you start developing those check lists in the last full year before kindergarten, you have time to help your baby develop those skills well in advance. For example, when your child goes to lunch at school, she will probably go through a line to get her food, find a table on her own to sit with relative strangers to eat and have to get through meal time without guidance or encouragement. You can give her some of those experiences by eating at buffets where you let her handle her own tray and even pick the table and “be a big girl” by making all of the decisions.
The more independent your child becomes in that last few months before kindergarten, the more that feeling of self reliance will pay off when school starts. Being able to dress and undress herself is a basic skill that we work on with our children. And while this will not be necessary at school, there may be times when your child needs to go to the bathroom to adjust his or her wardrobe. And not having to have a teacher there with him will make this a much smoother operation.
The basics of being able to perform simple student tasks such as how to hold a writing implement, how to draw the basic shapes, how to color a picture and how to answer questions from the teacher without mumbling are things that can be worked on well before the first day at kindergarten that will make that transition much smoother for your child and for the teacher as well.
There are also mental or intellectual talents that your child can pick up just from being part of your family but they will be of great advantage in school. This includes being able to listen and understand a story and then ask intelligent questions about it, being able to understand humor and even make simple and appropriate jokes when the time is right in class and knowing the fundamentals of alphabet, numbers and vocabulary that will equip the child to start the curriculum at kindergarten without need for remedial help.
Observe and help your child develop the simple social skills of being able to enter a room and meet new people, understanding authority and rules and learning to live with them and making friends and identifying and avoiding problem personalities in class. These are skills that will go a long way toward facilitating a happy social life at school and learning to stay out of trouble which is a lifetime skill your kiddo will need throughout a long school career.
By thinking through not only the academic but the physical, hygiene, social, language and logical skills that are sometimes taken for granted, you cut down on the surprises that wait for your child on that first day at school. And the smoother that first day goes, the better her entire year at kindergarten will go which will lead to a happy and creative attitude toward school and education for life.
Learn more about activity preschool education at http://preschoolerslearnmore.com/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)