Preparing Your Child Academically for Kindergarten
If your child isn't in preschool, you should be sure he is academically ready to begin. Before deciding what to teach your child, visit the school and find out what they think he should know before starting. Even if school is starting in just a few weeks, gather your information and begin working gently at home to help your child become ready.
Most schools expect children to show up with the proper social skills, described in last week’s article. However, more and more schools also expect children to arrive with basic academic skills, including those taught in kindergarten when you were a child. You can teach your child these skills, or at least get the process started, as you play and learn at home. You don’t need to sit your child at a desk and ring a school bell. An informal learning experience is the best way to teach your little one.
1. Language skills: Your child should be able to speak in complete sentences using grammar that is standard for his age. His vocabulary should be as good as possible. Parents often simplify their sentences when speaking to their children, in order to be sure the child understands. Instead, say the sentence the same way you would to an adult, but then explain what you mean. Use complete sentences and avoid the cute terms your child has invented or that society uses when speaking to children. Toss in hard words on a regular basis. You can even select words to teach your child, using them as often as possible over the course of a week or so. Remember that the word simplify, for example, has no more letters than does a word like elephant. Any word a child hears often is an easy word for him, even if it’s a hard one for other children. Don’t be afraid to tell your child to “imitate” or even to “emulate” you, instead of always saying, “Can you do this just the way I am?” Explain it by using two sentences: “Can you emulate me—can you do it just the way I do?”
2. Small motor skills: Give your child plenty of opportunities to color, cut, glue and write. Paint, use clay, and draw with sidewalk chalk. Art is the most interesting way to teach small motor skills, and is excellent preparation for a good kindergarten curriculum, which should be filled with art. Try not to worry about mess—art should be creative and fun. Don’t critique your child’s work. Just let him have fun. You can show him how to work neatly, of course, but don’t obsess over it, or he won’t have fun and will learn to hate art. Forget the “parent pleasers” and give your child a box of paper scraps to glue onto construction paper, or even a box of junk to “invent something” with. Teach him to write his name, first with finger paint, or by having him trace it in sugar or flour, so mistakes are painless to fix. Work up to crayons and pencils.
3. Large motor skills: This may not seem like an academic skill, but large motor skills prepare a child for gym classes and improve his coordination and perception. Teach him to ride a tricycle, toss a ball, run, skip and hop. Skipping can be taught by having him hop on the right leg and then the left, always moving forward. Eventually, that will turn into skipping.
4. Simple math: Can your child recite numbers in order? Can he count? These are not the same skills. Actual counting means you can hand him a number of items and he can figure out how many there are. Many children who can recite numbers cannot actually count. You don’t need workbooks to teach counting. Count all day long. Ask your child to set the table (buy plastic dishes for the days when it’s his turn) and tell him there will be five people at the table, so he will need to put five place settings. Count the number of toy cars he is playing with. Count the chairs in the dining room, the roses on a bush and the toes and fingers on his body. Anything can be counted and it will just seem like a game to him.
5. Alphabet: Many schools now teach reading in kindergarten in an attempt to score high on standardized tests. Since this is too early for many children, they need to start early so they have plenty of time to master the skills. Read alphabet books together. Cut letters from fuzzy material, sandpaper and anything else with interesting textures and let your child trace them as you tell him what they are. Examine letters wherever you are—in the doctor’s office or in line at a store. Try to find all the letter B’s in a room. Sing the alphabet song. Talk about the sounds a letter makes: “B is the first letter in the word baby. I know some more words that start with B. Listen!” Buy alphabet letters with magnets and let your child learn to spell his name or other words that interest him. Teach him to sort capital and lower-case letters. For example, give him a stack of B’s written on cards and show him how to make piles for the capital and lower-case letters. Write the names of the members of your family on large cards and have your child give them to the person who has the name, or match them to pictures.
6. Your child’s full name, address, telephone number, and parents’ names. Ask about these as you walk or ride in the car, do chores together or play. Try putting the telephone number to music. (It doesn’t have to be good music. Your child won’t care.)
7. Shapes and colors: Have a special day or week to celebrate a shape or color. Suppose you decide to have blue day. Decorate your child’s room with blue streamers. Dress him in blue clothes. Put blue food coloring in his oatmeal. Serve blueberries for lunch and read books about blue things. Take a walk and look for the color blue. You get the idea. This teaches the child to recognize the colors in all shades. You can do the same thing with shapes—make cookies in the shapes, make a necklace with beads that shape and so on. Get in the habit of talking about these things when you are out and about.
8. Music: Sing together. Listen to music. Watch a children’s video of a symphony. Dance as a family. Play instruments, even if they are only homemade rhythm instruments.
9. Imagination: This is absolutely essential. Give your child an imagination. Play what-if games, make up ridiculous stories and welcome those invisible friends (don’t call them imaginary, because they aren’t) into your home. Imagining isn’t the same as lying. Encourage it.
365 Activities You and Your Child Will Love: Fun Ideas for Your Preschooler's Growing Mind!