Helping Children Get Ready for School

 

By Sharon Cowen

Question: My child will be attending kindergarten in September. I’m worried that she may not be ready. What do children need to know when they start school, and what can parents and caregivers do to help them?

Answer: It’s exciting to see children go to kindergarten that first day, but it can also be a time of concern for parents. Keep in mind that children are unique and enter school with a range of abilities – different strengths, skills, and needs. Families are the first and most important teachers that children have. Parents can provide guidance for learning new skills and help children feel good about what they can do, while still remembering that children develop at their own pace.

Children should be excited about learning. Encourage exploration and curiosity. Take advantage of new experiences with your child; ask questions about his ideas and observations. Listen to what she says. Be a role model; show your child that you enjoy learning. Grow a garden together. Ask “what do you think plants need to grow?” Look at a book together to find out.

Children need to be intellectually ready for school. Familiarity with books and words, as well as numbers, shapes, sizes, and colors will help. Read to your child often and start early. Look at the pictures and talk about what is happening. Ask questions, such as, “what do you think will happen next” or “what is going on in the picture?” Make sure your home has lots of age-appropriate reading material, and use the library.

Play counting games. Show your child how numbers are used at home; teach her to count objects and sort by color or shape. Make lemonade and ask your child to help you count four cans of water for the pitcher.

Talk to children about what you are doing during the day. Sing songs and teach rhymes. Children learn language and other skills by hearing others and trying it out. Talk about the sizes, colors and shapes of objects. For example, “this block is bigger than this one” or “what color is your shirt? Can you find socks the same color?” Help your child find and name shapes and colors.

If English is not your native language, speaking and reading to your child in your native language strengthens all your child’s language and learning skills. Your child can learn about your culture by singing songs and hearing stories, and visiting places and people that teach about his culture. Make teachers and administrators aware if school is your child’s first exposure to other cultures.

Being ready for school involves more than academics. As children get older, they grow in a number of key areas, including physical, mental, language, and social and emotional development. Often caregivers associate mental development with being ready for school, but research indicates that language, physical, social and emotional development are also important factors.

In terms of social and emotional development, children need to be able to get along with others and make new friends. They need to follow directions and communicate, including knowing when to listen. They need to control impulses and behaviors: sitting in a circle, waiting their turn, and standing in line are all part of the school day. Teach children to identify and talk about feelings, whether it’s happiness, frustration, anger, or other, as well as ways to calm themselves down. Teach them to care for and help others, and who to ask when they need help.

Physically, children need both big and small motor skills. Large motor skills include moving arms and legs. Encourage kids to play outside and run, jump, climb, and dance. Small motor skills involve fingers – coloring, building with blocks, or zipping zippers, for example.

Children need to have self-help and safety skills. Help kids learn their name, address and phone number. Teach them to cross the street and not to speak to strangers. Teach them how to tell an adult they are sick or need to go the bathroom; help them practice going to the bathroom, dressing themselves, tying shoes, washing hands.

Support your child by making sure they get enough sleep; eat healthy foods, including breakfast; and dress for the weather. Take her to the doctor and dentist regularly.

Lastly, take time to talk about your child’s feelings about going to school, as well as your own. Kids can be excited and eager but also scared. Parents can be apprehensive and worried. Make sure that your child knows that you love her and feel good about her first day at kindergarten.

Sharon Cowen is a Family and Consumer Resources Educator, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, Hillsborough County.  Visit the website at http://extension.unh.edu.