Prepare Your Child for Kindergarten
Things To Work on With Your Child Prior to Kindergarten
-Help them to develop and strengthen their fine motor skills by practicing with materials such as holding a pencil, crayons, scissors, glue sticks, etc.
-Have them practice writing their first name (with only the first letter capitalized, if possible), then move onto practicing their last name. Even take it a step further and write all the letters (upper and lowercase forms) of the alphabet.
-Learn to follow 2-step directions. For example, "Please go get your shoes and then put them on."
-Using good manners such as please and thank you.
-Talk with them about social skills such as sharing, taking turns, using positive words with others, and what to do when they become angry or upset.
-Help your child take on responsibility roles to foster independence: cleaning up after themselves, getting dressed on their own, putting their shoes on without help, zipping/buttoning jackets and backpacks, getting their own snack or materials for activities, etc.
-Build and talk about self-esteem. Remember to always praise and encourage your child when taking on new tasks or activities.
-Practice counting and number recognition. Count objects with them daily.
-Identifying and creating patterns.
-Practice letter and sound recognition. Identify letters in texts and in their environment, as well as, saying the sounds those letters make.
-Practice the concept of rhyming words with them by asking if two words rhyme and encouraging them to give you other word(s) that rhyme with one you provide them.