What are steps you can take to prepare your child for kindergarten right now? Kindergarten readiness is an important topic for parents, and it can be extremely overwhelming. How do you know if your child is ready for kindergarten? There are guidelines that help educators and parents alike understand if a child is ready for kindergarten.
Kindergarten Readiness Categories
Kindergarten readiness can be broken down into various categories: physical, emotional and social, and academic. Academic kindergarten readiness includes math, listening, and language skills.
Some of the most important skills on a kindergarten readiness checklist involve your child’s ability to help herself or himself going to the bathroom and getting dressed. If you are not entirely sure where to start, self-help and hygiene tasks can be a starting point.
The physical elements to consider are gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Activities that use gross motor skills include running, jumping, climbing stairs, and more. Activities using fine motor skills include using writing utensils and child-safe scissors. Work on gross and fine motor skills by playing outside with your child or having an arts and crafts afternoon on a rainy day!
Emotional and Social Skills
You want that first day of school to be one you will remember as a proud parent for years to come. If your child throws a fit the moment you leave, you may not feel so proud. You can build your child’s social skills by making sure he or she spends time with people besides immediate family members. This can help your child feel comfortable when a parent is not around.
Make sure your little one spends time with other grownups. Ask a trusted grownup if he or she would be willing to watch your child so that your child can be comfortable about people who are not parents. Take advantage of this kindergarten readiness activity by scheduling some “me time” and taking the night off! Schedule a date night or a girl’s night out while your child is with an adult you trust.
Teach your child to wait his or her turn by introducing the concept of taking turns into daily life at home. Children learn by observation, so use “please” and “thank you” with your other family members to teach your child to use them. The ability play and share with other children is a sign of being ready for kindergarten.
Math Skills
Prepare your child for kindergarten and years in the classroom to come by introducing math concepts and counting. You can practice math skills at home with your child by counting the number of stuffed animals on the bed or the number of carrots on your child’s plate.
Listening Skills
This category serves as an introduction to teaching children to read. By the time your child enters kindergarten, your child is expected to recognize his or her own name on paper. You can help your child in this area by reading to your little one at bedtime. Your child will start to recognize certain words and sounds. Teach your child how to recite the alphabet and the different sounds each letter can make. These are just a few ways to help your child be ready for kindergarten!
Language Skills
The basic language skills for kindergarten readiness focus on a child being able to express himself or herself to an adult using words. Does your child use words to tell you what he or she wants? This is a great start.
Extensive research has shown that young children’s minds are flexible enough to learn multiple languages at a young age. Introducing your child to another language with a Spanish class for toddlers can increase your child’s likelihood of becoming fluent later in life.
At Children Central, Miss Edivia teaches Spanish for our Preschool and Pre-K classes. Language skills are essential for your child’s success in elementary school, so why not work on multiple languages? Start working on how to teach your toddler how to read Spanish with picture books. You may even be able to get the same books in English and Spanish!
Kindergarten Readiness Activities at Langhorne Preschool, Children Central
Children Central Child Care and Learning Center offers a Pre-Kindergarten class that features the Happily Ever After Reading Readiness Program. This program integrates early reading skills with other forms of language development. Your child will be engaged in reading, writing, speaking, and listening to develop well-rounded language skills and accelerate learning. Our kindergarten readiness activities are multimodal in order to cater to each learning style.
Children Central is rated as a Keystone STARS 4 child care center, which is the highest rating given. The Keystone STARS 4 rating indicates stellar teacher education and qualifications and a safe and welcoming learning environment. According to the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), “The percentage of four-year olds with proficient academic and social skills doubled to 81 percent after participating in Keystone STARS 3 and 4 programs.”
Contact us to enroll and prepare your child for kindergarten at Children Central today!
