I know, I know………School is officially out for the summer, but it’s not too early to be thinking about back to school if you have a new little one starting Kindergarten in the Fall. While knowing your ABC’s and 123’s is important, that’s not what this post is about. Truth be told there are a lot of other things that don’t have anything to do with academics that can help your child be successful in Kindergarten. All of these things can even be taught at home by you.
- Make sure they can take care of themselves- This includes knowing how to pack, zip and put on their backpack by themselves, zip their own jacket, tie their shoes, and button their pants after going potty. It’s definitely easiest for you to just do these things for your child, but you have to put yourself in the teacher’s position. There are on average 20 kids in a class and only one teacher. They can’t help all 20 kids put on their backpacks on or zip 20 coats.
- Teach them important info- This includes knowing their first and last name, parents names, address, phone number, how they get home from school and the name of their school. This not only makes life easier for the teacher when the student knows this information, it’s just safer if your child knows all this info as well!
- Teach patience- Patience doesn’t come naturally to a 5 year old, but when you are in a classroom with a 1:20 teacher/student ratio they have to learn to be patient. Practice telling your child, “I’ll be there in a minute” or “Wait your turn”.
- Foster independence- Let your child do stuff on their own. Chores are a great way to foster independence. Don’t assume that your child can’t do something because you have always done it for them. Give them a chance to do it on their own. This also includes teaching your child to independently look at books or play by themselves with out technology.
- Show them how to be a problem solver- Don’t always give your child the answers they ask for to a problem. Instead, give them tools to help them figure it out on their own. For example, if your child can’t reach something, instead of just getting it for them, ask them “What do we need to help YOU reach it? Would a step stool help?” Don’t do everything for them. Let them figure it out!
Have no fear……if your child doesn’t know how to do all of these things before they go to Kindergarten, it doesn’t mean they aren’t ready for school or they are going to fail. These are just tips that will help your child be successful and make your child’s teacher’s life a little easier!
Enjoy your summer, but take these 5 little tips into consideration over the next few months while preparing your child for Kindergarten!!
