schooldays

There are a great many skills children will be expected to master in Kindergarten, and preparing children for those is an important task. Whether a child attends a formal preschool program, or is taught at home by family, here are some additional ways to help them get ready for that first day.

* Continue all those songs, rhymes, and finger plays that have been beneficial since infancy.

* Stay on the same general schedule during the week. It doesn’t have to be rigid, but Kindergarten will most likely be scheduled and children need to be used to the structure.

* Read, read, read to your child! Even short, simple board books are useful for teaching and enforcing rhyme, context, and phonological awareness. Stop short of saying the word(s) in a familiar book and let your child fill in the word(s) for you (this is especially beneficial when enforcing rhyme). Allow children to “read” to you, and tell you the events of a story with which they are familiar. Don’t forget to make sure your child also sees you reading!

* Practice matching colors with your child. This can be as simple as having them help matching clothes that are the same color, or check out your local toy store or toy department for color matching games and play sets in the eight basic colors.

* Make sure children are given opportunities to count and read numerals from at least 1-10.

Tune in tomorrow for more tips and reminders on preparing children for school!

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