Preparing Your Child for Kindergarten!!

The following list is intended to help prepare your child in a variety of developmental areas to make the transition into kindergarten as smooth as possible.  Believe it or not, just 15-20 minutes of playing and learning with your child a day can make a world of difference!

Social/Emotional Development
  • Encourage your child to persist in tasks when encountering a problem by giving him tasks slightly about his current ability level.  When he / she can not find a solution, encourage him /her calmly to ask for help.
  • Play board games to practice taking turns.
  • Set up play dates with friends.
  • Practice having child be with another trusted adult, especially if she/he has rarely been in the care of someone other than mom or dad.
  • Practice cleaning up after play
  • Always encourage pretend play..and occasionally join your child in his/her fantasy world!
​www.nytimes.com/guides/well/mindfulness-for-children?smid=tw-nytimeswell

​Language Development
  • Verbally give your child specific 1-step and 2-step directions and encourage him/her to follow through
  • Read to your child at least 20 minutes a day
  • While reading point out how to hold a book and the orientation of to read words.
  • After reading ask the child what happened in the beginning, middle and end of the story.
  • Draw (without coloring books).  Ask her/him to draw what she/he sees around them.
  • Teach your child the uppercase and lowercase letters and, most importantly, the sounds each letter makes through play and games.  Here are some ideas:
http://www.icanteachmychild.com/alphabet

Cognitive Development
  • Have child sort times according to color, size, and shape.  Household items work well, no need to buy anything special!
  • Teacher your child patterns (red, blue, red, blue)
  • Practice counting aloud (while driving or walking)
  • Teach numbers 1-10
  • Go on a shape hunt
  • Talk about opposite words (big /little, slow/fast)
  • Teach your child to recognize the following colors:  red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, brown, and pink.

Physical Development a.k.a. Gross and Fine Motor
  • Give your child plenty of opportunities for outdoor play: running, jumping, and climbing.
  • Play catch 
  • Practice skipping
  • Stack blocks together
  • Let your child use child-safe scissors
  • Teacher your child to write his name.  Start with marker and have him/her trace over it.
  • Play with play dough
  • String beads, play with puzzles, paint
  • Examine different textures in nature or the kitchen, have fun!
http://teaching2and3yearolds.com/fine-motor-squeezing-activities/