Getting Ready for Kindergarten
1. READ TO THEM. Pull out the board books, get cozy, and read, read, read. Kids love repetition, and there’s no such thing as reading too much to your child!
2. WRITE IT DOWN. Kids love to scribble. Give them paper and plenty of pencils, crayons, and markers. If they’re ready, teach them to write their name.
3. DO THE MATH. Talk about numbers. Count everything out loud. How many grapes do you have on your plate? One more would make how many? How many minutes ‘til the next Arthur show?
4. GROW THEIR ATTENTION SPAN. Card games, board games, setting the table, picking photos out of a magazine. Set aside time to focus on a single activity or one task before moving on to active play.
5. TEACH RECOGNITION. Logos on food packages. Names and addresses on the mail. A stop sign. A walk signal. The letter B. Give them opportunities to demonstrate that they know what these things mean and then heap on praise.
6. SOCIALIZE. Whether it’s a big birthday party or a one-on-one play date, kids benefit from hearing a range of words in a variety of voices. Story hour at the library or a puppet show can be especially good for encountering new sounds and ideas.
7. TEACH THE MECHANICS. Using the restroom, washing hands, putting on shoes, opening a ziplock bag, opening a lunch box; your child will need to do these things when school starts
8. USE YOUR FINGERS. Drawing, cutting, and pasting can seem laborious but these activities will help them learn to write more legibly.
9. PRACTICE FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS. Give them one direction to follow. Then give them two, then three. Make it a game.
10. MIND YOUR MANNERS. Teach your child the basics: please and thank you, not interrupting, keeping their hands to themselves, using an inside voice.
Newsweek
September 11, 2006