Your little ones grow fast and may be starting kindergarten in the coming school year. As a parent, you may not be prepared for this moment—your kids are growing up and moving on to bigger and better things. This is a big moment in your life, but even more so for them. Maybe they have never been in a school setting, or maybe they are just nervous about it. Either way, you must help them prepare.
Helping your child prepare for kindergarten and grade school in general will better help them adapt to their new environment. They will be able to settle into their new role with confidence. Additionally, helping them prepare both mentally and physically can make the overall transition easier for them and for you.
At Yellow Brick Road Early Childhood Development Center, we teach your kids the important skills they need when the time comes to enter grade school. These skills include developing socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically. We work hard to make sure your kiddos can excel in their future settings. If your kids are not yet at grade school age, now is the perfect time to start preparing! Enroll your kids at our center and give them the early start they need!
Besides us helping your children in the different areas of development, there are things you can do that will help prepare them for the school year ahead! This blog will go over some of the things you can do to ensure your kiddos are grade school ready.
Get Them Excited
Kids learn a lot from you. They will mimic your reactions to certain things and begin to develop the same reactions. Because of this, be excited about school. Tell them how many new things they will learn, the friends they will make, and the fun activities they will do. When you show interest in their school they will become more interested and excited about it.
If your child is nervous to start school, take them to the school before the year starts and if possible, give them a tour so they can know where to go. This will help them feel more comfortable on the first day and give them more confidence at the start of the school year.
If your child is excited about starting school, then you have to worry less about the preparation. However, there are still things you can do to help them prepare. Explain how they have to behave, what kind of activities they will most likely be taking part in, and how they should act towards the teachers and other students. After they understand what to expect, start getting them prepared for the lessons.
Educational Prep
You want your kids to go into kindergarten with knowledge that most of the other students have. Help them be at the top of the class by teaching them the basics that they will learn early in the school year. This will help them grasp more concepts and be able to stay ahead of the class. There are some things that will be more beneficial for your kids to know right away, such as the alphabet, counting to 10, writing their name, recognizing shapes and colors, and other lessons they will learn in kindergarten.
At Yellow Brick Road, we help your child learn these important lessons as well as help them develop a love for learning. We want our students to be excited about what they learn and we work to help them develop this excitement. Your child may leave Yellow Brick Road knowing just about everything they need to know, but to help them stay on top of their game keep them working all the way up until they start grade school. Read to them and help them read to you, have them write their name and count out things at the grocery store. This will help them keep their skills sharp and allow them to be prepared for school.
Coloring, painting, using scissors, and other arts and crafts can also help your child. Kindergarten is full of arts and craft activities, so helping your child get used to using scissors (child safe), glue, and other craft items will help them be prepared for every paper turkey and paper plate flower that is made.
Social Prep
Your kid may be the smartest in the class but if they are misbehaving, they will have trouble. Teach your child how to properly behave in a classroom and what they should not do. Disrespecting the teacher, being rude to other kids, or being disruptive in class can all cause problems and make it harder for your child to adjust. Teach them how to sit quietly while the teacher is talking, bring them to places where they can interact with other kids and get used to sharing, playing, and respecting others.
Make this lesson fun for them by “playing school.” Set up a fake classroom and take turns being the teacher and the student. When they misbehave as the student tell them what they are doing that they shouldn’t and explain why they should not act that way. Let them be the teacher and demonstrate how they should act.
Teach them how to sit still and quiet while listening to a book, being taught something, or when students are working on their own thing. Also, work with your kiddos on following directions and asking questions by raising their hand. Being disruptive is rough on other students as well as the teachers and can cause problems in lessons and other activities.
No only should you teach your child to play well with others, but you should teach them how to work with others. Working in a group will help them be more comfortable in the classroom setting. Being able to work with and around others properly will help your child excel throughout school.
Even teaching your child something as simple as saying hello to other students and their teacher can help them feel more confident talking in the class and speaking to others. Kids can be extremely shy, but you can help them slowly get over this by teaching them to say hi to their friends and the teacher every day.
More Preparation
Talk to your children about school—when it starts and ends, recess, lunch, and the extracurricular classes like P.E. and art. If you live close, talk about walking them to school every day, this is a great way to spend some time together, allow them to get some energy out before heading into the classroom, and allows them to feel a little less nervous. If you are driving them to school tell them where you will pick them up and make sure they know, or walk them to their classroom and pick them up outside the door so they don’t have to search for the car. If your kiddo is taking the bus, make sure they know where it picks them up, drops them off, and when to be ready for it every day.
Get them excited by talking about recess and the fun classes. Ask them what they will do on recess—will they swing, play tag, or find something else to do? Recess is a childhood favorite and your kid will be excited to attend school knowing they can play outside daily. You also must discuss lunch. Are you going to pack their lunch? Or will they buy lunch everyday? Once you figure out the basics, they will be able to feel more comfortable heading to school.
Yellow Brick Road works hard to get your child prepared for their time in grade school. These tips can help you prepare them as well. If you child is going into kindergarten this year, get them ready in every way possible. If you child is not yet ready to start grade school, start preparing early by enrolling them at Yellow Brick Road Early Childhood Development Center!