Kindergarten Ready? Small Things That Have BIG Impact
March 15, 2022
One of your child’s biggest academic milestones is starting Kindergarten. Most parents begin working on numbers, colors, and sight words even before celebrating their first birthday. Of course, these are important skills to have when starting school. Our curriculum nurtures the soft skills that develop in a classroom environment with friends that are critical to future academic success.
You might be surprised at the profound learning that happens with these seemingly ordinary skills. We do these things in all of our classrooms, in a developmentally appropriate way. Try these ideas at home with your little one to encourage a love of learning and be ready for Kindergarten when it comes.
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RESPONSIBILITYTeach responsibility by assigning simple tasks like setting a table or putting away clothes. Completing them helps develop a sense of intrinsic motivation. When they feel pride in doing something successfully, it becomes its own reward and pays dividends for your child’s future academics. |
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INDEPENDENCEEncourage independence skills like zipping up jackets, putting on socks and shoes, carrying their things, and following social rules like lining up and waiting your turn. Children who understand that they can handle self-care tasks and read a social situation open up more time in their school days for building relationships and exploring new learning. |
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CURIOSITYShow them that there are multiple ways to look at everything. Being curious is an indicator of future learning success for all of us. Your child will expect to write with pencils and crayons. Suggesting that they draw on the pavement with a wet paintbrush or write in the sand with their finger encourages them to look at familiar situations in new ways and plants the seeds of critical thinking skills. |
