The ABC’s of Preparing Your Child For Kindergarten
As parents, we experience constant mood fluctuations as our kids continue to develop and grow older. For the majority of us, there will be nothing more difficult than shipping are children away to school that very first time, but we know that it has to be done. Every parent wants the best for their kids and that includes allowing them to receive a quality education which as we know begins with kindergarten.
So how do we let go of this hardship and separation anxiety? The reality is that you can’t, but you can make sure that your child is prepared both mentally and emotionally to begin the new school year. We as parents are crucial tools in developing our children’s mental aptitude and there is no time like the present to get started.
Most parents tend to think that you can just put your kids in kindergarten and they will learn all they need to know with no effort on their part, well that is not the case anymore. Now days kids need to be ready for kindergarten. Children are supposed to know their letters, numbers, colors, shapes, and even how to write their names before entering. When we were kids, we just went to school and learned all that from the teachers. We were able to have fun in kindergarten and enjoy it, but now the schools are often so worried about kids knowing every little thing that kids just don’t get to have the same fun that we did in school.
Looking back to when I was in kindergarten, I can remember having story time and painting, short naps and milk breaks. We also had a lot of time to interact with the other kids, which was crucial to developing interpersonal skills. Now kids are learning how to multiply and are doing fractions, spelling and the like. I didn’t do any of that when I was five, hadn’t even come close to anything similar. In fact, I don’t believe that even learned how to multiply until I was in the third grade at least. The comment argument is that there is just way to much pressure on such young minds in school right now, it’s no wonder kids want to dropout and what about the parents, often working a couple different jobs just to stay afloat and still manage to find the time to teach you children the things our teachers should be teaching.
Nonetheless, this is the way of school is in many states and to truly give your child a good start in school, you have to take the time to sit down with them and teach them what they need to know. Most kids are good with shapes and colors and most can say there ABC’s but being able to tell what a letter or a number is, might be a different story.
Flash cards are a great way to get kids started on knowing their letters and numbers. Sure, it is going to take time, nothing ever happens right away, and it will take patients so please be patient with them. It is so hard on a little kid to be pressured and make sure when they do something or try and do something that you give them praise for that. Try to teach them how school will be, make them as prepared as possible before sending them off to grow up on their own.
Teaching them little things like how to listen to the teacher and raising your hand before you can speak will make a world of difference in the development of your child. Be sure to instruct them of classroom etiquate, like not talking to the other kids while the teacher is talking and so on, kids have a difficult time knowing what they should and shouldn’t do in school.
What are your tips for preparing a child for kindergarten? Share them with us in the comment section below.
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