Sarah Friedman

August 28, 2009

Of course you want the best for your child, and you know that eventually he or she will have to leave your side for preschool, but everywhere you look there are pressures to put your child ahead of the pack, to start him or her on the path to school as early as possible. It can be a bit overwhelming. How do you know if your child is ready for school? What can you do to put them on the right foot for their life of learning?

Inspire communication
A key to getting your child ready for school is communication. As a parent, you can inspire your child’s communication from an early age by simply acknowledging the ways your child communicates verbally and nonverbally. Forming sentences around their communication is a good way to introduce them to new words and sentence formation. Playing games while dressing your child like, “What comes first, socks or shoes?” also encourages your child to use words to express his or her daily activities.

Skills for preschool readiness
You can gauge whether your child is ready to begin preschool by assessing the following skills:

• The ability to take care of basic needs without assistance: washing hands, eating lunch, sleeping, and bathroom needs.
• A degree of comfort when separated from you — If possible, have your child spend some time away from you before the start of preschool.
• The ability to work on projects by himself or herself for short periods of time.
• The ability to interact with others.

Once your child begins preschool, maintain a regular schedule at home. This way your child will get used to daily structure.

Skills for kindergarten readiness
As a rule of thumb, your child is ready to begin kindergarten if he or she has achieved many or all of the following skills:

• Say and write his or her name
• Cut with scissors and trace basic shapes
• Share and play well with others
• Follow adult given rules and recognize authority
• Concentrate and complete given tasks independently
• Dress himself
• Separate from parents without being upset
• Speak audibly, in complete sentences and use words to describe emotions and needs
• Know the alphabet and numbers to ten
• Sort similar objects by color, size and shape
• Throw, catch and bounce a ball

It's never too early to start preparing
If possible, find out a couple years in advance what the school expects for children enrolling in preschool or in kindergarten. That way you can be sure your child is on track with their expectations.

Getting your child ready for school is a matter of fostering their already rampant curiosity. Encourage your child to talk, explore and experiment. The more they are exposed and encouraged to learn before they enter preschool, the easier and more enjoyable the preschool and kindergarten experience will be.