6 Ways to Prepare Your Preschooler for Kindergarten

by | Oct 25, 2015 | Children, Community, Education, Fredericksburg, Parenting, School, Spotsylvania, Students, Test Strategies, Tutoring | 0 comments

As many of you know from my previous blogs, my oldest daughter just started Kindergarten.  If you are about my age, and were in elementary school in the 80’s and early 90’s, you probably think of Kindergarten as very similar to preschool.  Maybe you remember days spent finger-painting, learning to use paste for gluing instead of eating, playing with blocks, and reading a story.  There was a lot of time for imaginative play and a nap after lunchtime.  If this sounds familiar to you, I am here to tell you, Kindergarten is not what it used to be.  Want to know whether your preschooler will be prepared while you still have time to do something about it?  Ask yourself the following questions:

  1. How is their letter recognition?

Kindergarten is much more academic than you remember.  Much of the day is spent on reading and math skills. To prepare your preschooler for Kindergarten, make sure that they recognize the letters and are able to tell you the sound each letter makes.  Start to introduce them to the idea that words are made up of letters and that each make their own sound.  Have them practice tracing and writing upper and then lowercase letters.  Make sure that they are able to write and spell their name.  Read together daily and talk about what is happening in the story.

kindergarten_preschool

  1. How is their number recognition?

Practice basic number recognition by learning to count to twenty or even higher if they are able.  Practice tracing and writing the numbers one through ten and also by counting objects.  Play games with the objects for example by saying, “ If I have five sugar packets and I take two away, how many do I have?”  This will get them prepared to understand the concepts of adding and subtracting.

  1. Can they sit quietly and pay attention?

Focus and behavior are arguably just as important to kindergarten success as academic skills.  For Kindergarten, your child should be able to sit still and sustain attention to a task for ten minutes without redirection.  Take your children to events where they will have to sit and listen to someone read a story or do a presentation.  Practice sitting quietly and what it means to be a good listener.  Give your child a task or a craft to do on their own that requires them them to sit quietly.  First start with a small task and then increase the time working independently up to about ten minutes.

  1. Can they follow directions given to a group?

Practice giving your child short directions.  See if they are able to follow these directions when they are given once.  Gradually make the directions more complex so that they are able to follow one and two-step directions.   This can be directions to do tasks around the house or for an art project but the expectation needs to be that they listen the first time.

  1. Do they get along with others?

Make sure that your child has plenty of exposure to other children and is able to interact with children and adults without hitting, kicking, or biting.  Your child should be able to cooperate, share  and work together with other children without constant adult intervention or supervision.

  1. Can they function independently from you?

Make sure that your child can separate from you for long periods of time without distress.  To do this, they must be capable of completing some personal care tasks on their own such as zipping their coat, buttoning their pants, using the bathroom on their own and washing their hands.  They also should be able to use crayons, a pencil, glue, and scissors independently.

Practicing these skills with your preschool child now will make them well prepared for a successful and enjoyable start to Kindergarten.


-Nina Parrish, M.Ed.
Owner | Parrish Learning Zone, LLC
540-999-8759

                                       ~Nina

Nina Parrish, M. Ed.

Nina Parrish, M. Ed.

Co-Owner and Director of Education

Proud mom of two adorable girls. Teacher who has developed an education business that started at a kitchen table and has grown into a thriving small business... Click here to Learn more about Nina.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

What do I do if my child doesn’t know a sound when we are reading together?

What do I do if my child doesn’t know a sound when we are reading together?

How Do We Prepare for the Upcoming School Year When We Don’t Know What It’s Going to Look Like? Part III

How Do We Prepare for the Upcoming School Year When We Don’t Know What It’s Going to Look Like? Part III

Featured in Various Media Outlets Around the Country.

Parent Approved

Trusted By Local Parents

 

Ms Brown was wonderful with tutoring my child in Algebra ll.
Pam Cantrell Burton
Pam Cantrell Burton
2020-10-14T16:15:51+0000
Parrish Learning Zone helped my daughter with on-line SAT and college essay preparation. She not only scored in the top 90 percentile on the SAT after working with Lauren Cannavo, she especially benefited from the tutoring she received for her admission essays. My daughter was accepted at Notre Dame, UVA, William and Mary, and received scholarships to George Washington University and the University of Alabama. She was initially deferred at the University of Chicago and waitlisted at University of Michigan and Emory University. She eventually chose not to remain on the waitlists and committed to UVA.Lauren also advised our daughter regarding her submission of a 20 page essay on community service for DECA, a high school business club. Our daughter, along with her partner, won second place in her category at the DECA state competitions in 2019 and 2020, and received second place at the DECA international competition in 2019.Lauren was not only a top-notch professional, she really cared about our daughter and was so pleased about her accomplishments. We are so very grateful to her and Parrish Learning Zone.
Marijayne Kruus
Marijayne Kruus
2020-05-11T21:51:37+0000
Mr. Chaves is an extremely gifted chemistry teacher. It's such a difficult subject--my son was drowning by the time we found PLZ. This was truly a last ditch effort on our part. Mr. Chaves was able to turn that ship around after only 4 lessons and my son passed the SOL! He was able to distill difficult concepts in a way that made them comprehensible and he was patient and kind and gave my son the confidence to succeed. His actual eacher expressed surprise and made a point of telling him he didn't know how he did it but he was impressed. It takes a gifted teacher to get results like that.I only wish we'd found PLZ and Mr. Chaves in the beginning of the school year.
Wendy Zelazny
Wendy Zelazny
2018-06-08T02:05:15+0000
Highly Recommend
Anne Kater Reeves
Anne Kater Reeves
2018-06-07T22:46:05+0000
I highly recommend Parrish Learning Zone. My daughter was able to achieve the SAT score she was aiming for with the help of her Math (Mr. James Slane) and English (Mrs. Lauren Cannavo) tutors. Not only did they help her with practice tests but they also boosted her confidence in taking the SAT. The owners (Nina and Jay) were always prompt in answering my emails. They are very accommodating and worked around my daughter’s schedule (thank you Shiela for all your help in finding available dates for my daughter to meet with her tutors). Thank you Parrish Learning Zone for helping my daughter achieve her goal!
Beth Yankovich
Beth Yankovich
2018-03-23T20:29:18+0000
I can't say enough good things about Parrish Learning Zone. My son has historically suffered from low reading comprehension. I felt he needed a little extra help so I contacted Parrish Learning Zone. The owners at Parrish matched my son with the perfect tutor for him, they developed a rapport almost immediately. He is now in 8th grade and doing well in all his classes. My son is very active in school sports and the staff at Parrish are always very accommodating. They always reschedule with no problems. My son even likes to go early to chat with Sheila.
Beth Kent
Beth Kent
2017-11-08T18:59:11+0000
Awesome! Very structured and student focused - they identified the areas of weakness and turned those into areas of strength in a very short amount of time. I loved the communication from the tutor and the company. I received a specific report of my child's tutoring session including improvements and areas that needed continued work. I received reminders of upcoming tutor sessions - which I needed!! I felt the individual attention and service was worth every penny AND found the prices to be much more reasonable that other tutors in the area. I would HIGHLY recommend Parrish Learning Zone to any parent that needs to find highly competent tutoring help for their child. Parrish is simply the best!
Michele Hiltbrunner Freemyers
Michele Hiltbrunner Freemyers
2017-03-14T15:53:50+0000
An excellent place to take your kids for any tutoring needs! PLZ is a very personalized and hands on service! Both of my teenage boys have been through here for various reasons and I know we will continue to make use of them!
Tammy Elms Mosco
Tammy Elms Mosco
2016-06-02T12:20:59+0000
I am extremely thankful to Parrish Learning Zone. I have a son that is a freshman in college majoring in mechanical engineering. I am so glad that we found out about the Parrish Learning Zone because they were very caring and really worked hard around my sons high school football schedule to ensure that he received all of the needed instruction in order to do well on the SAT testing. It was a great investment for his future. I believe this experience prepared my son for the transition to college life. He was able to attend a top engineering college and to play football there. My daughter is a senior in high school now and was admitted into two of the top ranked public schools in Virginia. She will be a freshman at one of these schools next year. She also was enrolled in the Parrish Learning Zone for preparation for the SAT. I am again thankful to the Parrish Learning Zone and feel that this was a great long term investment into their futures. I would strongly recommend the Parrish Learning Zone to anyone looking for an environment that offers a caring and knowledgeable approach to educating students. They are the best.
Angela Jackson
Angela Jackson
2014-05-15T00:39:39+0000
Andrew Powers
Andrew Powers
2014-02-09T12:32:29+0000

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share This

Share this post with your friends!