What Can I Do to Prepare My Child for Kindergarten
*Personal Needs:
- Dress themselves - tying shoes, buttons pants/coats, zip jackets
- Know left and right - practice with your shoes!
- Take care of bathroom needs
- Washing hands & blowing nose
- Recognizing own clothing and possessions
*Responsibilities:
- Following simple directions
- Putting toys and clothing away
- Understanding concepts of space, direction and place
*Establish Routines
- Set limits - have your child help make rules together
- Eating habits
- Sleeping habits
- Create a daily or weekly schedule
*Communication
- Talk with your child
- Practice "active listening"
- Turn-taking in conversations
- Maintaining eye contact
- Encourage your child to talk about their feelings and emotions
*Read! Read! Read!
- Talk about the pictures and what is happening in the story
- Talk about the meaning of words in the text
- Visit the library
- Read labels at the store
*Academic Skills
- Recognize, name, count and write numerals 1-20
- Count and sort objects together
- Count to 100
- Recognize and name colors, shapes and patterns
- Write first and last name
- Identify letters and sounds