Scarlet Velvet and Pearls

Before Kyle and Jordan went to school, I wondered how I could prepare them for kindergarten. They didn't attend a formal preschool so the preparation was up to me! I wasn't quite sure what would be expected of them so I didn't know what to prepare for. Now that they have been in kindergarten for a few weeks now, I have an idea of what is expected of them. Kindergarten has changed since I was a child! And I know that every school and every area is different, but here is advice I would give to a parent about preparing their child for kindergarten.

*RULES - They need to be able to understand rules and follow them. The first week of kindergarten was pretty much introducing all the rules in the classroom. There are a lot! When they break a rule, there is a consequence. And it makes sense. If there are no rules or order to a class of 20 five year olds, it would be chaos.

*RESPECT - They need to be able to listen to the teacher when he/she is talking and do what they say. They need to be able to appropriately communicate with other students when there is a conflict between them.

*SELF SUFFICIENT - It is really nice for the teacher and for the student if the child can take care of themselves in the bathroom, tie their shoes, button or zip their pants, undo their belts, put on their backpacks, etc. One of the ways of buying lunch in the cafeteria is to give the child money and have them buy it themselves. Teach the child if they don't understand how to do something (like buy cafeteria lunch), they can always ask a teacher or adult for help. They need to know their bus route number if they take the bus. From the first day of kindergarten, you are encouraged to drop them off and leave right away. Eventually, you drop them off at the front and they can walk in themselves. So in other words, they should be confident in their abilities to do things by themselves.

Those are some tips for general behavior. Here is what they are learning now (not an all inclusvie list, of course, but a general idea), and also some tips.

*MONEY - They are learning to identify the different coins and dollars and how much they are worth.

*MATH - Count things around you! Count the steps in the apartment, windows in your house, cars driving by, etc. Do they understand the meaning of that number? They are learning to count and identify numbers 10-100.

*LETTERS - They are learning to identify both the uppercase and lowercase letters. They are learning to write their name correctly - the first letter an uppercase and the rest of the letters lowercase.

*READING - A big one! To be able to read is one of the main goals this year. Their teachers gave us a little booklet about helping our children read. It is When a Child Reads...Some Answers to Your Questions by Denise Worthington. Here are some of the main tips:

- Read to them as much as possible! "Have him look at the pictures of a book first and make a prediction about what will happen next."
- "After reading the story, discuss what happened."
- Use all opportunities to read. Read cereal boxes, store signs, road signs, bills in the mail, labels on products, etc. You can label things around the house.
- "Visit the public library oftten." You can choose books and they can choose books they want to read.
- It is ok if they memorize the books. "Memorizing is an early part of a child's reading development. Think of it as a stage."
- It is ok to point at the words. It is called "self - monitoring". "This simply means that pointing helps to remind your child to really look at the words. Some children do not realize that words convey a message." Eventually they will be able to "point with their eyes."
- "Experts have learned that good readers check the pictures for clues to the story. ... Good readers use every available avenue to help them read and understand."
- You can help your child figure out a word before he becomes frustrated. "Tell him to look at the first letter of the unknown word, say the letter sound, and make a guess." Does the story sound right or make sense? "Re-reading is another good way to figure out an unknown word." After 5-6 seconds without results, tell him the word.
- The child doesn't neccessarily need to sound out every word he doesn't know. "Today children are introduced to words within the context of a story, not in isolation....Remember that phonetic skill is another one of the many tools a reader uses."
- "Writing is the reading process slowed down."
- "Value every effort!"
- "Remeber, reading should always be fun - so relax and enjoy! A frustrated reader is a reader who is not going to take the necessary risks to improve her skills."

I am so sorry if this is so long winded, but I thought these are great things to know if you are a parent of a preschooler. I wish I knew them before Kyle and Jordan started school!

*I am sorry there are no pictures on this blog. My blog wouldn't let me do it. I tried!