The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Jennifer Dance, Quill Staff
Kindergarten is one of life's biggest steps, a graduation, if you will, to a new and unknown world.
Although, most children do not remember their first day of school completely, it was the start of something significant. It is a child's first taste of a formal education.
The bus looks like just a bus to most adults, but to a kindergartner it is a humongous machine, either terribly exciting or terribly terrorizing. The same is true of the classroom, getting dropped off by Mom or Dad, meeting the teacher, new friends, eating lunch out of a brown bag... The newness of it all is endless.
However, there are some steps in getting a child prepared for, maybe not the first day jitters, but for the year long adventure and learning process.
Read, read, read!
Reading to a child is an extremely powerful way to prepare for life in Kindergarten. Read a magazine, a recipe, The Bible, look at a family photo album together and talk about memories.
More precisely, books aid in a child's readiness for Kindergarten. Some examples are:
No Good, Very Bad Day.
Taking just 15 minutes a day to read to a child does wonders for his/her mind.
It truly may be hard to find that time, but it is so worth the rewards for both child and parent.
Learning to tie shoes is a big step, not to mention a huge help to the teacher.
Taking opportunities to count; for instance count the number of eggs that are being cracked for breakfast or better yet - let the kindergartner crack the eggs while counting (a little mess never hurt anyone).
Recognizing letters and words on road signs, billboards... while taking a drive; making each moment a learning opportunity.
Work a puzzle together, allow the child to cut the wrapping paper (with safe scissors) to wrap a present, sit down with a fun coloring book, take a trip to the library (Henderson County has got a great one!), bounce a ball together, tell a story and encourage the child to tell one as well.
The above mentioned activities are all shared equally by the child and the parent.
They are much more than learning processes for a child. They are an encounter between parent and child, bringing the two closer and more devoted to one another.
A parent can not do everything to equip a child for school. There are always unexpected events that come up. However, a parent has much power in the way that a child handles those unexpected events as well as the day to day life of Kindergarten.
And remember, just because a child has started school, doesn't mean parents job is finished as a teacher at home. It's a lifetime process.