What Skills Can We Work on Now?
Click the blue box to find out...
Hint: It's NOT academics!!
Learning begins at home with YOU!!
You are your child's first and most important teacher. Children learn by watching and doing and the most important thing a child needs to grow is a caring adult. Take time to talk with them, listen to them, read with them, play with them and LOVE them. Other ways you can help your child be ready for kindergarten are to read, read, read and work on the skills below to help your child be successful.
LIFE SKILLS Checklist.pdfRead regularly with your child
When reading to children, read with CARE (Comment, Ask, Respond, Expand). Talk about characters, have your child make predictions, ask questions, recall previous parts and HAVE FUN with books!
Here are some questions to ask your child:
BEFORE READING:
Why did you pick this book?
What do you think the book is going to be about?
Does this book remind you of anything else you’ve already read or seen?
DURING THE STORY:
What do you think is going to happen?
What do you see happening on this page?
How do you think he/she/they are feeling?
AFTER THE STORY:
What was your favorite part of the book? Why?
What was the most interesting thing you learned from the book?
Would you have ended the book differently? Did it end the way you thought it would?
If you could change one thing in the book, what would it be?
Reading With Preschoolers.pdfIndependence & Responsibility
It can be challenging and very time consuming as a teacher with 15-20 students in class to individually help each child throughout the day. Please help by working with your child at home to make sure they are able to do the following COMPLETELY ON THEIR OWN:
Use the bathroom and properly wash hands
Use tissues to blow their own nose
Get dressed- buttoning, snapping, zipping, belts, tying shoes
Hanging things up (loops/hoods) and packing a backpack
Put on winter gear-boots, snow pants, coat zippered, hat, gloves/mittens (PLEASE LABEL ALL GEAR WITH NAME/INITIALS)
Keep track of personal items and put them away
Social Skills
How to take turns and share toys
How to appropriately verbalize and express feelings
Establish personal space and boundaries
Fine Motor Skills
Strengthening the muscles in fingers and hands help to make better writers. Here are some activities to try:
Play-dough- hide small toys inside and let your child pull them out
Clothespin games and activities
Stringing beads/pasta/buttons onto yarn, pipe cleaners, spaghetti...
Activities using tweezers or tongs
Legos
Hole punches
Scissors (with supervision!!) have your child cut as many little pieces of paper as possible into a box or container
Eye droppers
Academic
Recognize and write own name
Use glue and scissors to cut straight, curved and zigzag lines
Recognize and name upper and lowercase letters
Letter sounds
Difference between letters, numbers words and sentences
Identify, name & write numerals to 10
Counting objects as high as s/he can
Basic colors, shapes and positional words (in, out, between, beside…)
Talk about more, less, same, smaller, larger, longer, shorter, etc.