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Free Local Activities...
Did you know you can get FREE Museum Passes (for up to 4 people) from the Lancaster County Public Libraries? You will need a library card to check out the passes. The following museums are included (check the location nearest you for availability)...
WITF holds FREE events with various PBS characters (Clifford, Curious George, Daniel Tiger, Arthur, etc.) to promote learning and family togetherness. The events are called Ready, Set, Explore and are held at various locations (Ephrata Library, Turkey Hill Experience, The North Museum, York County Heritage Trust Museum, etc.). Check out their website to find out more information and/or to register for an event...
http://www.witf.org/ready-set-explore/
Fine Motor Coordination
Children need to have strength and dexterity in their hands and fingers before being asked to manipulate a pencil or paper. The following activities involve the use of manipulatives which will help build strength and dexterity for future writing skills.
Pick up small objects such as coins, beans, marbles, seeds, buttons, nuts and bolts. Sort them into containers of different sizes.
Use clothespins to pick up objects. Only use your pincher fingers to open and close the clothespin.
Fine-Motor-Development-Activities-Chart.pdfFineMotorActivities.pdfThanksgivingCuttingActivitySetFineMotorSkillsDevelopment.pdfHave Fun with the Alphabet!
Alphabetic knowledge and phonemic awareness are two of the strongest predictors of reading success for young children. It is essential that your child become proficient with the letters of the alphabet as well as the sounds that each of the letters makes. Below is a collection of activities that you can do with your child to help him/her learn the alphabet:
Create an alphabet collage! Cut 3 B's (or any letter) out of a newspaper or a magazine and glue them on a large piece of construction paper. Then find 3 of another letter another day. See if you can cut out and do the whole alphabet.
Give your child a highlighter and a magazine or newspaper. Have them look for a focus letter and highlight them as they find them.
Say the alphabet clapping every second letter instead of saying it.
Say the Alphabet Chant. Use an ABC chart and have your child say the letter, the picture name, and the sound for the letter (ex. A, apple, /a/.
Sing the alphabet song. Stop occasionally and have your child continue where you left off.
While driving try to locate each letter of the alphabet on road signs and billboards.
Use index cards to make a set of alphabet cards. Make one for the lowercase letter and one for the uppercase letters. Play a matching game to pair the lowercase letter with it's uppercase letter. The person who gets a match must say the sound of the letter in order to keep the pair. (Instead of saying the sound for the letter the person could say a word that begins with the sound of the letter.)
Ready or Not?
If only we could look into a crystal ball and see a year from now, parenting would be so much easier. When faced with the decision of whether to send your child to kindergarten or wait a year, parents often ask my opinion. I have spoken about this issue so often, I thought it was time to put my thoughts into words.
I consider myself a "developmentalist." I like to look at the developmental readiness of the children entering kindergarten. A child who is developmentally ready has acquired the broad range of social skills, cognitive skills, pre-academic skills, independent skills, language skills, motor skills, and problem-solving skills needed to be an effective kindergarten learner.
When I look at a child's readiness for kindergarten, I am interested in the following characteristics: group participation, independence (the ability to separate), and initiative. Group participation includes sharing, cooperation, waiting for turns, transitions, following two-step or multi-step directions, working on an assigned task for ten to twenty minutes, and accepting feedback. Independence includes handling separation from parents, keeping track of one's own possessions, following routines without guidance, getting home from the bus stop, and knowing how to get help if they are lost (address, phone number, etc.). Initiative includes self-direction in problem-solving and asking questions, willingness to try new challenges, and a sense of curiosity.
While the above criteria help some, many people would like a more specified skill checklist. Recently I Googled Kindergarten Readiness and I found 293,000 entries! I copied some below as they seem to target some of the skills that I feel are important.
Pay attention for short periods of time following adult-directed tasks
Listen to stories without interrupting
Understand actions have both causes and effects
Show understanding of general times of day
Cut with scissors
Form basic shapes
Share with others
Be able to follow rules
Be able to recognize authority
Manage personal needs (bathroom, buttons, zippers, etc.)
Show self-control
Separate from parents without being upset
Speak understandably
Talk in complete sentences
Look at pictures and then tell a story
Recognize rhyming sounds
Identify the beginning sound of some words
Identify alphabet letters in random order
Recognize some common words like "stop"
Sort similar objects by color, size, and shape
Recognize groups of one, two, three, four, and five objects
Count to 20
Bounce a ball
Hop, skip, and jump
Working on learning to tie shoelaces
It is important to remember that young children change so fast - if they can't do something this week, they may be able to do it a few weeks later. Many things that you see your child having difficulty with in January of preschool may take root in March. The decision to send your child to school or keep them at home a little longer is yours and has to be one that you intuitively feel good about. Ultimately, is what you are doing going to help their progress or hold them back? I hope this helps!
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