Getting your homeschooler ready for kindergarten

Kindergarten is a foundational year for young parents, as their little ones acquire the formative skills they will build on for a lifetime (while parents learn the importance of healthy home habits and promoting independence). Here are a few handy tools and tricks to help kindergartners get ready for their learning years and homeschooling.

  1. Arm the little one with soft skills

Ease your child’s entry to education by helping them develop essential "soft skills” such self-regulation. For instance, learning how to avoid distractions and finishing what they start. Also, make sure you encourage questions, nurture curiosity, support critical thinking, and model being a learner yourself.

  1. Nurture responsibility

Time-management motivates children and helps them in developing organization, responsibility, and independence. There are numerous online and board games that teach children about time management. Research about them over the internet.

  1. Develop healthy habits

Remember, your little one will learn a lot more from you than from their kindergarten curriculum you use to homeschool them. By managing television and nurturing a love for reading, this is the time when you can set boundaries around screen time.

  1. Boost skills by using learning tools

Fun teaching tools can help children refine and develop the essential skills they will need once you start homeschooling them. There are numerous techniques, games and other tools that can help kindergartners build reading and math skills before starting the year.

  1. Prepare for the upcoming homeschooling year

Take your little one to the store to buy supplies such as, notebooks, pencils, erasers, folders, and the like. Let them take active part in choosing what they like. This will get them excited about study time. You can also start teaching your little one how to hold a pencil. The kindergartener will need these fine motor skills to start working on writing the letters.

  1. Use educational tools

You can start using educational tools that are specifically designed to boost a child’s pre-K skills. Games and fun apps can offer extra boost and encourage hobbies and interests – without the child realizing that he/she is learning.

Reaching kindergarten is a big milestone for your child, and you can make sure the little one is prepared for it in so many ways. Instead of drilling your child in kindergarten math and ABCs, concentrate on their ability to cooperate and follow directions. This will make it easier for you to teach them routine and help them excel during their kindergarten year and homeschooling years to come.