I'm guilty of it too.
With so much emphasis on preparing kids for kindergarten academically (do they know their letters, numbers, can they read Shakespeare?) it's easy to skip over the smaller but no less important skills they will need to succeed. The good news: it's not too late, and it's easy to practice these in fun ways!
With so much emphasis on preparing kids for kindergarten academically (do they know their letters, numbers, can they read Shakespeare?) it's easy to skip over the smaller but no less important skills they will need to succeed. The good news: it's not too late, and it's easy to practice these in fun ways!
Morning: Can your child take off their jacket and put it on again? Can they fix inside-out sleeves, if necessary? For the inside-out thing, we tell Kay to punch her hand into her jacket, grab on to the inside, and pull. Viola - sleeve is fixed.
Lunch time: Can she open her lunch box, juice box and food containers she'll be using? Kay had a great time practicing this one - by playing school. I started out on a whim, just to see how much she could do on her own. I set up a lunch, put it on a shelf, and asked her to get her lunch from her "cubby." It snowballed from there, and at least once a week she still asks to "play cafeteria" for lunch. (But she's got the food containers mastered by now!)
Lunch time: Can she open her lunch box, juice box and food containers she'll be using? Kay had a great time practicing this one - by playing school. I started out on a whim, just to see how much she could do on her own. I set up a lunch, put it on a shelf, and asked her to get her lunch from her "cubby." It snowballed from there, and at least once a week she still asks to "play cafeteria" for lunch. (But she's got the food containers mastered by now!)
End of the day: Can he zipper his backpack? Put papers in a folder? While he may be an old pro at un-zippering his coat, a backpack is a little different and might need some extra practice. If you don't already, carry a backpack with a few things inside for car trips or waiting areas. Pack a picnic for the park (or backyard) in a backpack that they can unpack at lunch time.
I hope you've enjoyed our Getting Ready for Kindergarten series - because I've had a blast putting it together!
With these skills, and all the others you've been teaching for the last 5 years (even when you didn't know they were paying attention!), they'll be on their way to kindergarten success in no time!
Photo credits: Title image by Robert S. Donovan by Robert S. Donovan
and "waiting for the bus" image byclappstar,
both released under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.
and "waiting for the bus" image byclappstar,
both released under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.
