How to prepare your child for preschool Plan more social activities Give him a sense of what to expect Come up with a good-bye ritual Read to your child every day Practice listening skills Nurture the artist in residence Adjusting to preschool can be tough for any child, even one whos been in daycare for a while. You can help ease your childs transition to preschool with these ideas and activities. The important thing is to keep any preparation time fun. At this age, learning should not be a chore. You dont want your child to feel like every activity is a lesson or every outing an educational field trip. These ideas, from preschool teachers and the U.S. Department of Educations Learning Partners program, will help prepare your child to listen, follow directions, and get along in a group — three important goals of any preschool program. Plan more social activities All preschool children have to get along with other kids. If your child hasnt spent much time in a group with other children, then activities such as sharing, taking turns, and playing cooperatively can be very difficult. Help your child get used to being part of a group by arranging playdates with one or two peers or enrolling him in a music or tumbling class. Give him a sense of what to expect Its the rare child who isnt at least a little anxious about starting preschool. Resist the temptation to say things like Itll be the most fun youve ever had, or Theres nothing to be afraid of, and never belittle your childs fears or concerns. Instead, help calm his fears with information. Talk to him about what to expect when he gets to school — where hell be going, what hell be doing, and who will be in class with him. Before school begins, visit the classroom together at least once, preferably when other children and his future teacher(s) are there. You can also read stories about starting school. Some good ones to try are Going to School, by Anne Civardi and Stephen Cartwright, Preschool Day Hooray! By Linda Leopold Strauss, and Maisy Goes to Preschool by Lucy Cousins. Cont.. tomorrow
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 02:10:02 +0000