Dr. Joyce Willard Teal
The children have been back in school for almost two months. If you have a young child in your home who began his/her first year of formal schooling this year, one of the best things you will ever do is to ensure that the child does not become one of the next generation of hoodlums. is to set the right stage from the beginning.
Children are capable of acquiring extensive and diverse skills and information even before they start school. Along with cognitive school readiness skills, such as color recognition, counting, language, and literacy skills, it is also very important that pre-school age children develop social-emotional skills in order to be successful in school. These include interacting appropriately with other children and adults, self-control, sharing, taking turns, and responding appropriately in a range of social situations. The early years are, therefore, an ideal time for parents and caregivers to begin teaching children personal responsibility in age-appropriate ways. Started early in a child’s life, these things become more or less habitual.
Small tasks such as clearing a table (that was set with plasticware), cleaning up after play, helping to care for pets, helping to sort and carry laundry, and recycling and throwing away trash are all wonderful ways to introduce responsibility. Personal hygiene activities can also become “responsibilities” that your son learns to do himself, so that he begins to understand that he is responsible for helping to keep the home, school, and himself or herself clean. Responsibilities should be introduced gradually and carefully depending on your child’s maturity level and temperament.
Below are tips to help you and your child get ready:
- Buy new and exciting school supplies for your child.
- Explain to your child the differences between first grade and kindergarten.
- Before first grade, begin to teach your child some of the things he or she may learn during the new school year.
- If your child has any questions about first grade, make sure to answer them.
- Teach your child simple safety precautions!
- Spend time teaching your child to read.
- Summer activities like camp and Vacation Bible School can help your child learn more than just academics during the summer before first grade.
- If uniforms are required, buy several changes. If not, get your child a stylish, new wardrobe that is exciting to him.
- Make sure that your child knows his A,B, C’s, letter sounds, how to count up to 25, colors, and shapes.
- Read children’s books to your child at least 20 minutes every day.
- More than likely, your child will be learning words from the High Frequency and Dolch Word Lists. Give your child a head start by teaching him a few things before he reaches first grade.
Parents: There is much that you can do to prepare your child for success in first grade, which will set the tone for his formal schooling. Give what you do serious consideration.
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