3 Ways To Prepare Your Child For Kindergarten
Posted on: 15 February 2016
Even if your child attended preschool, preparing for kindergarten is necessary. Kindergarten comes with more learning opportunities and responsibility. If your little one is headed to kindergarten, here are some tips to help him or her be successful in kindergarten.
Get Your Child Involved in Music
Music is often used in classrooms to help with learning and there is a good reason for it. Research has shown that music can do more than just help your child learn to say his or her ABCs. For instance, music helps to improve your child's phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness refers to your child's ability to distinguish between different sounds in the oral language.
Phonemic awareness is a vital component of learning to read. By learning through music how to hear, identify, and manipulate words, your child can easier understand how to phonetically break down words so that he or she is better able to grasp the concepts of reading when it is introduced in kindergarten.
One study also found that children who were actively involved in music experienced an increase in IQ. Six-year-old participants in the study who received music lessons showed a three-point higher IQ than children in other groups who did not receive music lessons or went through a different arts program.
To use music to prepare your child for kindergarten, you can opt to enroll him or her in lessons, or you can incorporate it in everyday life. For instance, you can have music breaks throughout the day and listen to educational music while traveling.
Practice Getting Dressed
Helping your child with his or her clothes and shoes at home is not that big of a deal. However, in the classroom, your child's kindergarten teacher not only has your child, but many others to help. As a result, time that could be used learning can be lost in helping each child properly fasten his or her clothing and shoes.
Before sending your little one off to kindergarten, work with him or her on tying shoelaces and buttoning and zipping clothes. By ensuring your child knows how to do these things, you can help cut down on the time spent in the classroom on clothing and allow more time for learning.
Read With Your Child
In kindergarten, your child's teacher will stress the importance of reading through various activities, such as story time. You can help to reinforce what your child is learning and also encourage a love of reading by spending time at home reading together.
Make a point of reading at least one book with your child each day. While reading, encourage your child to point out things he or she notices in the books. You can also discuss how he or she felt about the book when finished and encourage your child to tell you what happened in the book.
By doing this, you not only encourage a love of books, but you also help your child's vocabulary and summation abilities. Both of these skills can be useful once your child starts kindergarten.
There are many other ways you can ensure your child's success in kindergarten. Talk to his or her teacher for further recommendations for your child. To learn more, contact a company like Triple R Child Care.
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