My niece Payton from my nice Alex and my nephew Jason David Michal’s son was old enough to attend Kindergarten this year. Only they wasn’t accepted because even though there Birthday fell in the right time of year. There parents fiancés kept them from being accepted. So to help them prepare Charlie for school next year I put together some tips for my sister and I thought you might like to look at the tips and share them with anyone you know facing the same problems.
Name, Phone Number, Address
As a safety precaution, your child NEEDS to know their name as well as your name. They also should be aware of their phone number and home address in case of an emergency. These are essential skills for daily life. I remember when I was in Kindergarten our teacher made use a phone and had our phone number written on it and we would practice punching the number out until we learned the number and could say it without using the phone. For my niece and nephew I think I will make the a cell phone they can use.
Write Their Name
This week we will be learning to spell there names and to write there names out. To do this I purchased a notebook for both Payton, Lily and Jason this morning and I wrote there names on each page so they could practice writing out both there first and last names. Introduce him/her to the strokes of each letter.
Pencil Grip
As you teach your child to write their name, model the correct way to hold a pencil. For me to teach them this will be hard as I am left handed and they are right handed. So my sister and niece will have to teach them how to hold there pencils. If your child holds a pencil in a funky way, don’t sweat it. It’s easier to correct poor pencil grip early on then later in their school years. If modeling still doesn’t help, grab some of these pencil grips to add onto your pencils. Charlie still holds his pencil in a funky way and I work with him each day to correct it and I see adults doing this we well. But if you start teaching your children when they are younger they will learn the correct way to hold there pencil.
Handwriting
Your child’s teacher won’t expect their handwriting to be perfect, but if they’re going to grade their work, it must be legible. Toe help Lily and Jason with this I will be researching the proper strokes for each capital and lower case letter, online so I can make sure they are taught the correct way. have your child practice with you at home.
Tying Shoes
It’s not super important for your child to have mastered tying shoes before school starts but it’s definitely something that should be introduced. Imagine your child’s classroom with 20+ children needing to have their shoes tied by the ONE teacher in the room. Instructional time is taken away each day from your child’s learning because the teacher has to tie their shoes multiple times a day. You should be able to find a pattern like a shoe that will allow the kids to practice tying there shoes. Or you can get a old shoe for them to practice with. Also there are tips you can use like
Bunny Poem
Bunny ears, Bunny ears, playing by a tree.
Criss-crossed the tree, trying to catch me.
Bunny ears, Bunny ears, jumped into the hole,
Popped out the other side beautiful and bold.
Shoes and Jackets
It’s also important for your child to know how to put their shoes on all by themselves as well. They need to be able to see which shoe goes on which foot based on the curve in the shoe. If they wear Velcro shoes, they need to be able to undo and redo the Velcro. For Charlie I didn’t let him wear shoes with Velcro until he had mastered tying his own shoes.
Jackets can also be tricky for children in the classroom. Teach them how to put their jackets on and take them off with ease. Have them practice at home and show them what to do if a sleep gets caught inside the jacket. I sewed Charlie’s mittens inside his jacket and we practiced getting his coat on and off with the mittens and putting them on right as well.
Zippers and Buttons
This can be the most challenging parts of children’s clothing, especially at bathroom time. In Kindergarten, bathroom breaks are usually whole group, in the hallway, with all 20+ children. Do your child a favor and have them master buttoning and unbuttoning their pants as well as teaching them how to zip their pants up and down before the school year begins. There are dolls that teach children how to do these things and I purchased one for Charlie and it was the best money I ever invested on a toy.
Cutting and Gluing Skills
“Just a dot, not a lot” is a song that I find myself singing throughout the school year. It’s essential to teach our little learners to use just the right amount of glue. Otherwise there work sticks to their neighbors or their fingers, creating a sticky mess!
Cutting is also a vital life skill that your child will need to know. Kindergarteners don’t know how to hold a pair of scissors at home, show your child how to properly hold scissors and give them papers to cut. Simply draw various lines on a paper (wavy, straight, zig-zag) and have your children practice cutting the papers out on the lines you created.
Folding Paper
I taught Charlie how to fold papers so we could use them in crafts and I showed him how to make sure the paper was always folded evenly because most of the time that is what they need to do for the projects they are creating.
Backpacks
Charlie used a backpack from the time he was 2 so he knew how to take them on and off and to hang it up on a peg. But if your children haven’t used a Backpack show them how to put on and take it off before school begins. It’s also important that your child knows how to unzip their backpack and take out their belongings for the day. This may be their take home folder, jacket, lunch box etc. If you put any money or notes in their take home folder, your child needs to be able to open their folder and hand the notes to their teacher.
Coloring in the Lines
Before Kindergarten, most children are great at putting the marker to paper and adding color to their pictures; however, they usually aren’t able to stay within the lines. Head over to your local dollar store and pick up a cheap coloring book and practice with your children on coloring and staying in line.
Waiting Turns
At school, they will need to learn to wait their turn in several different scenarios. Practice sharing and waiting throughout the community. If your child realizes that everyone has to wait every once in awhile, it’ll become an easier transition for them when they enter the classroom.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
