Kindergarten Prep at Home
kindergartenprepathome.com
Easy, inexpensive ways to prepare your child for Kindergarten at home and in your community!
TALK
TALK to your children, A LOT!!!
By that I mean talk with, not at them. Research shows that talking in a meaningful way to children in the early childhood years nurtures early brain development and a foundation for language development. Both of these are crucial for a child’s readiness for Kindergarten! However, simply having a television on doesn’t work in the same way as conversing. The talking has to have some meaning and be in response to their “words”.
For example:
-At the grocery store you can count the items you place in your cart while showing them to your child. Identify the colors of vegetables, shapes, flavors, textures, sizes, etc. of the items you purchase.
-At home count the flatware while setting a table, count your steps on the stairs, identify the texture and colors of different materials, rugs, wool, walls, dog hair etc.
-Talk about feelings, when your child is sad or happy or scared. Or when you are! Being able to identify and respond to and predict feelings are important social skills children will need in school, and life.
-Have conversations, respond to what your child says, and wait for them to respond in turn. This is how children learn to interact with others!
-Talk about your schedule for the day, using words like “first”, “next”, “and then”, etc. This allows kids to learn to talk about activities in their day and to feel like they have some control over what happens next. We know there is security in routine!
-Make predictions, what will happen next?
-Be sure to use pronouns, for example us the word “I” instead of referring to yourself as “Mommy” or “Daddy”. For example, “Mommy needs you to eat now” is replaced by “I need you to eat now”. “Give Mommy the toy please”, is replaced with “Give me the toy please.”
Children will have trouble with much of the English language. Despite the fact that there are rules of grammar, there are many exceptions. For example, a child might say that he “waked” up, rather than “woke” up. This appears to be the correct use of the past tense of the word, but there’s an exception to the rule and it’s a different word all together. Very confusing for little ones! But with practice and repetition they will learn these exceptions and begin to use them in conversation.
READ
READ to your children, A LOT!!!
-While reading to your child be sure to use your finger to point to the words on the page, moving, usually, from left to right.
-Ask questions, “What will happen next?” and “How do you think the character feels”.
-Some books, like Dr. Seuss, have fun with the sounds of words with rhyming. Think of other words that rhyme.
-Children love to hear the same story many times.
-Tell cooperative stories, one person begins then others take turns telling parts of the story.
-Choose stories about things that you know your child enjoys, for instance trucks, food, animals, etc.
-Before bed is an excellent time to put aside for reading with your child, but be sure there’s nothing scary in the stories!
-Your community Library has many resources that will enhance your reading experiences with your children! Get a library card!
Some children find it difficult to sit still while being read to, but many are listening carefully while busy moving around the room. Try to keep the experience positive!
Some of Our Favorite Books for Preschoolers
- The Berenstain Bears (series) by Stan and Jan Berenstain
- The Mitten by Jan Brett
- Clifford by Norman Bridwell
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
- Today is Monday by Eric Carle
- Driving my Tractor by Jan Dobbins and David Sim
- Go, Dog. Go. By P.D. Eastman
- How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham
- Only One You by Linda Kranz
- Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr.
- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura J Numeroff
- All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon
- The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
- A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip Stead
- A Home for Bird by Philip Stead
- The Napping House by Audrey Wood
- Big Al by Andrew Clements Yoshi
- Blue Penguin by Petr Horacek
- Stone Soup by Marcia Brown
- Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury
- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
- Brown Bear Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle
- Arthur (series) by Marc Brown
SING
Most children LOVE music!! The library has CDs available to borrow, appropriate for all age groups. There are also music DVDs! The radio is another good option, and Barney, on PBS always has great sing along songs.
-Create instruments out of pots and pans, spoons, plastic containers, dry beans, paper plates, whatever you have in your home.
PUZZLES
The library also has puzzles available for different age groups. Some are to be used at the library but others can be checked out and used at home.
-Make a drawing into a puzzle but cutting it into shapes that can be fit back together again. The child can practice cutting or, if that’s frustrating, the adult can cut the artwork for the child. Start with a couple of pieces and work your way up to more difficult puzzles.
GAMES
Playing games helps children with counting, matching, social skills, and many other skills they’ll need in Kindergarten.
-The card game Uno helps them recognize numbers, colors, things that match and are different, and how to take turns with others. If a child becomes frustrated it may be that the game is not a good fit for their age. Your children will let you know! There are many choices, and the box will let you know the approximate ages the game is geared toward.
-In the car play “I spy”. For example, you begin by chanting “I spy with my little eye, something green.” The child will guess which green thing you’re referring to, perhaps a car or tree, and then take a turn him or herself.
Some of Our Favorite Games for Preschoolers
- UNO
- The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game
- Hoot Owl Hoot
- Spot It! Preschool
- Frida’s Fruit Fiesta Game
- Shelby’s Snack Shack Game
- Monopoly Junior
- Sorry
- Chutes and Ladders
- Boggle Junior
MOVE
-Dance! Listen to a favorite radio station or other music source and have a dance party! Play freeze dance, someone stops the music and everyone needs to freeze in place like a statue.
-Do the Hokey Pokey!
-Set up an obstacle course at home with pillow, blankets, furniture, brooms etc. Have kids crawling, hopping, rolling, tossing soft objects and jumping in the course.
-Go to the playground, play freeze tag, mother may I, red light green light and catch with a ball or bean bag.
-Take nature walks, at home or at the park. Check out ARNWR, Drumlin Farm, Sudbury Valley Trustees, Ecotarium, Discovery Museums, F3, Tower Hill, and many other indoor and outdoor adventure spots. Many times you can get passes at the Library for these locations or look for specials on their websites.
-Follow up at home with stories about your adventures, draw pictures, act out the things you saw, and recall and tell the story of the day you’ve enjoyed.
-Use blocks and/or toy animals and other available materials so that kids can use their imaginations to recreate the things they’ve seen.
-Many places have scavenger hunts or other child centered activities available for visitors.
DRAW AND WRITE
-Have available as often as possible supplies, such as markers, crayons, paper, cardboard, glue and scissors.
-Cut up paper bags to use, removing the bottom section. Use tape to keep it flat on your work surface.
-Create a “book” by folding a few pieces of paper in half and stapling the fold.
-Have child draw pictures and dictate a story for you to write in their book!
-Write at an angle, perhaps on an easel. This helps the child develop the muscles in their hands that they’ll need for writing.
-Have a letter of the week! Identify, hunt for, draw and use to gain familiarity with the alphabet.
-Have a “mailbox” and have the child write letters to family members.
-Label furniture and other items in your home.
-Have child practice writing their name on their work.
-If space allows, play with paint and finger paint. Powdered tempera paint is a good value, you use only what’s needed. All you need are red, yellow and blue, mix these colors and see what other colors you can make! Use empty plastic containers to mix the paint. Old t-shirts make good smocks, paint may stain so use with care.
-Collect rocks and paint them.
-You can also use shaving cream on a tray to practice making letters and shapes with their fingers.
-Use child size scissors to have the child cut out items in catalogues, then a glue stick to make a collage.
WATER PLAY
Children LOVE to play in water, and it’s a wonderful way to learn about science and math.
-Use a sink, tub, shower or outdoor kids pools and plastic containers for water exploration.
-Find different items, which float? Which sink? Make a chart to keep track.
-Use measuring cups, spoons, bowls, and count out loud how many ½ cups measurements equal 1 cup of water.
-Add bubbles!
-Use baking soda and white vinegar for a cool science experiment. Slowly add white vinegar with a dropper, medicine dispenser or spoon to the baking soda and watch what happens.
COOK
Children love to help cook, and it’s a good time to talk about numbers, textures, and colors.
-Have the child count as you add ingredients to a recipe, or the number of times they stir the ingredients.
-This is also a good time to talk about healthy foods and special treats!
-The book Mudworks has wonderful recipes for safe clays to make with your children. Even dryer vent dust can make a good play clay!
-Make homemade play dough together, use plastic knives, forks, cookie cutters while you play. Create letters, numbers and shapes. Use toys like dinosaurs or cars for imaginative play with the clay.
-Make trail mix and have the child measure the ingredients into the container.
Play Dough
Materials
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
- Food coloring
- Saucepan
- 1 cup flour
Directions
- Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring in a saucepan and heat until warm.
- Remove from heat and add flour.
- Stir, then knead until smooth. The cream of tartar makes this dough last 6 months or longer, so resist the temptation to omit this ingredient if you don’t have it on hand.
Store this dough in an airtight container or a Ziploc freezer bag.
Gluten Free Play Dough
For children and adults with Celiac disease or other gluten intolerance.
Materials
- 1 cup white rice flour (Pamela’s brand all purpose flour works well)
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup salt
- 1 Tablespoon cream of Tartar
- 1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup hot water
- food coloring
Directions
- Mix dry ingredients
- Add oil and hot water while stirring on low heat for only 3 minutes.
- Add color and kneed on a surface covered with the flour, it will be sticky!
Makes about 2 cups
SOCIAL SKILLS
Manners and social skills are learned! They’re easier for some than for others, but important for everyone. Keep expectations reasonable and age appropriate, but practice frequently. Saying please, thank you, hello and making eye contact and sharing are all important skills children need in school, and life!
There are many great children’s books that address these issues, and lead to good discussions. For example:
Berenstain Bears series
Arthur on PBS
Barney on PBS
Try to limit screen time, but if you do watch shows, PBS has wonderful and educational children’s programming for a range of different interests.
Boredom is a wonderful motivator!! Have things available for your children to do and watch creativity and learning happen!
SELF-HELP SKILLS
One of the greatest gifts you can give to a child’s Kindergarten teacher is a student who is comfortable with self-help skills. The more time a teacher must devote to helping children open food containers, put on or take off shoes and outdoor clothing, or use the bathroom, the less time he or she can spend actually teaching children what they need to learn in Kindergarten. It takes a lot of patience and time, but you can have a child ready to perform these tasks independently before they start school.
– Hand washing is essential! Schools are full of germs, and so effective hand washing before snack, lunch, or after using the bathroom is a must. If you do this at home, and model the behavior yourself, it becomes automatic. Singing a song while scrubbing keeps children washing long enough to actually clean their hands.
-Using the bathroom independently takes time to learn. Getting on and off the toilet, cleaning, and putting clothing back on again is hard work for little ones. But practice and practice and they will eventually be able to perform this task themselves!
-Take extra time to get ready and allow your children to put on their own socks and shoes. Velcro closures are very helpful at this age. Have kids put on and take off their own rain boots and snow boots too.
-When the weather is cold or rainy children need to be able to put on their outdoor clothing. Many recesses are dramatically shortened due to the length of time taken to get every child dressed for outside!
-At lunch and snack time children need to be able to open and eat their food independently. Practice at home with the containers you’ll use for school.
-For some children, picture charts or schedules are helpful. Keep it age appropriate and not too overwhelming for your child. There are lots of examples of picture charts online, or you can make your own.
-Some children would like very much to participate in the choosing of clothing, food, etc. They feel more independent if allowed to make choices, and are often happy to complete a task if they have been trusted to be a part of the decision making process. A great strategy is to give them two acceptable options (for example, the blue socks or the white socks), and invite them to choose which one they prefer.
All of these tasks take time to learn. They aren’t easy for small children. Practicing and leaving extra time for learning these skills will make a child’s transition to Kindergarten much more successful!
MATH
Develop Math Skills Through Play
In Kindergarten, math is an important part of the school curriculum. By the time they finish their Kindergarten year, your child will have developed a variety of mathematical skills, such as recognizing and understanding shapes and numerals, comparing numbers, counting by 1s, 5s and 10s, using a calendar, and even adding and subtracting! Preparing them to learn these skills begins at home, and there are lots of fun ways to get your child thinking about mathematical concepts in their everyday life.
You can practice counting with your child as you drive in the car (“Let’s see how many STOP signs we see on the way to the post office!”), as you shop at the grocery store (“Please help me to put 6 apples in this bag”), and as you play at home (“I wonder if we can count how many blocks you used to build that tower?).
Sorting items into groups is fun for kids, and they can sort almost anything! Ask them to sort items by size, by shape, or by color, or have them order items from largest to smallest. Encourage them to talk to you about their thinking as they sort or order items. This helps them to develop their math vocabulary and become comfortable with explaining their mathematical thinking.
You can help your child to practice making comparisons between numbers. As you fold laundry together, ask them to decide if there are more white socks or more gray socks in the pile. As they eat a snack, ask them if they have more crackers or more apple slices on their plate. Using the words “more”, “less”/”fewer” and “the same” is important practice for kindergarten.
You can also use play as an opportunity to practice basic addition, by having your child put two small groups of items together and then count them to find out the sum.
Baking with your child is a wonderful way to learn basic concepts about measurement. As you cook or bake together, invite your child to help you measure a cup of sugar or a teaspoon of baking powder. Be sure to model your own mathematical thinking by talking with your child as you cook or bake. You can do this by reading recipes aloud and counting and adding together as you put together the ingredients.
Your child uses math everyday as they play, help you with chores, and explore their world. By encouraging them to think about mathematical concepts and use math vocabulary in their everyday life, you are helping them to develop the skills they will need in order to be happy and successful Kindergarten math students.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION FOR PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS
Brain Rules for Baby, How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five by John Medina is an outstanding book. Medina is a developmental molecular biologist and dad who writes about the best science and advice about parenting that is available for you and your child. Things you do now, from pregnancy through early childhood affect the rest of your child’s life. He gives very clear and simple methods you can use at home, for free, to put your child on a healthy path to learning and happiness.
For example:
- The primary concern of the child’s brain is survival. Learning will not happen if a child or person feels unsafe.
- Rather than praise your child for being smart, praise their effort.
- When a real live person talks to a baby, even in the earliest days, the child’s linguistic skills increase a lot. By the time that child enters school their reading, spelling and writing abilities are much better than those of children who’ve been raised in a less verbal environment.
- Children who engage in guided open-ended activities have been shown to be more creative, better at language, better at problem solving, less stressed, better at memory and more socially skilled. For ideas of how to encourage this type of play you can also go to the website that describes a Tools of the Mind classroom.
- Aerobic exercise increases a child’s executive function scores by 50-100%!!!
- Pressuring children to learn something before they’re ready is harmful.
- Children who learn to regulate emotions have better, deeper friendships than those that don’t.
- “When warm, accepting parents set clear and reasonable standards for their kids, then offer them praise for behaving well, children present strong evidence of a internalized moral construct, usually by age 4 or 5.” (p. 236)
- “Parents who provide clear, consistent boundaries whose reasons are always explained generally produce moral kids. “ (p 245)
All of these, and many other points are explained in easily understood language in the book. Though written by a scientist, the book is accessible to anyone interested in raising healthy, happy educated children!
Notes:
Contact us at kindergartenprepathome@gmail.com to let us know your thoughts, ideas, and anything else you’d like to share!
Kathy Wrean, Jenna Kyes, Mariel Wrean, Peter Lynch, Beth Lynch, and, in Northborough, Katrina Ireland at the Public Library.
Kindergarten Prep at Home 