Sadly, the summer days are slowly coming to an end. School bells can faintly be heard in the distance. Back to school shopping is right around the corner, and our little ones will be off to the races once again. For those entering preschool there are some potential challenges they will face, especially if they are not used to the structure of a classroom setting.
Preschool is something I like because it gives our kids a “dress rehearsal†for the upcoming school career our children face. I personally never went to a real preschool, but, for a lack of better terms, I was home-preschooled by my grandmother. I still recall a lot of our lessons and think they can help all parents to get their children ready for school.
There are a couple of things we can do to mimic what my grandma did to help prepare our kids for preschool and even grade school. We can help set the tone for them, build a little structure into their day, and even teach them a few things.
First to set the tone, grandma was a retired teacher and had the patient yet firm demeanor that children need to learn. We need to help our children know that they will be part of a collective whole and will not be able to be the center of attention that they may be at home. We need to keep this “tone†in mind as we are building a little structure for them. For our daughter, we knew this would be tough for her because she never did daycare and always had one-on-one care.
For her, we already were doing activities with her each day, but decided to standardize it a bit. We did this by setting up a schedule. First thing in the morning we would play some motor skill games. She would do puzzles, Play Doh, etc. After that, we would read a story together and then practice communication skills like writing letters or drawing pictures. This would go on for a week and then slowly do more while keeping it fun. If you already know what preschool they will attend, you can ask them what their schedule looks like and try to mirror it a bit. The main thing would be to synchronize snack and nap time. We all know a tired or hungry kid is not a happy one.
Lastly, as you are building this structure and spending this time doing projects with your child, you will see they are very receptive to learning and actually are excited to be “playing school.†Take advantage of this and work on their drawing of shapes or even how to write their names.
If we spend a little time this summer, we can prepare our children for the upcoming school year and get them into the right mindset for learning.