Preschool Readiness: It’s Not What the Internet Says, and What to Do Instead
“How can I get my child ready for kindergarten? “
“Should I be doing flashcards with my two-year-old? “
“My three-year-old and I end up fighting when I try to get her to do worksheets!“
These are just some of the questions parents typically ask me.
Many parents are worried about preschool readiness. As young as when their kids are two years old (or even earlier!), they feel pressured to do worksheet drills or enroll in special classes. They may already worry about whether their kids will be able to keep up with other kids in preschool.
I’ve always talked about preschool readiness from the viewpoint of a developmental pediatrician. But in the end, it’s the teachers who are there with the kids in the classroom.
That’s why this time, I’m happy to be talking about preschool readiness along with Elizabeth Manly. She’s a licensed teacher with years of experience teaching kindergarten and the early primary years. She’s also a mom of two and the founder of Discovery Play with Littles.
What is Preschool Readiness?
When people think about school readiness, they often think about the child learning the alphabet, numbers, shapes and colors. But that’s not what school readiness is.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there are three aspects of school readiness: readiness of the child, school’s readiness for children, and family and community support.
Readiness of the child
Readiness of the child isn’t about making young kids sit and answer worksheets or do flashcard drills so they will be ready for preschool. In fact, these may end up destroying the enthusiasm and curiosity that your child already has!
Instead, it means means good health and movement skills. Building their social and emotional development. Being enthusiastic and curious about learning. They also need good language, communication, and thinking skills.
For more tips on developing these skills, continue reading! In the meantime, here are the other two aspects of school readiness.
Preschool readiness is all about the love of learning in your child and getting them interested in books and exploration. In this way, you’re setting them up for success. And that’s why it’s so important to introduce skills at age-appropriate times. If you try to push your child too early, they may feel stressed and frustrated, which could turn them off from learning altogether.
Kids learn best when they are interested in something and when they love it. So, if you want to prepare your child for preschool, focus on fostering a love of learning. Read to them, take them on explorations, and encourage their natural curiosity. By doing so, you’ll set them up for success not just in preschool, but throughout their lives.
The school’s readiness for the child
School readiness is not just about the child! It’s also about the school.
Parents need to be involved, and there should be a smooth transition between home and school. The school must understand that children learn through play and natural experiences. They need to be able to teach children a rate that challenges, but does not overwhelm.
Family and community support
The third aspect is support for the family, and support from the community.
The American Academy of Pediatrics also emphasizes that even if a child is in school, there must be support in place so that parents are still involved in their child’s learning even if their kids are involved in school.
Why Preschool Readiness is Challenging
School today is so much more complicated than it was decades ago!
Recently, a friend of mine shared a math problem that was given to her second grader. It went something like this:
Two friends bought apples and oranges, one friend bought 3 apples and 2 oranges and spent $22, while the other bought 2 apples and 4 oranges and spent $28. How much is one apple and how much is one orange?
Now, I remember solving problems like this when I was in seventh grade. Developmentally, this is not an appropriate math problem for a second grader!
But that’s what classrooms are like today. Kids are expected to do more and more at earlier and earlier ages.
This “inflation” of skills and knowledge needed for the early primary years also has a ripple effect on preschool. Instead of being all about play, and learning language and social skills, like what preschool should be, kindergarten now becomes more and more academic – and it’s taking its toll on kids, parents, teachers, and school administrators too!
4 Strategies for Successful Preschool Readiness
Many parents think that preparing kids for preschool involves doing worksheets, or preparing complicated activities with lots of steps and materials. Myths like these are making preschool readiness even more stressful for parents!
Instead, find some calm – and free up hours of your time – with these 3 tips for preschool readiness.
Strategy #1 – Use activities that are part of your child’s daily routine.
Learning doesn’t just happen when we follow a structured “lesson plan” or set aside time to “do activities.” In fact, the best kind of learning happens when it’s woven throughout the daily routine.
Kids are learning all the time, whether or not we’re aware of it. Meal time, bath time, throwing out the trash time, stuck in traffic time, even arguing with the siblings time and eavesdropping on mom and grandma time – kids are always learning.
To be able to retain information in long term memory, it needs to be encoded into a part of the brain called the hippocampus.
More than doing repeated drills by rote, it’s actually meaningful experiences that will embed the learning into long term memory.
This is good news for us as parents! This means we don’t need to be constantly searching for activity guides and prepare activities.
That’s why I love what Elizabeth Manly says about this:
“You can fully prepare your child for kindergarten through small tweaks to your daily routine. Let’s make activities you are already doing like cooking dinner, and giving baths so fun your child won’t even know they are learning. …
We emphasize making activities that are already part of your daily routine more engaging and interactive. By doing this, your child won’t even know they’re learning!”
Elizabeth Manly, licensed teacher, mom and founder of Discovery Play with Littles
Strategy #2 – Let your child play!
While it’s important for children to have a strong academic foundation, it’s also crucial for them to develop social skills, creativity, problem-solving skills, and a love of learning.
Research has shown that learning through play helps children develop all of these skills. Children learn best when they are engaged in activities that are fun, interesting, and meaningful to them.
That’s why kids need imaginative play and free play. These activities help children develop language skills, social skills, and problem-solving skills as they work with their peers to explore, experiment, and create.
The benefits of learning through play extend beyond the classroom. Children who engage in imaginative play are better able to regulate their emotions, control their impulses, and develop empathy for others. They also learn to work collaboratively, communicate effectively, and think critically. These skills are essential for success in school, work, and life.
As parents, we can support our children’s learning by providing opportunities for play-based activities at home. Instead of relying on screens and apps to keep children occupied, we can encourage them to play outside, build with blocks, make art, and engage in imaginative play. We can also read to them, ask open-ended questions, and encourage them to explore their interests.
Teacher Elizabeth shared that she prepares her two-year-old for learning in a fun and engaging way. For example, she plays with foam letters during bath time, counts stairs as they climb, and listens to a music CD that teaches letters, numbers, colors, and shapes. She does all these things not because she is drilling her child, but because it’s fun and exposes him to these concepts in a natural way.
Also, we need to take note of the type of learning materials we use with preschool children. For instance, Teacher Elizabeth uses an audio CD instead of an app or a game. This is an important point because apps and games can be overstimulating for young children and may not provide the same level of engagement and learning as traditional, low-tech materials like books, songs, and toys.
Strategy #3 – Go beyond academic skills.
We need to appreciate and build on a child’s skills in all domains. This includes movement, language, cognitive and social skills. For more tips on developing these, read on to the end of the article.
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Strategy #4 – Make it fun!
We often think we need to choose between fun or learning, but that’s not the case! Kids learn best when they are interested and when they love learning.
For our kids to enjoy learning, we need to introduce skills at age-appropriate times. For example, if we push tracing or writing letters of the alphabet before a child’s hand skills are ready, it’s ingrained into our kids’ brains that learning is a chore to be avoided.
They may even learn that no matter how hard they try, they’ll always fail to meet the expectations of adults around them – until they stop trying altogether. When this happens, it will make the rest of a child’s life in school harder for everyone!
We’ll have more resources coming on age-appropriate learning, so stay tuned! In the meantime, get our FREE guide, “Prepare Your Child for Reading.” This will get your child started with reading in a way that’s fun and that respects where they are developmentally.
The Importance of Social and Emotional Skills in Preschool Readiness
It’s easy to become fixated on drilling your child on academics, such as letters and numbers, and neglect the importance of social and emotional skills.
Kindness and Friendship
It’s crucial to have conversations with your child about kindness and friendship. Without these skills, children may struggle to form relationships, leading to difficulties in fitting in and focusing on academics. It’s important to help your child develop a solid foundation of relationships and friendships, which will benefit them as they progress through their education.
The Value of Play
Play is a critical component in developing social and emotional skills in children. Kids need to learn imaginative and creative play to strengthen their imagination and creativity. Directing a child’s playtime may take away opportunities for them to figure things out and develop important skills. Parents should encourage playtime without necessarily dictating how the child should play.
Attitude and Perspective are Key
It’s easy to get caught up in teaching a child knowledge, but it’s important to focus on teaching positive attitudes and perspectives. This is because a child’s foundation is critical in determining how their brain reacts to different situations, and how they see the world. For instance, children who come into preschool being kind, knowing how to get along with others, and loving learning will be at an advantage because they’ve already learned these crucial social and emotional skills.
While the first three years of a child’s life are important in developing social and emotional skills, it’s never too late to start teaching them. Parents shouldn’t feel shame or worry that they’ve messed up their child forever because they didn’t do certain things in the first three years. These skills can still be taught to children of any age, and it’s important to remember that it’s never too late to start teaching them.
What are the skills your child needs to develop to prepare them for kindergarten?
1. Perseverance
Perseverance is a critical skill that children need to develop before starting kindergarten. Kids need to learn that not everything comes naturally and that it’s okay to make mistakes. Parents can teach their children to take deep breaths, control their thinking, and try again. Learning to handle difficult situations with a positive attitude is a valuable life skill that will benefit kids throughout their lives.
2. Friendship
Friendship is another essential skill that kids need to learn before starting kindergarten. Children need to be able to build strong relationships with their peers. Parents can teach their children to be kind and respectful to others, which will help them make friends and get along with their classmates.
3. Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills are crucial for children to develop before starting kindergarten. With the rise of technology, kids are spending less time playing with Play-Doh, digging in the dirt, and manipulating small objects. These activities are essential for developing finger strength and improving pencil grip. Parents can encourage their children to use tweezers, color, and play with Play-Doh to improve their fine motor skills.
4. Responsibility
Responsibility is another critical skill that kids need to learn before starting kindergarten. Parents can teach their children to take care of their personal items, such as putting their dirty socks in the hamper, clearing their own plates at the dinner table, and putting their coats on and off. These small tasks help children develop a sense of responsibility and independence.
5. Academic Skills
Academic skills are important, but they should not be the primary focus before starting kindergarten. Parents can integrate some academic skills into their daily activities, such as reading books before bedtime, counting stairs when going up them, and playing games to recognize letters and numbers. By incorporating these skills into their daily routine, children will develop a love for learning and be better prepared for kindergarten.
Conclusion
Preschool readiness can be challenging for parents, and many find themselves feeling overwhelmed by the process. While academic skills are important, it is equally important for children to develop social skills, creativity, problem-solving skills, and a love of learning. Learning through play provides a rich and engaging environment for children to develop social, emotional, and cognitive skills. By focusing on fostering a love of learning and maintaining a balance of fun and learning, parents can help set their children up for success not just in preschool, but throughout their lives.
Elizabeth Manly is a mom and a licensed teacher who’s had years of experience teaching preschool to second grade. She’s the founder of Discovery Play with Littles.
Next Steps
If you’re reading this and your child is age 3 or younger, check out our course Learning Through Play. This course guides you through building the skills your child needs, in a way that’s fun and stress-free. You’ll save hours of time and get a science-backed plan for your child’s holistic development.
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