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Preparing for Kindergarten (Parent Guide)    

Children are unique individuals and move through developmental stages at their own rates.  We must be careful however, not to expect all children to move at the same pace as others.  Young children are naturally curious.  They learn by experiencing, moving, and using their senses.  Parental involvement in a child's learning is so important.  The following suggestions are activities that you can use to encourage your child's learning.
Literacy Activities:

Read to your child often.  Let your child choose a story and you choose one that you enjoy also.

Help your child "read" signs in the community, e.g., fast food restaurants, grocery stores, road signs, and labels on food cartons.

Talk with your child.  Children learn about the world through language.  Talk about things you are going to do before you do it and, afterward, talk about what you did.

Tell stories about favorite events and activities.  Help your child create mental images about these activities by  drawing pictures about them.

Take photographs of a family outing and together arrange them in order in a scrapbook.  Write a short caption about what is happening in the photos.

Help  your child recognize his or her own name.  Write family names on index cards or any paper and play games guessing names.

Let your child help you write and read your grocery store list.  Show your child what you are reading and what your choices are.

Cut letters from the newspaper, magazines, catalogs, or boxes to help your child make words.

Math Activities

Find numbers on signs and billboards while traveling.  Ask your child to identify the numbers.

Place five objects on a table.  Remove one while your child is not watching.  Ask your child to tell you what is missing and how many are left.

Have your child help you set the table for a meal (one-to-one correspondence).

Create a clapping and snapping pattern with your child.  Ask him or her what comes next.

Fill five glasses with different levels of water.  Ask your child to arrange the glasses from least amount to the greatest amount.

Practice reading numbers and dialing phone numbers of family members and friends.

Ask your child to close his or her eyes.  Place objects one at a time in your child's hand and ask him/her to describe the object by texture, weight, size, and shape.

Help your child place family photos in order from birth to present.

Collect a box of shoes and then sort them by men's and women's, by color, or by lace-ups and Velcro.

Have your child draw pictures that represent the numbers from 1-10.