Preparing your daughter for school
Let’s face it: School isn’t what it used to be. The following suggestions are intended to help prepare your child in an assortment of developmental areas to make the transition into School as smooth as possible. Believe it or not, just 15-20 minutes of playing and learning with your child makes a world of difference!
Social/Emotional Development
Encourage your child to persist in tasks when encountering a problem by giving her tasks slightly above her current ability level. When your child cannot find a solution on her own, encourage her to calmly ask for help.
Play board games to practice taking turns.
Set up several play dates with friends of various ages.
Allow your child to stay with other trusted adults for a few hours at a time prior to School (especially if she has rarely been in the care of someone other than mam and dad).
Language Development
Verbally give your child specific one-step and two-step directions and encourage her to follow through.
Read to your child for a combined total of at least 20 minutes each day.
While reading, point out how to hold a book (right-side up with the spine on the left) and the orientation in which we read the words and look at the pictures (left to right).
After reading, ask your child what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
Cognitive Development
Have your child help you sort items according to colour, size, and shape (laundry, blocks, silverware, toys, and other household items work well).
Teach your child to make various patterns (red, blue, red, blue).
Practice counting aloud to 10 while on the bus or driving in the car.
Count objects in your home. Have your child point to each object as she counts.
Go on a shape hunt. Point out circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles to your child while you are taking or walk or grocery shopping.
Talk about positional and directional concepts like up/down, over/under, in/out, behind/in front of, top/bottom, beside/between, off/on, stop/go.
Talk about opposite words (big/little, empty/full, slow/fast).
Physical Development (Gross & Fine Motor)
Give your child plenty of opportunities for outdoor play: running, jumping, and climbing.
Play catch on a regular basis.
Practice skipping.
Stack blocks together.
Play with play dough regularly. Roll, squish, stamp, and even cut it! Encourage your child to cut out various shapes using child-safe scissors. String large beads to make a necklace.
Play with an interlocking puzzle together.
Creative Arts
Always encourage pretend play.…. occasionally join your child in her fantasy world.
Teach your child to recognize the following colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, brown, and pink.
Give your child plenty of opportunities to draw.
Ask her to draw the things she sees around her.
Social/Emotional Development
Encourage your child to persist in tasks when encountering a problem by giving her tasks slightly above her current ability level. When your child cannot find a solution on her own, encourage her to calmly ask for help.
Play board games to practice taking turns.
Set up several play dates with friends of various ages.
Allow your child to stay with other trusted adults for a few hours at a time prior to School (especially if she has rarely been in the care of someone other than mam and dad).
Language Development
Verbally give your child specific one-step and two-step directions and encourage her to follow through.
Read to your child for a combined total of at least 20 minutes each day.
While reading, point out how to hold a book (right-side up with the spine on the left) and the orientation in which we read the words and look at the pictures (left to right).
After reading, ask your child what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.
Cognitive Development
Have your child help you sort items according to colour, size, and shape (laundry, blocks, silverware, toys, and other household items work well).
Teach your child to make various patterns (red, blue, red, blue).
Practice counting aloud to 10 while on the bus or driving in the car.
Count objects in your home. Have your child point to each object as she counts.
Go on a shape hunt. Point out circles, triangles, squares, and rectangles to your child while you are taking or walk or grocery shopping.
Talk about positional and directional concepts like up/down, over/under, in/out, behind/in front of, top/bottom, beside/between, off/on, stop/go.
Talk about opposite words (big/little, empty/full, slow/fast).
Physical Development (Gross & Fine Motor)
Give your child plenty of opportunities for outdoor play: running, jumping, and climbing.
Play catch on a regular basis.
Practice skipping.
Stack blocks together.
Play with play dough regularly. Roll, squish, stamp, and even cut it! Encourage your child to cut out various shapes using child-safe scissors. String large beads to make a necklace.
Play with an interlocking puzzle together.
Creative Arts
Always encourage pretend play.…. occasionally join your child in her fantasy world.
Teach your child to recognize the following colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, brown, and pink.
Give your child plenty of opportunities to draw.
Ask her to draw the things she sees around her.