“School ready” is a term that’s becoming increasingly more popular when it comes to small children who are preschool age. But what does it mean to have your child or children school ready and how do you go about it? This article will focus on what’s required for a child to become school ready and some steps you can take to make that happen.
School Ready – What It Means Exactly
School readiness for preschoolers is a term used to describe education, training and conditioning of a child to make the transition into the school years smoother and easier, so the child starts school with a head start and feeling more confident within themselves.
There can be many facets that will prepare kids for school and they will vary depending on the goals of the parent and what is instituted to prepare your child for primary school. If your child simply goes from home life to school, the transition can be very abrupt. Therefore, it’s important to give them some preparation before the time comes to start primary school.
Enrol Your Child In An Early Education Center
One of the best and most well-rounded ways of getting your child prepared for the school years to come is to enrol them in early learning daycare. These facilities generally offer a school readiness program aimed at preparing children for school on a number of important levels.
Early learning centres are part daycare and part educational facilities. While the focus is generally on providing a safe, yet fun environment for preschool-age children, there is a firm focus on having children learn education basics, so when they do enter school, they’re not starting everything from scratch.
A school readiness program will introduce kids to things like reading and spelling, handwriting skills, computers and technology, science, numeracy and more. By the time your child starts school, they’ll already have a basic understanding of core subjects.
School preparedness programs don’t just focus on learning typical school subject matter though, as there is more to getting kids school ready than mere academics. It’s also about instilling self-confidence in children through learning how to interact with others and forming friendships, developing social skills, building self-esteem, effective communication and more.
When a child goes through a school readiness program at an early learning centre, by the time they do enrol at school, they’ll have a head start and enter their school years feeling confident about the challenges ahead.
Other Ways To Get Children Ready For School
Around the home, parents can help their children prepare for school in a number of ways. One important thing that a child needs to develop so they feel more comfortable when starting school is a degree of self-reliance. This builds both skills and confidence in a child. The more you have your child doing things for themselves around the home, the more self-reliant they’ll naturally become.
This can be accomplished by having them assist with preparing their own meals, doing household chores, entrusting them to complete certain tasks and so on. Apply a little imagination in this area and you’ll come up with lots of ideas to develop self-reliance in your child.
Some home learning that contains an element of fun will also help prepare your kids for the school years ahead. It could involve teaching them simple math, but making the process interesting. For example, rather than just teaching them to count or to add up and subtract, you could use something they like to help demonstrate the task.
Speaking and listening skills are also key to a smooth transition into school, as well as equipping a child with an important skill set that will serve them well for the rest of their lives. Both the ability to speak confidently and really listen are two key factors of effective communication. The more confident a communicator your child is, the easier the transition will be. Most parents want their children to listen to them, but kids also need to be encouraged to speak as well.
In addition, the more you talk positively about school, the less stressed children will be when it comes time to actually start school. Never reject when your child asks you “Please do my English homework with me” or to spend a little time together.
In Conclusion
Getting kids school ready is all about making life easier for children when they start school. Give them a head start and enrol them in a school readiness program.
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