Is My Child Ready for Kindergarten?
Belinda @ Kids Matter
With kindergarten registration quickly approaching, you find yourself mentally preparing for the big day when your baby becomes a big kid and steps on that school bus the very first time. First day of school outfit… check. Adorable backpack loaded with school supplies… check. Awesome new shoes… check. One last hug and a few encouraging words as your now ‘big kid’ gets on the school bus. Your eyes well up with tears… not so much because you will miss your child, but for the sudden impact of how quickly she has grown. The bus pulls up; you hold your child’s hand until that very last second. Your eyes follow that bus as far as you can see. You fight the urge to jump in your car and travel the bus route just to make sure your precious cargo arrives safely at its destination. As you turn to leave the curb, tears begin streaming down your cheeks. By the time you reach the house, you are in a full blown ‘boohoo my baby has grown up’ bawl. As you sit weeping your heart out on the couch, your mind is filled with precious moments from the past five years. Scenes from birth to the last view of them on the bus causes your mind to race. Suddenly, you are overwhelmed with thoughts such as, will my baby be safe, what if her allergies act up, will she make new friends, will she like her teacher, and oh no… will the teacher like her? Panic quickly grasps you in a choke hold.
Breathe! Your baby will be just fine. The first day of school is months away yet. You will savor that moment of watching her venture out on the first day of school. Don’t make it a memory of pure panic. Treasure that memory with great fondness and acknowledge the fact that you did a great job in preparing your child for the independence of riding the bus that very first day of school. Children, for the most part, are great explorers of the world. Though it may seem like a scary thing to them, stepping on that bus, the moment the parent is out of sight it becomes a whole new adventure. Besides… just a few short hours from her getting on the bus, you will be a nervous wreck again, waiting for the moment when she steps back off that bus, safely home once more.
We’ve got you on the path to coping with your child heading off to school, now it’s time to start priming your child. You find yourself asking… ‘How do I know my child is ready for kindergarten’? If she attended a preschool then, chances are, she is advanced beyond the kindergarten skill level you remember as a child. Preschool is a phenomenal advantage for our children and they will, no doubt, arrive at kindergarten level by the summer before kindergarten starts. If your child didn’t attend preschool, there are many sites on the Internet to help you get your child kindergarten ready. Below is a list of some of those sites. Work with your child at their level of development. Make learning fun and interesting. Infuse excitement into prepping them for school and how much fun they will have learning. Above all, be very patient. What they don’t know this week, they could easily learn by next week. A child’s brain is pretty much equivalent to a sponge. They absorb knowledge very quickly. The key to success is practice, practice, and practice while reaching for greater and more challenging goals.
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