While adults celebrate New Year’s Eve on December 31st, for families with kids starting and returning to school it’s the last night of summer holidays. September 1st, plus or minus a few days, begins the new school season leaving August 31st as the new eve. If your first child is off to school this year, it’s an especially significant occasion. Just as kindergarten expands the world for kids, it does for the rest of the family, too. School is a many years long adventure and the classmates and other families form a new community. Did you know that children who start school in the fall of 2011 will graduate in 2024? Doesn’t that rock your socks!
The last month of blog posts have all talked about ways to help children with readiness for kindergarten using what you are doing around the house. Home and school need to be connected. Parents and caregivers have been children’s first teachers and your house has been your child’s first learning center. Your support will be a major factor in your child’s education. To quote the Harvard Family Research Project “…parental involvement is associated with higher student achievement outcomes.” Better grades for your child at school by talking, reading and valuing learning at 
home. (2005)
The learning fun for today then is connections. You can talk about all kinds of connections with your child, whether you are vacuuming, doing dishes, cooking, or other activities. “See? The faucet is connected to the water so when you turn it on, water comes out.” Or, “When I plug in the vacuum, that connects to the electricity and turns it on!” Chatting and texting on the phone is connecting. Hugging is connecting, too. Kindergarten readiness is connected to what happens at home. What other kinds of connections can you explore and discover at your house?