Christmas is a time for family and friends, and the early years the best time for learning, so what kindergarten readiness play-of-the-day combines both? How about a playdate! The holiday season is already busy, but playdates for little ones do not need to be long, and the emphasis is on play.
Dr. Gwen Dewar states ” Newborn babies are ready to socialize,” (2009) but they will need the guidance of parents and caregivers to learn important social skills. Preschools and kindergartens are large of groups of children of nearly all the same age. Children cope better in these settings with some basic social skills and a playdate with one friend is a great opportunity to explore and practice positive interactions.
Two basic skills are sharing and taking turns. Taking turns is fairly easy to explain and encourage, sharing can be trickier. An ignored toy can suddenly become a favorite when someone else wants to use it. Children may need more intervention and support when it comes to sharing.
Regulating emotions is another important skill when it comes to interactions. Of course, basic to that is having names for emotions and being able to recognize feelings. Even very special friends can sometimes disagree and kids need to have a few tools when differences arise, such as talking about problems and being able to tell a friend “I don’t like when…” you call me names, knock over my tower, take all the cars, etc. Faces gives clues about feelings and learning to read faces is another skill that gets better with practice.
A playdate is a marvelous time to practice self-regulation, interacting, and socializing but best of all, it’s a time to PLAY. Can you fit some time for a playdate into the day?