In this brand new year, will your child be starting kindergarten? Are you asking, “Will my child be ready for kindergarten?” “What is kindergarten readiness anyway?”
For some reassurance, kindergarten readiness:
- is NOT time-consuming.
- is NOT another item on already busy and full to-do lists.
- is NOT rocket-science.
And you do not need to turn your house into a kindergarten boot-camp. Activities to encourage your child’s readiness for kindergarten can be done with things you are already doing at home, like the dishes or the laundry.
Here’s an activity to start off your new year. Even better, this can be your New Year’s Resolution for your child because it’s so powerful. It combines fun and learning at the same time:
New Year’s Resolution for Kindergarten Readiness Fun and Learning:
Read to Your Child Every Day!
- Do you need a college degree to read books and share stories with your little one? No, but you need a secret formula to conjure up a smile when you have to read a favorite story for the zillionth time.
- Is it time consuming? You only need a few minutes every day. You can do it whenever works best for your family. Morning, noon, or night. Bedtime or getting up time. You can read to your child anywhere.
- Reading a story can piggyback onto standing in line at the bank, waiting for the washer to finish to pop clothes into the dryer, or riding on the bus to make use of minutes throughout the day.
The difference this will make to your child is astounding. The numbers tell the story: 3 or 4 books a day, a few days a week is about 25 books. 4 weeks in a month, adds up to already 100 books a month. Over a whole year that’s more than 1,000 books!! In just a few minutes a day, you have downloaded a library of books into your child’s brain before school ever starts. Easy, huh?
There’s a temptation to just turn on an app on a digital device, but reading with a cuddle turns a story into an experience or adventure. For instance, in Pat The Bunny, it’s so fun to reach up and feel daddy’s chin to see if his whiskers are scratchy like the one on the page. Kids can’t do that on a screen.
Check tomorrow for another kindergarten readiness tip that’s as easy as 1 2 3. Is reading books and sharing stories an activity you can do with your child?
(For more information on helping your child prepare for school, you can check for a daily play-of-the-day learning idea and sign up for a developmental checklist: https://123kindergarten.com/ready-for-kindergarten/)