For some toddlers, the idea of going to school, whether that’s a local comprehensive in your area or somewhere like one of the houston private schools out there, brings on feelings of excitement and joy. But for others, the thought of being away from Mom or Dad for a few hours during the day can be very scary. So aside from reading to your kids and teaching them how to count, what are some things you can do that will help your child feel ready to start school? To give you a few ideas for further preparation, here are three things you can start doing now that will help your toddler be ready to enter school.
Get On A Schedule At Home
Kids tend to excel when they have consistency and predictability. This is something that schools can give to children. Certain activities are planned for specific parts of the day, which don’t really change too much during the week. But if your child has never had much of a schedule, this can be a hard thing for your toddler to adjust to. To help with this, Anne Zachry, a contributor to Parents.com, recommends establishing a schedule that you follow at home. Get up at the same time, eat meals at the same time, take naps at the same time, and go to bed at the same time each day. This will help the schedule of school to feel more natural to your child.
Practice Active Listening
Learning how to hear and follow directions will make life in school much easier for your child. Because this skill often doesn’t come naturally for many children, it’s likely something you’re going to have to practice at home if you want your child to be successful with this at school. To practice active listening, Dana Sullivan, a contributor to BabyCenter.com, recommends spending some time each day just sitting and listening to all the sounds around your home. Identify these sound and ask your child to focus on them. After you’ve done this, give your child a short list of things to do that they need to remember and then follow. This will help them practice listening to what you say and acting on any directions given.
Join A Playgroup
If your child hasn’t been that social up until this point, you may want to consider ways that you can get your child around other children and learning to play well with them. According to Vicki Palmer, a contributor to the Huffington Post, one of the best ways to do this is to start attending a playgroup. By doing this, your child will get to interact with other children around his or her age. This will help them to not feel too overwhelmed when around a lot of seemingly unfamiliar children and will teach them how to communicate and work with other kids their age.
If your child will be starting school soon, use the tips mentioned above to help them be prepared for all that school will expect of them.