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Now that Noah is a month into kindergarten I am happy to report
that he loves it and is thriving. Every morning he pops out of
bed eager and ready to go to school. On the weekends he
actually misses school although he does enjoy the opportunity
to sleep in. When I drop him off in the morning he quickly
switches into school mode. When I pick him up at the end of the
school day he is excited to share all his news of the day
including what he learned, what happened in class and on the
playground, and what he did with his friends. He loves all his
teachers and has made many new friends. As I spend time in my son's School and observe his peers I am
sad to see a large group of youngsters who are not enjoying
their school experience at all. While tears and panic are to be
expected the first week of school it is sad to see the tears
continue after children have had weeks to adjust to a new way
of life. Some children get over their tears as the day
progresses but others continue to cry through lunch and even
throughout the day. My heart goes out to these little ones who
were not emotionally prepared for school. It is also troublesome to see how many children are not
mentally prepared for school. There are many skills children
should master before starting kindergarten that fall into these
basic areas: cognitive skills, listening and sequencing,
language skills, fine motor skills, social emotional skills,
and gross motor skills. See my article about kindergarten
readiness at http://preschoolers learnmore. com/blog/ ?p=13 for
more information.
Finally, the worst cases are the children who are notphysically prepared for school. These children have not hadenough sleep, not had enough food, and are not wearing suitableclothing. These children also are unable to take care ofthemselves in the most fundamental ways. Parents must prepare their Children for school emotionally,mentally, and physically or they are setting up their childrenfor failure. Children who have not been prepared for theseparation from home and family and children who have not beenprepared for the school day structure will have difficultyadjusting emotionally to school and a negative experience canhave long term effects on the child's academic success. Work tobuild your child's confidence and self esteem so he is betterequipped to venture out into the world on his own. Mostchildren successfully transition into kindergarten so it can bedone and you should make it your goal for your child to startschool with no tears. Mental preparation for school is more than simply knowingletters, numbers, shapes and colors. It is also about beingable to listen, observe, and remember. In addition to learningreading, writing and arithmetic, children are Learning how tonegotiate and survive a bureaucracy. Even kindergarten studentswill be expected to remember their teacher's name, their roomnumber and location, their schedule, and various otheradministrative miscellanea (for example, a lunch code or busnumber). The more a child can handle these details for herselfthe more confident she will be and the more comfortable withher school day. If she is familiar with the daily and weeklyschool schedule it simply increases her comfort level. It mayseem overwhelming but most kindergarten students quickly masterthe essentials they need to negotiate the day. The more parentswork to help and support children to master these skills themore the child will succeed. Physical preparation for school is essential. Children who donot have enough sleep cannot learn effectively and also havedifficulty negotiating in the social atmosphere of school aswell as have discipline problems. Young, growing Children needenough sleep to wake up rested and bright-eyed and ready toface the day. Children must also have proper nutrition tolearn. They need enough of the right kind of food (a balanceddiet) to keep their bodies healthy and growing. While fashionshould not be a major factor in kindergarten, children shouldwear clothing suitable to the outdoor weather as well as theclassroom activities they will engage in during the day.Kindergarten students are often involved in physical activitiesand should wear clothing suitable for running, dancing, andjumping as well as sitting on the floor or at a desk. Ofcourse, children should also be clean and neat to help buildtheir confidence and lessen distractions. If you do not do your best to prepare your child emotionally,mentally and physically for school then you are failing yourchild and worse you are setting your child up for failure.While early success does not guarantee continued schoolsuccess, early failure can haunt a child's academic record orworse set up a pattern of expectation and behavior that childwill be doomed to repeat throughout his school life. Do not fail your child. Take full advantage of your child's Preschool years to prepare him for school and for life.Kindergarten will be here sooner than you think. About The Author: Deanna Mascle shares more tips to help youprepare your child for school and life with her newsletter athttp://Preschoolers LearnMore. com/blog free toddlers activity & discipline guide free toddlers activity & discipline guide HOME PAGE Contact Us || Your own Website || Subscribe Newsletter || Parenting & Childhood Quotes || Link Directory || Parent Child Blog || Privacy Policy || Site Map || Terms of Use ================================================================ The free toddlers activity and child discipline guide site resources contents are solely the opinion of the authors and should not be considered as a form of advice, direction and/or recommendation of any kind. If expert advice or counseling is needed, services of a competent professional should be sought. 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