List of Things to Help Prepare Kids for Kindergarten

Provide Opportunities to Practice Social Skills

• The school environment is a social environment that your child shares will other children and teachers. Positive social skills that enable your child to cooperate and play with others increase the likelihood of a successful kindergarten experience, reports the National Association of School Psychologists. Provide opportunities for play for your little one to practice social skills such as sharing, caring, taking turns and demonstrating empathy. Let your everyday interactions with others serve as a positive model for how to treat peers with kindness and respect.

Nurture Critical Thinking Skills

• Critical thinking skills require little learners to do more than study and recall facts ̵1; children learn to utilize the processes of logic and analysis inherent to thinking. Foster your child̵7;s critical thinking skills by asking questions that do not have a definitive right or wrong response to encourage divergent, or creative thinking, recommends Scholastic. For example, encourage your child to create new endings to some of her favorite stories, and discuss if the character̵7;s feelings change with the modified story ending.

Encourage Self-Regulation Skills

• Self-regulation skills allow your child to demonstrate self-control related to feelings, impulses, needs and following teacher directions. Most children acquire these skills during the recent toddler stage of childhood development, and need opportunities to utilize self-regulation skills to achieve mastery. For example, young children may continue to experience frustration when tempers flare, or when they are unsure how to solve a social dilemma. Dramatic play experiences provide your child with creative, attractive opportunities to experiment with and practice her developing self-regulation skill with peers.

Cheer Your Child's Independence

• Applauding your child̵7;s independence may appear easier said than done when parents struggle with the idea of their little one exiting the nest to enter a structured school environment. However, applauding your child̵7;s emerging self-help skills facilitates a valuable component of kindergarten readiness. Engage your child in play scenarios that permit her to practice unzipping a jacket, fastening shoes, unpacking a backpack and buttoning clothing. Build your child̵7;s self-confidence related to independence by assigning daily chores and remember to praise her efforts.