As your child enters the kindergarten for the first time make sure he is skilled for his own age. This will ease the transition from the home environment to an entirely new atmosphere.
The most basic skill that you should develop in your child is the ability to communicate.
Teach him how to read the alphabet and to count numbers up to fifty. You can make use of blocks or boxes as an aid for teaching.
Visual aids usually work best with small children. They are able to retain the information better and are also capable of identifying them in real life.
These aids can be used to teach them basic words like cat, mat, dog, etc. Do not overload your child with information.
If your child doesn’t get it the first time, do not panic. Repeat it again slowly and gently stressing on each syllable.
You should read small stories to your child at least once in a day. This will help improve his listening span as well as his concentration power over a period of time.
At the end of each story, you can ask him a few questions. Listen and write down the answers in a notebook. This will help in assessing his strengths and weaknesses at an early stage.
Work on the weaknesses. You can monitor his progress by reading the notebook used for jotting down his answers.
He should be able to comprehend and speak simple sentences by the time he registers for kindergarten.
He should also be able to understand that he is being addressed if someone calls out his name.
Let him experiment with colors. Most children express themselves best using colors as a medium.
Some also learn to identify with the characters present in their coloring books. Ask them to cut out pictures they like from various magazines or newspapers.
Paste the activities carried out by your child in a scrapbook and you can show your child what they did last summer.
Recite poems and sing songs together if your child gets bored playing with blocks. Encourage him at every step and treat him when necessary.
Allow him to mingle with the other children in the neighborhood. It is most likely he will love to play outdoors with his friends.
Monitor how he gets along with his other siblings in the house. Often the concepts of adjusting and sharing are understood while playing or fighting with siblings and friends.
Teach him to get dressed by himself. The first thing he should be able to do is to distinguish the clothes.
He should be able to identify a pant from a skirt or a shirt from a t-shirt. The next step would be to teach him how to wear it. Be patient as mix-ups can happen initially.
Tying shoelaces is very tricky and trying. Most children give up before they can even learn the trade. Be innovative.
Use a song as a means to teach them how to tie a shoelace. The most important task is to train them about the way to use a toilet and to wash their hands after every meal. Knowledge of personal hygiene is a must.
Patience is the key that can help prepare your child for kindergarten.
