“School-ready” is a term you hear a lot these days, as more and more parents focus on actually preparing kids for school. It’s not something you used to hear about, but times have changed, and for the better.
This article is going to focus on what school-readiness actually means, as well as some ways parents can help prepare their young kids for the school years to come.
What Does School-Ready Mean Exactly?
A child becoming school-ready encompasses a number of different things. The idea is to equip children with early education and skills so that when they make that big transition into the school years, they do so with confidence, making it more seamless and way less stressful.
After all, transitioning from home life to school life is a major life change, so to do so without any preparation will really be a big shock to most young kids.
Not only will children feel more confident and prepared, but they will also have already developed things like social skills and communication skills, along with having a grounding in education basics.
Let’s now look at some ways you can help your child become school-ready.
Talk About School On a Regular Basis
The more children know about school before they actually start, the better they’ll understand what to expect. It’s important to always speak positively about the school years to come, as anything negative will likely scare children off. You want your child to be looking forward to starting school and making new friends.
If school is spoken about regularly in the months and years leading up to a child starting their school years, children will naturally feel more mentally prepared and aware of what they will encounter.
Educate Children At Home
You don’t need to be a qualified teacher to give your children some education basics. All you really need to do is dream up some fun and interactive ways to teach kids things like basic mathematics. This could include getting them to count their favourite lollies, for example, something that interests them.
Regular reading sessions are also an invaluable way of teaching children prior to their school years. The earlier a child learns to read, the better it will be for them, as we all learn so much through reading. Being able to read will also improve a child’s ability to spell, as they’re constantly seeing certain words on a page and will quickly learn how to spell them.
Encouraging kids to do something artistic is also a positive step, as creativity really helps to develop and expand the thinking capacity of young minds. Kids will have fun with it and they just might exhibit a real talent for something.
Learning a musical instrument at an early age is also very productive, teaches coordination, a healthy respect for music and also taps into the mind’s creative faculties.
Enrol Your Child In a School-Readiness Program
When it comes to school readiness for preschoolers, enrolling your child in an early learning centre is one of the best decisions you could make.
Many early learning centres actually have school-readiness programs as an integral part of their curriculum. In fact, just about everything that kids do at an early learning centre will help prepare them for school and life.
For starters, in a school-readiness program, preschool children learn education basics like maths and English. This is achieved through nationally-recognised programs like THRASS and STEM. Science and computers are also taught in school-readiness programs, along with reading and writing.
The idea is to give kids a head start in their learning, which also encompasses developing social skills and communication skills. The more a child has developed in these areas and the more they understand basic core subjects, the better equipped they’ll be when they do make the transition into the school years.
Your child will start school full of confidence, along with an understanding of what to expect. School-readiness programs really are an awesome idea and something every parent should seriously consider.
The Takeaway
Anything you can do to make life easier for your child when they start school, the better it will be for both the child and the parent. Focus on school-readiness as much as possible, and the prospect of starting school won’t seem so daunting.
