Essential Skills to Teach Your Child Before Preschool
Taking your child to preschool marks a new phase in their development. As a parent, you may have doubts about your child’s readiness for preschool. You might also feel the pressure to start academic coaching and choose the right preschool for your child.
Apart from potty training, there are basic things your child needs to know for them to be prepared for child care. The article highlights four things your child should know before starting preschool.
Social skills
Social skills can prove more helpful for your child than academic skills. Your kid will have enough time for academics during their years in skills. Social skills, however, will help them have an easy time starting their academic journey.
It is essential to have your child know how to play and share with others when away from you. Also, teach them good manners and join them during pretend play. The best way to teach these skills is by planning a lot of playdates before preschool.
Communication
Proper communication is essential before your child joins kindergarten. Ensure your kid can communicate their needs to their teachers. They also need to know the appropriate ways to talk to their peers.
Start encouraging your child to talk in complete sentences of about six words. For instance, they should be able to ask for water or help when they need it and express their emotions.
Organisation
Teach your child how to get organised before joining child care. Get bins and baskets where you can store similar items together and ensure they know where their toys belong after playing. Find ways to make cleaning up fun, by singing along or listening to music.
You can also put up a coat hook for them and have a basket underneath to practice storing their bags. These elements will help the child for cleaning up at kindergarten.
Dress and Feed Themselves
Kids should feel comfortable managing their clothes such as buttons and zippers. They should also know to handle simple tasks such as unwrapping food or tying their shoes. But do not put pressure on your child, as some take time to learn some of these skills.
Allow your child to practice how to dress until they can do it without help. Let them handle zipping up and buttoning their clothes and also open food packages. Praise them for the small tasks they accomplish.
Preparing your child for preschool will help them have a good transition. You can start getting your child ready for weeks or months before their first day in child care. Take the time to talk to them about preschool and ensure they understand what to expect from the experience.