From a Preschool Teacher's Point of View - Things Parents Need to Teach Their Children During the Preschool Age
I have been teaching preschool for a few years now and it astounds me how many children enroll in my class lacking so many basic skills that many would assume come naturally. I have had parents ask me what they can do to give their child a good boost in the right direction for success in school. I am proud to say that my students who have moved on to kindergarten each year, start school with a noticeable head start compared to their classmates not only academically but socially and majority start already blending letters, working on sight words and word families as well as starting basic addition and subtraction.
Here are a few things that I feel, for the love of all things holy and for the sake of your child, that you should do as your child is a toddler and moves into preschool age.
1. Say "No" every once in a while. Set some limits and stick to them and let your child learn that they cannot just whine until they get their way. Life is full of disappointments and all parents would like to protect their children but it's best that kids learn earlier rather than later that they cannot always get their way. In school they will learn that there are play times and learning times and no they cannot play in the kitchen area when it's time to work on the alphabet. No they cannot just take a toy or throw a tantrum or hit because another child is playing with something and they want it.
2. Following closely to number one, teach your child to "use their words". Children enter what I like to call the "tattle-tale stage" in preschool. If anything upsets them, they tattle. In adulthood you cannot tattle on a coworker to your mother because they wouldn't give you their personal stapler. There are things that yes, all kids should feel free to tattle on. When a child is injured, someone else is injured and cannot tell themselves or if someone is in danger; these are definitely things to tattle on. Because another child didn't give your child a toy right away because they weren't finished with it yet is NOT a reason to tattle. The child wanting to play with it needs to know how to ask nicely if they can have a turn and know how to wait patiently and the child playing with it needs to know how to inform the first child that they can have it when they are finished. This skill has been proven to last a lifetime once obtained.
3. Let your child learn how to put their socks and shoes on themselves. I don't care if it's easier or faster for you to do it, let them practice at some point, even if that means during free time when you're just hanging around the house, not rushing out the door to anywhere.
4. Teach them to eat using utensils and how to eat neatly; this includes drinking out of regular cups (NOT sippy cups). Yes, spills happen and some foods are just messier than others, but once a child enters that preschool age, especially when they attend a preschool, it's expected that they know how to use a fork/spoon and not have to eat every thing with their hands or that they know how to eat without half the food ending up all over themselves and everything within a 2 foot vicinity.
5. Teach your child colors. This sounds simple and yes it is something that it taught in preschool but it is amazing to me how many 4 year olds that enter my class that only know maybe two total colors. You can make a game out of it when running errands about how many cars they see of a specific color and change the color each outing. Don't forget brown and gray either...
6. Let your child play with puzzles, whether they're the wooden puzzles with the peg pieces or jigsaw puzzles, please! Puzzles help with SO many skills. They teach patience, problem solving and fine motor. Don't do it for them when they grab a random piece and ask "where does this go?" before trying, or just let them quit because they don't know how to do it. Encourage them to look at the picture on the box for clues or give tell them how all the smooth edge pieces make the outside edge, giving them a starting point. This timeless toy helps children to observe a situation, to acknowledge all the pieces and how to figure out the best way to put those pieces together to come to a desire conclusion- arm your children with these skills!
7. Teach your child the "ABC Song". Not only teach them the song but teach them it SLOWLY! it is not "...J, K, ELEMENOPEE, Q, R..." It's "J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q..." Slow it down and make sure they acknowledge each individual letter, please.
8. Teach your child to cover their mouths when they cough/sneeze, get a tissue and blow their own nose, to keep their fingers out of their noses/mouths/ears/pants, etc... and to WASH THEIR HANDS! Kids at this age are just plain gross. You're lucky if they wipe and flush when in the bathroom. But this is the age when they begin going on "play dates" and start preschool and are becoming exposed to a world full of other gross kids riddled with germs and mommy/daddy isn't always going to have those sanitary wipes the stores put out for shopping carts to wipe down all the other children with. If I had a dollar for every time I had to tell a child to get their hands out of their mouths/nose/ears, etc... or to go back into the bathroom to wash their hands because they didn't after using the restroom or get a tissue, I wouldn't be teaching preschool anymore. I'd be retired and living on the beach somewhere. You can use the time teaching them to wash properly as time to practice their "ABC Song" and tell them to wash until they're done singing the song- Win/Win!
9. Help them practice writing their names once they reach preschool age, at least their first names at this point, with the first letter capitalized and the following letters in lower case. Practice writing from left to right and making sure the letters are in the correct order. Yes, it is cute they did that "d" backwards in the beginning but in the end, it's only going to make it harder for them differentiating "d" from "b". Being able to write their own name is a skill that will instantly boost confidence in your child once he/she masters it.
10. Teach them it's okay to get it wrong and it's okay if it is not perfect. Your child is at an age where they will be learning all sorts of new things and skills. They will mess up, they won't be able to do these skills, it will be hard and it will be harder for some than others. IT'S OKAY!!! They are learning and the best parts of learning is messing up and having to try again. It's why famous musicians practice, athletes train and doctors go to school for so long before getting their doctorate. Encourage them to keep trying and remind them that NO ONE ever mastered these skills the first try. Be patient with them and teach them to be patient with themselves as they try and not to get lazy, even if it takes a thousand tries. Just cheer them on to keep going and to give it their best. My biggest rule I have posted in my classroom- "TRY TRY and TRY AGAIN".
Teachers/Parents- Is there anything you would suggest to add to this list? Your feelings on these suggestions?
Here are a few things that I feel, for the love of all things holy and for the sake of your child, that you should do as your child is a toddler and moves into preschool age.
1. Say "No" every once in a while. Set some limits and stick to them and let your child learn that they cannot just whine until they get their way. Life is full of disappointments and all parents would like to protect their children but it's best that kids learn earlier rather than later that they cannot always get their way. In school they will learn that there are play times and learning times and no they cannot play in the kitchen area when it's time to work on the alphabet. No they cannot just take a toy or throw a tantrum or hit because another child is playing with something and they want it.
2. Following closely to number one, teach your child to "use their words". Children enter what I like to call the "tattle-tale stage" in preschool. If anything upsets them, they tattle. In adulthood you cannot tattle on a coworker to your mother because they wouldn't give you their personal stapler. There are things that yes, all kids should feel free to tattle on. When a child is injured, someone else is injured and cannot tell themselves or if someone is in danger; these are definitely things to tattle on. Because another child didn't give your child a toy right away because they weren't finished with it yet is NOT a reason to tattle. The child wanting to play with it needs to know how to ask nicely if they can have a turn and know how to wait patiently and the child playing with it needs to know how to inform the first child that they can have it when they are finished. This skill has been proven to last a lifetime once obtained.
3. Let your child learn how to put their socks and shoes on themselves. I don't care if it's easier or faster for you to do it, let them practice at some point, even if that means during free time when you're just hanging around the house, not rushing out the door to anywhere.
4. Teach them to eat using utensils and how to eat neatly; this includes drinking out of regular cups (NOT sippy cups). Yes, spills happen and some foods are just messier than others, but once a child enters that preschool age, especially when they attend a preschool, it's expected that they know how to use a fork/spoon and not have to eat every thing with their hands or that they know how to eat without half the food ending up all over themselves and everything within a 2 foot vicinity.
5. Teach your child colors. This sounds simple and yes it is something that it taught in preschool but it is amazing to me how many 4 year olds that enter my class that only know maybe two total colors. You can make a game out of it when running errands about how many cars they see of a specific color and change the color each outing. Don't forget brown and gray either...
6. Let your child play with puzzles, whether they're the wooden puzzles with the peg pieces or jigsaw puzzles, please! Puzzles help with SO many skills. They teach patience, problem solving and fine motor. Don't do it for them when they grab a random piece and ask "where does this go?" before trying, or just let them quit because they don't know how to do it. Encourage them to look at the picture on the box for clues or give tell them how all the smooth edge pieces make the outside edge, giving them a starting point. This timeless toy helps children to observe a situation, to acknowledge all the pieces and how to figure out the best way to put those pieces together to come to a desire conclusion- arm your children with these skills!
7. Teach your child the "ABC Song". Not only teach them the song but teach them it SLOWLY! it is not "...J, K, ELEMENOPEE, Q, R..." It's "J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q..." Slow it down and make sure they acknowledge each individual letter, please.
8. Teach your child to cover their mouths when they cough/sneeze, get a tissue and blow their own nose, to keep their fingers out of their noses/mouths/ears/pants, etc... and to WASH THEIR HANDS! Kids at this age are just plain gross. You're lucky if they wipe and flush when in the bathroom. But this is the age when they begin going on "play dates" and start preschool and are becoming exposed to a world full of other gross kids riddled with germs and mommy/daddy isn't always going to have those sanitary wipes the stores put out for shopping carts to wipe down all the other children with. If I had a dollar for every time I had to tell a child to get their hands out of their mouths/nose/ears, etc... or to go back into the bathroom to wash their hands because they didn't after using the restroom or get a tissue, I wouldn't be teaching preschool anymore. I'd be retired and living on the beach somewhere. You can use the time teaching them to wash properly as time to practice their "ABC Song" and tell them to wash until they're done singing the song- Win/Win!
9. Help them practice writing their names once they reach preschool age, at least their first names at this point, with the first letter capitalized and the following letters in lower case. Practice writing from left to right and making sure the letters are in the correct order. Yes, it is cute they did that "d" backwards in the beginning but in the end, it's only going to make it harder for them differentiating "d" from "b". Being able to write their own name is a skill that will instantly boost confidence in your child once he/she masters it.
10. Teach them it's okay to get it wrong and it's okay if it is not perfect. Your child is at an age where they will be learning all sorts of new things and skills. They will mess up, they won't be able to do these skills, it will be hard and it will be harder for some than others. IT'S OKAY!!! They are learning and the best parts of learning is messing up and having to try again. It's why famous musicians practice, athletes train and doctors go to school for so long before getting their doctorate. Encourage them to keep trying and remind them that NO ONE ever mastered these skills the first try. Be patient with them and teach them to be patient with themselves as they try and not to get lazy, even if it takes a thousand tries. Just cheer them on to keep going and to give it their best. My biggest rule I have posted in my classroom- "TRY TRY and TRY AGAIN".
Teachers/Parents- Is there anything you would suggest to add to this list? Your feelings on these suggestions?
Comments