I have a 5 yr old boy and 4 yr old girl. I want them to be as ready for school as possible. Mostly they play and that's ok with me. Social skills are just as important as anything else. I'm not trying to turn life into a school right now. I think job one is for them to play and use thier imaginations. But I want them to be good to go once school starts next year. We read books everyday. They recognize thier letters and know the beginning sound of most of them. They can count to 20 in English and 10 in Spanish. I'm working with them on how to hold a pencil and trying to teach them to write thier name. My next door neighbor, the elementary teacher, said "lap time" is the most important thing right now.... Teaching them that words go from left to right and how to be good listeners. They show a lot of interest and enjoy the time we spend on our little learning games. I'm considering flashcards to reinforce the letter recognition. I want them to able to write thier names and know the days of the week when they start school. I'm mostly focused on language skills right now, but maybe I should add a few more counting games. What are yall doing or what do you recommend for school readiness?
They go to an inhome daycare that is an almost completely Spanish speaking household. They go to the YMCA 3 days a week while I work out and they play soccer and basketball at the Y. They also go to Sunday school every week. So, they are really comfortable in differant social situations and classroom setups. Did I mention I work a full time job? HA! That's why I try to "play" more than anything else with them. I miss my little sugar babies all day. The time we have together is limited, so I make it count. My girl draws people and not much else. SHe asks me to draw flowers, hearts, birds and she retraces them. My boy doesn't care to slow down long enough to draw. They do count things. We bargain. 4 bites of meat for 2 cookies. If they have grapes or whatever they count them to be sure they both got the same amount. My boy counts his cars and whatever else.
Counting coins, cheerios, cookies, etc....make it a game. Also, there are some great games/toys at Discovery Toys that help with this (or other brands but DT came to mind...no I am NOT a rep for them).
You can see the Texas Education requirements at the following website.
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=6148. They have the requirements for each grade.
Sounds like they are getting ready for school! Yes social skills are very important! How are they around other children? It sounds like they are not in preschool so make sure they have time to interact with other kids. Maybe a gymnastics (swimming/ etc) class so they practice taking turns and working with an adult teacher. After you read then a story Talk about it, what is your favorite part and why (push for more more than "I like it") Does the story make you think of anything (connect to life -its about a cat and we have a cat) how are they with drawing? if they like to draw they are getting ready for writing. My son did not so I was always trying to find ways to work on fine motor skills, cutting, glueing, play dough etc. Have fun!
Sounds like they are off to a great start:) For math, can they count items or just repeat the sequence of numbers. Building number sense is as important as number recognition. I like this site for research based ideas
http://www.parentingscience.com/preschool-math-lessons.html
It has a really fun game that I introduced to the 2 year olds I care for as well as the 5 year old in my care when school is out. You can adapt it different ways.
As for reading, working on their understanding of what you are reading is very important. Asking different questions and building in ways of having them respond to books (art materials, puppets etc.) are good ways to build and check their comprehension. Encouraging them to discuss as you read is a great way to do this also. Talk, talk , talk:)
Phonological awareness activities are important. This includes what you are already doing with having them learn about the sounds at the beginning of words. It also includes rhyming, syllabication, and the segmenting and blending of phonemes ( individual sounds in words). There are lots of fun activities you can do around the house and even in the car that are all oral to build these skills. At this level they are not expected to read in order to do these activities.
Private message me and I can send you a word doc I did for my graduate project in this area. It has activity ideas and resources you can use.
I highly recommend the book "How to teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons". it was fun for my daughter and only took about 15 minutes a day.
Years ago, I read a book based on Dr. Montisori's way of teaching. (How to Raise a Brighter Child) She stated at if you can teach your child to read before they start school they will forever be ahead of their peers. When other kids are working on decoding, your child will be working on comprehension. (That was the general gist... I read the book 13 years ago so I may be a little off:)
Have fun with it though. Instead of just going through flash cards, make a set of two and then use them to play the memory game. (cards face down, then flip one card over and try to find the match when you flip over the second card.)
Mine were both reading by age 2. Reading is the best way to teach them their letters. When they love a certain book so much that you have to read it over and over, those are the best ones to teach word recognition with.
They should be able to look at pictures of things and tell you what they are as well. Get some workbooks at the dollar store.
Singing the alphabet song and using the magnetic letters on the fridge is a good way to teach them their alphabet and always encourage to them what sound each letter makes too.
Have them count pieces of fruit or cookies at snack time. Have them count their fingers and toes. You can also teach easy addition and substraction at this age as well.
Flashcards come in handy, I'm not against them. My 2yr old granddaughter thrived with them and is now reading at a 1st grade level. I never used flashcards on my sons, we had a big chalkboard that we used to write letters and numbers and their name and such on.
Kids should also know their phone number and address and their mom and dad's first and last name as well as their own first and last name.
How are they with separating from you?
Or how are they in 'group' situations?
How are they with listening/following direction?
Do they know how to speak up and tell the "Teacher" if they have to use the bathroom or need help?
Role play and practice those things with them, too.
You seem to be doing real well with them.
I do similar things with my son, who is 4.
all the best,
Susan
I have NEVER used flash cards with my kids. There is always another way to practice that is going to be more fun for them. Do they count things? Rather than just recite the numbers, can they USE them properly? Practice counting things. Have them help you measure things in the kitchen. Count how many pieces of flatware go on the table for meals (4 spoons plus 4 knives plus 4 forks, etc)..
For language skills, read read read. Choose books that you HAVE to read to them, and choose books that they mostly have memorized and can "read" to you; and take turns "reading" on the pages of those. Sing rhyming songs. Make up silly poems. Jump rope and sing the songs.
