Talking with your preschooler about the upcoming transition is vital to making it as smooth as possible. On the Tuscon Unified School District website, parents are encouraged to discuss kindergarten logistics such as drop-off and pick-up times. Touring the school and making sure your child is familiar with important locations such as the cafeteria, classroom, gymnasium and playground also help prepare her for a new educational environment. Many preschool classes are confined to one or two rooms and an outdoor play area. Preschoolers may not be used to all the different locations, hallways and routines associated with kindergarten.
As your child transitions from preschool to kindergarten, meet with her preschool teacher to discuss your child's weaknesses, strengths, social skills and overall growth and development. A preschool teacher is a good predictor of what challenges your child might face in kindergarten. If the teacher mentions an academic weakness or a social concern, you can work on those things during the summer before kindergarten starts. Possibly you may need to work on fine motor skills, social skills, the letters of the alphabet or learning to share. You may even want to ask the preschool teacher for a sample of your child's written work or drawings to show to the kindergarten teacher, so she'll see what areas may need improvement.
In a kindergarten classroom, students are required to hang up their coats, put their lunch bags in their cubbies, get out their school supplies and clean up toys, art supplies and manipulatives when they're done with them. When helping your youngster transition from preschool to kindergarten, start working on similar responsibilities at home. Ask your preschooler to clean up the toys in his playroom, put his crayons away and clean up his plate when he's done eating. If he waits until kindergarten to start learning responsibility, he might frustrate other students or be disciplined by the teacher.
Kindergarten classrooms usually have a diverse group of students from various social, cultural and economic backgrounds. To prepare your preschooler for kindergarten, make sure she's exposed to unique cultures, special interests, differing social classes and diverse people groups. Libraries and community centers offer summer programs for youngsters, giving them the opportunity to interact with a wide range of people with all types of hobbies and interests. According to FamilyCorner.com, diversity in kindergarten classrooms introduces children to fuller and richer life experiences.