Purchase educational DVDs and books to watch and read with your child by age 2. As a parent, you should start off by making learning fun and exciting for your child. Choose to read books on shapes and colors. Get your child to begin recognizing his numbers and letters. Give lessons in small steps.
Practice singing with the child to develop prereading abilities and improve oral skills.
Start teaching your child to hold a pencil correctly at age 3 and to color inside the lines with crayons. Once your child learns these basic skills, you should move on to teaching your child to trace numbers, letters and write his name by himself. In addition, make sure the child can use scissors.
Teach the child go about his day as independently as possible. She should know how to put on and hang up her coat, go to the bathroom and wash her hands, blow her nose with a tissue, work with buttons and snaps, pour liquids neatly and open a juice box.
Go over all that you have taught the child as the time approaches to start kindergarten. He should be able to count to at least 20, says his ABC's clearly and recognize basic shapes. He should also be able to say all or most of the sounds the letters make. In addition, it is helpful if he knows how to cut and paste, as kindergarten curriculum will include using his motor skills.