By Omar Jawdat, Blog Intern
An image of a child in our Family Literacy Program looking excited while sitting in front of an open book.
Kindergarten is one of the most important years of a child’s life. It is a time in life where they are developing more physical, social, language, and mathematical skills. Parents often presume that Kindergarten is the place where their children will learn everything they need to know. However, pre-kindergarten preparation can also make a lasting difference. So, what can you do to prepare your child for school?
Before entering the classroom on their first day, ‘one of the most important things you can do with your tot, according to teachers, is read together.’ According to Anna Elia Kontostergios, teacher at Vaughan, Ontario, it is recommended that parents create storybooks with their child. This can include snapshots of them doing day-to-day activities, and creating sentences to match what is happening in the pictures, such as “‘I am eating. I am playing.'” “Pointing to each word while reading it introduces one-to-one matching, high-frequency words they’ll be learning and punctuating.”
You’ll also want to familiarize your future scholar with numbers through counting games, such as counting objects outside, for example: (making groups using toys around the house, going out for walks and counting different things they see at the park, the number of cars they see, or pointing at numbers in a calendar.) Whatever kind of creative game you make up for your child will be an effective preparation for them!
What Are Some Things Kindergarten Teachers Might Expect?
Identifying their name: Teaching your child how to write their name in any form will be helpful!
Recognizing letters
Pointing out certain words and sounding them out
Identifying numbers (1 to 10), and representing the numbers using objects.
Family Literacy Program
At Words Alive, we know that young readers grow up on the laps of their parents and caregivers. We know that it’s extremely important that parents have a working knowledge of literacy development and the skills that promote positive reading habits at home. For this reason, we dedicate ourselves to helping children by bringing the Family Literacy Program to the community, inspiring parents to make exploring books a robust family habit!
Our Family Literacy Programs aims to empower parents as agents of change and advocates for their families by meeting parents where they are and giving them the "ah-ha!" moments that lead to deeper engagement with their children.
How Parents Can Get Involved
In the Family Literacy Program, parents will attend seven workshops, receiving approximately ten hours of parent education that covers early literacy development topics specific to preschool age children. Each workshop will include a tailored information session, as well as skill-building exercises for parents. There will also be a group story time and guided activities for parents and children!
To learn more about our Family Literacy Program, click here!
Sources:
www.todaysparent.com/family/ready-for-kindergarten-checklist/
www.parents.com/parenting/kindergarten-readiness-skills-a-checklist-for-parents/
www.wordsalive.org/familyliteracy