7 things your child should know before starting prep

7 things your Child should know before Starting Prep by Carol Jones at myboredtoddler.com

Is your child starting Prep soon? If they are I’m sure you’ve been in the middle of many conversations about what the next year will bring.  Having a child start prep is one of those major milestones for children, but it’s also extremely daunting as a parent. I should know, my eldest daughter started Prep this year and even as a former prep teacher I was totally unprepared!

A lot of information gets passed around, particularly on social media and in mum’s groups about what children ‘must know’ before starting prep. I’ve seen parents concerned that their children can’t read yet (spoiler – we’ll teach them that in Prep!). Others that are worried that their child can only count to 20 (another spoiler – they don’t need to know that either!). These conversations are often full of a lot of misinformation and serve no real purpose except to panic parents into thinking their child is not ‘prep ready’.

To be honest there are very few things that your child MUST know before prep, but there are a lot of things that it would be great if they did know. It may surprise you to know that almost all of these are not academic in nature. While it’s great if your child knows some of their letters and numbers or they are beginning to recognise words, this really isn’t expected. What prep teachers do want to see are self care abilities.

When you consider that most prep classrooms have one full time teacher and one teacher aide (often not full time) for 25 children, you’ll understand why these skills are important!

7 things your Child should know before Starting Prep

1. Toileting

With the exception of children with special needs it is expected that a child starting Prep can independently go to the toilet and wash their hands. If they have been attending a daycare of kindy program they will probably be familiar with this already, but it is a skill that is definitely worth practicing

2. Dressing themselves

While teachers are there to help, it is expected that your child can do basic dressing tasks like taking on and off their jumpers, hats and shoes and socks. Unless your school requires it, I strongly encourage buying Velcro shoes and saving the shoe lace tying practice till home.

3. Feeding themselves

As silly as it may seem, one of the things that Prep students struggle with the most in the first few weeks of school is opening and closing their lunchboxes. They also struggle with opening packet food. As parents we love to buy the latest fancy lunchboxes and drink bottles but we often forget to check if our child can use it. I like to recommend that you practice lunch time with your child in the weeks leading up to school. Pack them their lunch in their bag and give them a drink bottle. Encourage them to open everything themselves (within reason – teachers and teacher aides will obviously assist when necessary). If a lunchbox is too hard to open consider buying them an easier one.

4. Packing and unpacking their bag

The same system applies with their bag as their lunchbox. Practice packing it and unpacking  it (including zipping and unzipping it) and discuss where their hat, drink bottle and lunch box go.

5. Following Directions

We’re not expecting miracles here, but the ability to listen to an adult and follow simple instructions (sit on the mat, put away your bag etc) is important.  Ideally they should be able to follow 2 or 3 part simple instructions. Eg. Put your bag on the rack and then come and sit down.

I’m sure you’re still wondering how many letters they need to know or what number they should be able to count to, but you really don’t have to! As I mentioned earlier there is no requirement for your child to meet minimum academic standards before they start Prep. If they do know some letters and numbers – fantastic. If not, don’t worry! What is useful for them to know is:

6. Knowing their name

If your child can recognise their own name this will be a huge help. If they can write it even better, but this will come in time. Their name will be on their bag rack, their desk, their lunch boxes and books. It is super helpful if they can recognise this before Prep starts.

7/ Being able to draw, cut and glue

Honestly, your Prep teacher will be delighted if your child can hold a pencil and knows how to use scissors and glue properly. A lot of parents seem scared to give their children scissors before school. There are so many ‘safe’ ones out there though. Have your child practice cutting and gluing and your teacher will love you for it!

Remember, Prep is the place where you child will learn an amazing amount in their first formal year of schooling. The teachers have got this! By helping them with the things mentioned above you‘ll be giving your child a great start.

If you are still concerned about your child’s readiness for Prep, talk to the school or your current kindergarten or day care and they’ll be happy to offer some advice.