How to prepare your child for school academically

With school fast approaching, parents want to know how to prepare your child for school academically. They want to help their child get ready for the start of formal education.

We have already shared how to know if your child is ready for school. In the coming days, we will share simple ways you can help your child before schooling commences.

How to Prepare your Child for School Academically

While it may be daunting, or even a little upsetting, that your little one is getting ready for kindergarten or prep, the main thing to remember is that they will have a dedicated teacher who will help them to learn and grow. Try not to worry too much if they can or cannot do these skills. Children grow at their own pace and their teachers will support them in the areas where it is needed.

Literacy

Literacy is probably the most foundational academic area of a child’s education (particularly in the early years of schooling). There is a heavy emphasis on learning to read and write. Your support with these skills at home can be very beneficial for your child and their time at school. Ways to support this include:

• Helping your child to write their name – this is a good introduction to writing as well as recognising letters in the alphabet and the sounds that letters make (we call that phonemic awareness). Get your child to write their in different ways (such as in different colours, or tracing over stencils). Or ask them to cut out the letters of their name in a magazine and stick them on a piece of paper can support this.
• Reading to your child every day – this helps them become familiar with concepts of print (vital for learning to read). It helps them understand how a book works and where to start reading on the page. It also helps them become familiar with different sounds, building their vocabulary and ultimately an enjoyment from reading. If they can start to recite (from memory) their favourite parts of books, this is great too. They may be using picture clues from the book to remind them, and this is an important skill in reading.
• Help your child with holding a pencil – From day one, your child will be using a pencil in school and correct grip is important at an early age as it is difficult to reteach (I still hold a pen wrong!). Model how to hold a pencil a constantly reteach or redirect when needed.
• Recognising parts of the alphabet – Phonemic awareness is a crucial skill for children to learn. Provide opportunities for your child to learn the alphabet and their sounds, at least in common words they use often (such as ‘m’ in mum and ‘d’ in dad). You can use flash cards or stencils to teach this, or use every day opportunities like asking them to point out a letter while reading a book.

Numeracy

Of course, numeracy is another fundamental skill children need to support their learning. There are a variety of concepts that are helpful for children to know going into school, so here are some ways to help:

• Recognise the numerals 0-10 – using flashcards or magnets to display the numbers around the house is helpful for children. This gives you random opportunities to teach them the numbers, and they are exposed to them in their everyday environment. Playing games such as SNAP with number flashcards can also be beneficial.
• Counting from 1-10 – simple songs can be used to help your child count to 10, such as “Dr. Knickerbocker” from the Wiggles (okay, that counts to 9). Or a storybook like Dr. Seuss’ “Ten Apples Up On Top”. Counting to 10 also helps develop your child’s basic number sense or awareness, for example they’ll learn that 7 is a higher number than 2.
• Basic Number sense – a foundational principle of numeracy is learning that numbers represent an object (for example, 1 represents 1 something, like an apple). Singing songs with your child like “5 cheeky monkeys” or “5 little ducks” can help them begin to understand that numbers represent objects.
• Recognise simple dot patterns – although this may seem like a simple task, it is actually a skill called ‘subitising’. It helps your child learn to instantly count a number of objects in front of them. Playing simple dice games can help develop this skill.

How to Prepare your Child for School Academically

These activities are all simple, daily games or tasks that you are most likely already doing with your child. They are meant to be easy and fun for you and your child.

They can be incorporated into everyday activities so that their learning is engaging and productive. Research shows learning in everyday contexts is more effective!. By starting or continuing these activities I’ve listed above, you are giving your child the best start to their formal education!

Are there any other activities or games you can think of to add to this list?

“How to Prepare your Child for School Academically” is by Fi Morrison at mummamorrison.com