Session-8-Drawing

Mini-Session 8: Let’s Get Ready for School

Josefina Bojorquez

Current Status
Not Enrolled
Price
Free
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In this session, parents will gain practical tips for daily routines and learning activities they can use at home to support their child’s transition to school. Parents will be informed about how to assess and select local options for high quality early care and education and kindergarten and how to advocate for their child’s educational needs. This session introduces a parent created Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors video: Transition to Kinder on the importance of preparing children to be ready for school. In addition, this session promotes Ready4K, a texting program that sends you three text messages a week. The messages give fun facts and tips on how to help your child get ready for Kindergarten in simple, easy, everyday ways.

Popular Saying: Knowledge is power.

As a result of this session, participants will:

  • Support their child’s preparation and transition to school through daily routines and learning activities at home.
  • Feel confident to advocate for their child’s educational needs, including developing a partnership with teachers, monitoring progress, and prioritizing regular attendance to ensure their child is successful in school.

Background

Children are born ready to learn. Everything they see, hear, or feel is a learning experience – all of which is essential for school success. Parents and other caregivers influence their child’s capacity to learn by creating a stimulating learning environment, while fulfilling their basic needs of love, respect, security, nutrition, and exercise to ensure an overall healthy development.

Quality early care and education and preschool programs go beyond preparing children to excel academically when they start school — they impact their lives! In these programs children acquire social, emotional, language, and reading skills, which form the basis for school success. Children that attend quality programs are less likely to repeat a grade level, drop out of high school, need special help, or participate in delinquent activity. They are also more likely to go on to college.

As their child’s first and most powerful teacher, and the home the child’s first and most influential school, parents play an important role in partnership with any early education program. When a child is well prepared for school, they have the information and abilities that help them enter school ready to learn. This includes knowing how to count, recognize colors, identify letters, sounds, and how to work in small groups.

An essential step in preparing their children for school is to provide a smooth transition. Transitions to new environments are a natural part of life. During the first five years, a child may transition several times in a number of ways: from home to childcare, home to preschool, and preschool to kindergarten. Transitions to new settings can be exciting and anxiety provoking for both the child and parent. But there are many things parents can do to ensure a smooth transition such as helping a child talk through their emotions and providing practical ways to address any fears.

Once a child has that first day behind them, a parent’s responsibility to support and advocate for their child continues! Habits such as getting a child to bed on time, engaging in fun learning games and activities, reading to the child every day, good attendance, participating in educational activities during the summer, and effective communication with the provider or teacher will set a child on a positive course for a great future.