According to early childhood educators, there are steps you need to take to insure that your child is ready for kindergarten.

If you child has not attended a Pre-K program, separation anxiety may be an issue. Separating from you can be made easier by having your child spend time with other adults to get him or her used to being without you. Leaving your child with a baby sitter, or relative several times before kindergarten is due to begin may make leaving you at school less scary.

Kindergarten teachers advise making goodbyes quick, whether it is at school or at the school bus.  Know that if your child cries the teacher will know how to comfort him or her and most children stop crying once a parent is out of sight.

Your child needs to be able to tell the teacher when he or she needs to use the bathroom and be able to go without adult assistance. Children cannot wear training pants, pull ups, or any kind of diapers. Children will be more comfortable if they practice in advance how to ask to use the bathroom and how to use a bathroom equipped with multiple toilets, sinks, soap dispensers and paper towels.

In kindergarten, children are expected to socialize with other children. For some children it can be hard to do at first. Sharing toys, interacting and playing together may be new to your child. Having your child join a playgroup, or a church nursery or just going to a playground are good ways to get your child used to playing and sharing with a number of different children.

Work on tying shoe laces or have your child wear Velcro fastened shoes until they master the skill of tying laces. Have your child practice taking on and off sweaters, coats, boots and buttoning or zippering them up.

A review of basic manners such as saying please and thank you are also important preps for kindergarten. Going over personal hygiene behaviors with a child, such as coughing into a sleeve, using a tissue when sneezing and washing hands after using the bathroom go a long way to making a child socially ready for kindergarten.

Source references: ChildUp

A big brother away at college, a grandma who lives in another state, a relative serving in the armed forces overseas are all people who look forward to hearing from a child and are disappointed when they don’t hear. Teaching a child to demonstrate caring behaviors to loved ones far away is a lot easier today than it was years ago.

• Skype enables a  child to see and speak to a loved one via the computer when both parties have a webcam and this software program.
• E-mail enables a young child to send brief messages. When special holidays come around, a child can send a free card using programs such as Hallmark or Blue Mountain
• Telephone calls, when possible, are also a good way to keep in touch
• There is always the tried and true…send a hand made drawing or card in the mail

A fun activity to foster caring for those far away is to make a “Caring Calendar” and hang it in the kitchen. At the beginning of each a month, a child can circle dates for hello calls and holidays, birthdays or special events for each person that he or she wants wants to remember in a special way.

http://oaklandcountymoms.com

http://www.candostreet.com/
Thanks to reader Joe M for this suggestion! “Can Do” Street is designed for youngsters (3-7) maneuver through a street where they learn valuable lessons in life and learning. The animation is extremely attractive and age appropriate. It’s easy to see how youngsters would get lost in the content and learning while having fun. The content seems wonderful.

http://cdn.attracta.com

“Can Do” Street is a discovery learning website that offers 3-7 year old children fun ways to develop decision making skills about personal safety, friendship, sharing, appropriate behavior and other life skills. The site provides interactive activities for children through creative cartoon programs and educational games as well as downloads that include coloring and activity sheets, follow-up exercises, and instructional materials for parents and teachers.

Note: Both these organizations  and dozens of others expressed hope that our site could be made free so all could enjoy it.  “Can Do” Street is now free for all who want to use it and will  be supported through advertising.

We have all been there. Perhaps it was when you watched in horror, as a date slurped soup from the spoon that was held in a manner similar to Beast in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Maybe it was the way that a friend ordered the server around at brunch with such disdain that you knew your pancakes were going to have a little bit of the “special sauce.” Or how about the child that walked up to your table and took a French fry? Those instances might seem trite, but they all indicate the decline of social graces. Watching that child take what was not rightfully his (or hers!) without any sort of consequence demonstrates the imperative need to return social skills to modern society.

On January 12,2009, Perri Klass had an article published in The New York Times that discussed the need to instill social skills into [your] children. “Making Room for Miss Manners Is a Parenting Basic” made a case for teaching children manners because it is what will ensure their success later in life. Completely agreeing with the doctors’ assessment of a child in the examining room: the behavior that is displayed there is a microcosm and a precursor of what is to come…

Early childhood is the optimal time to educate young children, as their minds are like sponges. Learned behaviors become innate, so it is imperative to teach them social skills at such an impressionable stage. Enter EtiKids: the program presents a foundation of necessary life skills, which incorporate cognitive, social, emotional and physical domains. Children will use the senses of touch, smell, sight and sound to understand and manipulate their environment- a tall order for such little people. It has been working though.  Parents have reported that their children are now correcting them; ensuring that mouths are closed while chewing and “pleases and thank yous,” said.  Rest assured that these kids would not eat the French fries off of my plate! And of course their parents will ask me politely, rather than demand my assistance.

Julie Blacker is the director and owner of EtiKids, a program that teachers social skills and school skills to children in a fun and developmentally appropriate manner.  Visit www.etikids.com for more information.