Making your child ready for preschool

Preschools differ from day care centers. Don’t confuse between the two. Your child learns different skills in preschool and becomes ready for kindergarten and elementary school.  Day care centers care for your children while you are away at work or any other place. A day care center provides meals and some preschools too provide meals. Your child attending can be a source of anxiety for you and a daunting experience for your child. Your child may have difficulty in adjusting to the new environment. You can prepare your child by ensuring that he has a smooth transition from home to preschool. Please ensure that you keep all learning activity playful. Don’t make entering preschool a difficult chore for your child. Make entering preschool a fun activity for your child. Tell your child that there will be many fun activities in the school like making new friends, learning new skills and developing social skills. Find out the details of the preschool you are sending your child to. Does the school have many play activities? What mode of instruction do they use? Go ahead and talk in detail to the teacher at the play school.

Before you send your child to preschool plan some activities where your child gets a chance to meet children his age, this will make your child learn the concept of adjusting with other children and being cooperative. Use the role play method to familiarize your child to the concept of preschool. Play the role of parent as well as teacher to totally make your child comfortable with preschool.

Introduce the concept of preschool gently so that your child feels he is on familiar ground when he goes to preschool. Make your child more comfortable by introducing the concept of preschool gently to him. Prepare your child by acting out all the activities your child will do at school, like singing songs, reading aloud, solving puzzles and playing with other children. Make all these activities fun filled so that your child participates in them enthusiastically.  Reassure your child that preschool will be fun and he will learn many new and interesting things there.

Discuss preschool with your child while playing with him. Introduce the concept that school will be fun and that he will learn many new things there. List out all the activities your child will do at preschool. Go to the preschool with your child before admitting him there. Show him what he will do there and ensure that he is familiar with the campus and is used to the concept that he will be separated from you for a few hours.  Act out all the activities your child will do when he leaves for school like wearing his uniform and shoes, make him pick his bag and play as if you are going to school. Tell him what he will be doing at school and play act all the activities he will be doing prior to going to school. Make your child thoroughly comfortable with preschool before you leave him there.