How To Prepare Your Child for Kindergarten

Sending your child off to Kindergarten is an exciting day for a parent.  You want to be sure that your child is prepared to spend the day at school and that they are well adjusted and in the know about what they will encounter during their school day.  According to Daniel Asres, preschool teacher, once your child hits kindergarten, much less focus is put on social-emotional development and so much more is put on academia.  The kindergarten experience will be completely new for children and will set the stage for their academic career.  Children who are more aware of themselves often perform better in kindergarten and in later schooling. Furthermore, preschool is a great preparation for a child’s kindergarten experience.

The average age for a child entering into kindergarten is five, but there is some diversity when it comes to this because children who turn five by a certain date can either enter into kindergarten early or can wait until the following year to begin.  Education consultant Sandy Eiges reminds us that every child is different, and there is not a correct answer that will be right for the benefit of all children.  Some children are ready to enter kindergarten at the younger side of five, while other children benefit more from waiting an extra year and enter kindergarten at five and a half or even at six years old.  Eiges suggests having your child take a kindergarten readiness assessment to determine if they are prepared to enter into the classroom.  She also suggests speaking with the school and asking about the age range of the children who will be entering into the classroom that year. The school may be able to tell you if they think your child would be a good match for that year’s kindergarten class. 

Preparing your child for kindergarten is a process that is extremely important to later development and success.  In general, children who attend preschool are more prepared to enter the Kindergarten classroom because they have experience interacting in a contained setting with children of their own age.  According to preschool director Renae Plant, time in preschool is less about academic preparation than it is about social interactions with other children in a more structured setting.  Children who attend preschool are better prepared to enter into the academic classroom because they can follow directions, interact appropriately with other children, and are accustomed to being away from their parents to attend school.