Seeing your children growing up and developing new skills every day is such an exciting journey!
At the same time, as parents we often wonder whether our children are learning all essential skills needed for a successful start at school. We might feel unsure whether they are already ready for a more structured learning environment.
So, what does your preschooler really need to know?
And how can you best support your child on this learning path?
Different contexts and different school systems obviously slightly differ in how they assess school readiness. However, there is a common basis that most child development specialists and educators would probably agree upon.
What is school readiness?
The term can be confusing as it is used in different contexts and school systems. Broadly speaking, school readiness means that your child has acquired a set of essential skills and competencies and is ready to transition towards a more structured learning environment, whether you call it kindergarten, reception, elementary or CP.
We often associate school readiness with a foundational level of literacy and mathematics. However, the skills-set preschoolers should learn to master between their second and sixths year of life is so much wider than learning how to count and how to write letters.
Which skills should preschoolers learn?
So, if it is not only about letters and numbers, which are the other skills a preschooler should learn?
Here are four different fields of competencies to look out for.
- Communication and language skills
- Logical thinking and mathematical skills
- Gross motor and practical life skills
- Emotional and social skills
Have a look at my School Readiness Checklist to see which specific skills your preschooler will learn in each of these four fields.
I respect your privacy. You will get the Preschool Checklist into your Mailbox as well as regular ideas on playful learning at home. You can opt-out at any moment.
Despite all the pressure, leave your child sufficient time to become ready. Pressurizing a child into a more formal school setting without the child being ready, can have life-long consequences.
Therefore, please, rather than stressing yourself because your child does not master yet a particular skill, relax and focus on all the great things your child already knows. And these are a lot!
If we focus on the unique gifts and skills our children have, we lay the basis for our children to further grow and step-by-step acquire new skills.
What can I do to support my child to become ready for school?
The list of skills preschoolers should learn to be ready for school might seem very long and overwhelming. The good news is that children learn most of these skills simply as they grow and engage in play.
You might be surprised, but actually all preschool skills can be taught through play without the need to have your child filling in worksheets, playing educational apps or being tutored. As parents there is a lot, we can do in our daily family time and routines to support our children with school readiness.
Here are 10 things you can start doing today to help your child to develop the essential preschool skills:
- Read a lot of books to your child.
- Leave plenty of time for your child to engage in open-ended creative play.
- Provide plenty of opportunities for your child to draw, scribble and paint.
- Encourage your child to help with household chores.
- Leave enough time and encourage your child to independently dress, eat and perform the basic daily hygiene.
- Use a rich vocabulary and engage in meaningful conversations with your child exploring the world around you.
- Use everyday opportunities around mealtimes, when walking outside, when playing to count items and to sort them by color, size or shape.
- Be silly and engage with your child in role games and drama.
- Sing songs and play rhymes you remember from your childhood.
- Let your child help you in the kitchen with following recipes, measuring, cutting, stirring, etc.
Do you have a particular question on school readiness and how to best support your child?
Let’s hop on a free Orientation Call. Just pick a spot in my calendar.