How should I prepare my daughter for Kindergarten? She did not attend pre-school.?

Question

How should I prepare my daughter for Kindergarten? She did not attend pre-school.?

Answer 1

ABC and Counting games there are a ton of flash card games and workbooks with different themes for ABC'c and numbers along with word recognition and matching games. I'd say one main thing is getting along well with other kids, if she has not been around many kids other than family her age make sure she gets to the park or playgroups with kids in the area and same age going to her new school, maybe she'll end up with one in her class.

Answer 2

This depends on your child and on the school she will attend. Even in public schools there are different expectations from one kindergarten class to another. I hope she has a desire for learning and has been with enough other children that she has learned to share but also is able to stand up for herself. If she needs for social experience I would have her in a class such as dance, gymnastics, soccer, swimming or even a preschool camp this summer before she starts school. It might help to contact the school that she will attend to see if they can evaluate her and give you some pointers as what she needs. She might be ready without changing anything in her daily life.

Answer 3

Hmm i'm not a mother i'm still a teenager but I didnt go to preschool and did fine in kinder. Haha dunno if that will atleast sorta calm your nerves <=D

But most children are open and meet new people easily at a young age, and in kinder the kids get to make their first new friends and get their first sence of independence. Just motivate your daughter in a positive way for school and i'm sure it'll all go smoothly.

Answer 4

I am a "preschool" fan.  I feel that children benefit immensely from a quality preschool program...however the focus of preschool is mainly social...not cognitive.  If she has the basics down she'll do fine.  Most of your other answers give you an idea of the basic concepts to be learned but as I skimmed through them I didn't see anything about attention span.  Most kindergarten teachers would like a minimum 10 minute attention span.  So that is something to think about.

Answer 5

The most important thing is that she is used to being around large groups of other kids. That would be the biggest shock for her. It is a time when they have to learn to work as a group, not as an individual. If she hasn't experienced this, maybe you could start taking her to a library hour, or if she has been in day care, she would be used to it, but if she has stayed home with you a lot, it might be scary and shocking to go from a ratio of 1 or 2 children per adults, to a ratio of 25 children to one adult. Emotional, social adjustment.  Get her around other kids if she hasn't been. As far as the academics, go to the K now and ask them. They'll be glad to help you.

Answer 6

pre-school is really important, pehaps she already has enough knowledge to go into kindergarden, such as her abc, numbers etc

Answer 7

She should at least be able to identify basic shapes, colors, know the abc's or sing it, and count to 10.  It is certainly required for the child to use the toilet on their own and be well behaved.  It can be helpful for the child to be well socialized with kids their own age.

Answer 8

My daughter just had a kindergarten screening and your child needs to know her abc's ( recognizing at least half the alphabet especially the letters in her name), count to 10 ( at least recognizing 5 numbers), her first middle and last name, her age, birthday,her address, her phone number, shapes, primary colors, simple number patterns, mom and dads first name.  Seems like a lot but kinder teachers recommend that.

Good luck!

Answer 9

My nephew is 5 and just started kindgergarten this past school year. Alls I can say is- it depends on the child, if your daughter is mature for her age and you think she can handle it- you really don't need to do anything. However make sure she goes in knowing her ABCs- is good behaved, and plays well with other children. Kindergarten is seriously as equal as daycare to me- they really do nothing but Arts and Crafts and sing songs- but it is preparing them in terms of being in a class. She will have typical: library, music, art, and gym. But other then that you learn how to write your name. So i really don't think you really need to get her ready- unless she doesn't know the above stated. You just dont want to make her upset- so say it in an excited way like "hunnie- guess what? you get to go to kindergarten next year- aren't you going to be so excited?...that kind of stuff and just be honest with her- tell her how long your gonna leave her there for. My nephew had an issue in the beginning- that he didn't like his class- he didn't like it at all- and he cried for a little bit when his mom left him there- but after I asked him he just said "because i'm not used to it yet"...haha- he likes it just fine now. She will be fine. Good luck.

Answer 10

Get her used to sharing, help her to be ready to follow directions and that she may have to stop an activity even though she doesn't want to. Teach her how to talk to the teacher...raise her hand, say excuse me etc..

Answer 11

Contrary to popular belief by the teachers unions, a child who does not attend preschool will be ok.  She will need to be able to follow directions, know shapes, colors, ABC's and 123, and have most of the phonics type background - the B says Buh, write her name and most letters, etc.

If she can do each of these things, she will be fine.  Honestly, there is no reason to panic or drill her with workbooks and flashcards.  (If she enjoys these types of things, great.  If not, you can work with her as games and during everyday activities.)  

Reading to her and teaching her in everyday life is a great way to spend these few months before she starts school.  If all of a sudden you go into high gear "getting her ready" and she senses any worry or anxiety in your voice or how you are doing this, she could begin to wonder if there is something wrong with her and this could really backfire.

One thing that my kids love (my children and the kids in my home daycare/preschool) are file folder games.  They are so simple and fun, and great little time fillers, doing a lot of work like flash cards, but they don't feel like it.  You can google preschool/kindergarten file folder games (free) and just print them, put them in a file folder and if you want laminate them.  Quick easy and great.

If your daughter struggles with letters/sounds of the alphabet, may I suggest getting LeapFrog Letter Factory DVD for her to watch?  It is at Walmart for about 10 bucks, and usually at the library.  After watching this 30 minute video a few times, she will have all 26 down pat.  (We have kids younger than 2 knowing them thanks to this wonderful video.)  

If she's ready for reading, there is a great program online called Click and Read.  It puts learning to read into a game (can you tell I am big on games) and is easy enough for a young child to play.  (You should do this with her though, so you know what is being worked on.)

Best of luck and I am sure she will be fine!

Happy day!