What do i need to work on to prepare my son for Pre-K?

Question

Just wanting opinions on whether you think my almost 4 year old son is ready for Pre-K

he knows how to count from 1-10 he's a little shaky from 11-20.

knows his alphabet

when i point to capital letters, he can tell me what they are.

knows all of his shapes, -circle, square, triangle, rectangle, diamond, star, heart, cone, cylinder, arrow, and octagon.

knows all colors

knows all of his animals and the sounds they make

he is sorta behind in his speech. has been in speech therapy for about a month.

he is 100% potty trained and suuuuuuuuper polite.

is there anything else you can think of i need to work on with him to get him ready for pre-k this fall?

Answer 1

it seems like you have everything covered as of now .. but yeah keep working w/ him on his speech

Answer 2

Yes he is very ready for pre-k. It will help him to get use to being in a classroom with peers, being self sufficient, communicating with both adults and children, following classroom rules and listening to teachers. It will help him with social skills including standing up for himself. He will also know it is OK to make mistakes. Learning through play will be his job. Please don't overdo the academics. It should be something he is looking forward too and he will learn any motor skills both large and small in school. Anxiety can come with pushing a child with academics too early.

Answer 3

Check Usborne Books for some fun projects and activities to do this summer.  The Learning Palette system could be fun for him.  They also have great flashcards and activity books!  They would help with fine motor skills - cutting, painting, etc.  Have fun!!  http://www.ubah.com/g2687

Answer 4

he looks like he is prepared fo it!!

make sure he gets along with others.

Answer 5

Not that I think this is necessary, but if he knows his alphabet, but not his letter sounds, you can pick up The Letter Factory by Leapfrog.  It's a DVD and your local library will probably have it.  If you look it up on Amazon, you'll see it gets rave reviews.  I picked it up for my daughter today from our library and she watched it 3 times today!  I only let her because it's educational.  Seems like we're sending them off to school earlier and earlier, doesn't it? Goodluck!

Answer 6

Most probably he'll do just fine in preK.  You're doing a great job!  Something I think is beneficial is being with other children...and you may already do this.  Join up with a story time or play group.  Being with peers allows for some natural problem solving to happen.  :-)  

Also, has he been away from you for short periods of time?  If not...you may wish to arrange this a few times before entering preK.  Separation tends to be one of the more difficult transitions for them.

Something you can do on your own...not necessarily for getting him ready for preK...but consider exposing him to lower case letters and their sounds.  That will prepare him most for reading.  I think I've read that about 80% of what we see out and about is in lowercase letters.  :-)  

Great job getting him with a speech therapist... this will be a great help!

Answer 7

Wow!!  He is very prepared!!  A lot of Kindergarten and Pre-K is also gross and fine motor skills and socialization skills.  How is he with catching a ball?  Throwing a ball?  Hopping? Skipping? Cutting with Scissors?  Coloring?  Pre-K wise, he is all set...much of what you mentioned is K skills!!  

I would say just don't overwork him so that he is happy and excited to start school, not anxious or worried.  Do you think he will be okay separating with you for the half day?  That's one last thing I can think of that some kids haev trouble with!

Answer 8

socialization with other children - separation from mom