Children before starting school must have some acquired skills so that their educational development can be optimal. In the first three years of life and regardless of whether you are in daycare or at home, you need to parents strive for their children to achieve these skills.
So if your little one will start school in the next school year and you are wondering what is the best way to prepare him and be able to get off on the right foot, these are some of the basic skills that children should acquire before starting. school and that you, as a parent you can help him to guarantee his acquisition.
Personal, social and emotional development
In personal, social, and emotional development, children will learn skills for independence and self-confidence. By the time regular school starts on the first day, your child will need to be able to:
- Think critically and solve problems depending on their developmental age
- Be able to dress and undress (with a little help if you are under 4 years old)
- Understand the difference between what is right and what is wrong
- Express your needs and what you want at all times (and what you don't want too)
How can you help your child?
As a parent, you must help your child achieve these goals. To do this, you need to ask for his opinion and ask open questions. You can ask him about his favorite things, what makes him feel sad or happy, what are his favorite games, etc. This way you can begin to use language to express your wishes, motivations and interests.
When buying clothes for her, make sure they have simple zippers so she can learn to dress and undress herself. The simpler the clothes you choose, the easier it will be for him to have a good autonomy.
Talk to your child about what is right and what is not right taking advantage of reading stories, cartoons or what happens daily in the family and at school. So you can learn lessons through everyday life.
The comunication and the lenguage
When your child starts school, it will be necessary for them to have sufficiently assumed the following aspects:
- Be able to speak clearly
- Enjoy stories, songs and tales
- Listen and repeat sounds to be able to link phonetics with the alphabet
- Be able to hold a pencil and make even strokes
How can you help your child?
At home it is a good idea to sing together with rhymes and different rhythms so that the child develops better auditory processing, where children learn to process what they hear, to repeat it, to maintain the rhythm, etc.
Reading stories and telling stories are also good ways to help children to improve communication and language. You can ask him open-ended questions about colors, shapes, sequences, numbers, or whatever you are talking to him at any given time to enhance his language and communication skills.
Development of logic and the mathematical world
Your child doesn't have to be a math whiz when he enters school, but it is a good idea to help your child develop a basic understanding of number concepts that can be used for children to develop and learn in school.
The numbers, the value of the numbers, the understanding that 5 is more than 3 (for example)… are useful to introduce mathematical development. It is also useful to introduce concepts of counting, shapes and spaces, heavy and light, high and low, etc.
Knowledge and understanding of the world around you
Children have an innate and natural curiosity for the world that surrounds them and that is something that must be promoted from the time they are very young so that they do not lose that desire to learn. That is why children just have to continue to have that motivation for learning.
How can you help your child?
One idea is to encourage your child to make collages together on pictures from magazines or with different textures or materials. You can also talk to him by entering basic time frames, such as: “We are going to see Grandma tomorrow, do you remember when we went to the park yesterday? It will be the same time that we will wait to see the grandmother, there is 1 day of the seven that the week occupies ”. Or maybe: "There are 5 days of school and two of parties on the weekend on Saturday and Sunday, in total there are 7 days in the week ”.
Physical development (gross and fine motor skills)
If your child does not have any kind of difficulty, he should be able to move safely, controlling his body, manipulating objects, etc. To help you it's a good idea to go out to the park or field to play, to run and jump with the different elements of nature, thus enhancing their gross motor skills.
Spending time doing simple, quiet activities that focus on fine motor skills would also be a good idea. Carry out activities that include, for example, playing with play dough, with legos, with cars, doing puzzles, etc.
To start working on lateralization and identification of the left and right area of the body, it is a good idea to do physical activities outdoors, where the movement of the body is the protagonist and pointing out the different parts of the body at all times.
Development of creativity and imagination
If your child likes colors, shapes, dance and music, it is necessary to continue promoting it! There are many ways to empower him so that when he enters school he can continue with these skills. From home you can play with games, toys, play symbolic games, paint, use blackboards, sing, dance ... Any way to express your emotions will also work!
What if you make up a story together taking turns getting to say new things and complete the story? It is a great exercise to enhance creativity and work the family bond!