I remember the first day of Junior Kindergarten like it was yesterday. I was so nervous for T and obviously I was more scared than he was! My husband and I have always coddled T a little too much and have felt anxious when he started new things. We can’t help it.
When T was 18 months old he was diagnosed with a speech delay. And from that day on we had him in speech therapy. But as kindergarten registration day came in February of 2016, he wasn’t where he should have been as he approached the start to school. And I was nervous. I wasn’t sure he would be ready and we wanted to do everything we could to prepare him the best we knew how.
This involved doing various tasks with him; speech therapy, educational games and apps, reading, tracing, you name it we did it. And as we got closer and closer to the start of school last September, T was so much more prepared that we had thought. And we were thrilled (obviously I was still a bit anxious but hey, that’s me!)
We found out about Education.com about the various activities they have for kids. They have worked with teachers to create thousands of educational activities for kids. After browsing their site, I couldn’t believe the amount of activities they had created for parents and schools. I was amazed actually at what they offer, from pre-kindergarten up to grade 5.
One of the most important things for me before T started JK was understanding if he was ready. So the activity I chose that related to that is readiness skills for going into Kindergarten.
Tell your child you want to work on kindergarten readiness skills and she’s not likely to jump up and clap. But turn it into a game and it’s a whole different story.
In this game, your child picks a card from the “challenge box” and attempts to do what’s on it. If she completes her task, she gets to keep the card and move on to the next challenge. If not, she puts the card in the discard pile and moves on to another task. When time’s up, ask your child to help you count her cards. Write down her score and see if she can beat it the next time you play! As she plays this game, she’ll be developing her fine motor and comprehension skills as well as her ability to follow directions.
What You Need:
- 30 index cards
- Markers
- Small box
- Large space for playing
- Timer
What You Do:
- Write one kid-appropriate challenge on each of the index cards. If your child is close to entering kindergarten, you can use your district’s kindergarten readiness checklist as inspiration. This list is usually a mix of fine motor (small muscle) skills, gross motor (big muscle) skills, writing, counting, and listening. Here are some suggestions for your cards:
- Walk backwards, toe to heel for 20 steps.
- Copy a circle.
- Throw a ball so it lands in a circle of chalk drawn on the driveway.
- Hop ten feet.
- Skip across the room.
- Drop and catch a bounced ball 15 times in a row.
- Balance on one foot for ten seconds.
- Cut a piece of paper in half.
- Write your full name.
- Count to 20.
- Tiptoe across the room and back in 30 seconds.
- Find something square.
- Find something round.
- Find a triangle in the room.
- Find something blue.
- Put the cards in a box and invite your child to play. Set the timer for 10 minutes. See how many tasks she/he can complete before the timer rings!
When your child is done they’ll be more prepared for kindergarten and have a blast in the process!
Check it out for yourself and see the different options they have to offer for your needs. It won’t disappoint!
xo
D
