Parents naturally want the best for their children. They want them to be healthy, successful, and happy. To achieve these goals, it is important to expose young children to different experiences, so they are ready to begin school. It is during early childhood when children’s brains reach 80% of their full adult volume, so it is vital to intentionally provide them with opportunities to participate in a variety of activities. According to the Department of Education, there are five overlapping domains that indicate a child’s readiness for school: language and literacy, general knowledge, approaches to learning, motor development, and social emotional development.

Language and Literacy

Spend time reading to your children. Of course, reading at bedtime is a common routine in many households; however, you should do more than just the nightly routine of a bedtime story. Read throughout the day. Read road signs, grocery lists, recipes, and birthday cards. Talk to your children often. Explain what you are doing, tell them a story, and ask them questions. Adding to their vocabulary through reading and asking questions positively impacts their emerging literacy.

General Knowledge

Helping children understand the world around them and how things work help boost their general knowledge.  Create an environment where children are encouraged to ask open-ended questions. When they are comfortable asking questions, they begin to understand how things work, and they develop a curiosity about things they are interested in. The knowledge they uncover gives them background knowledge that can be applied to reading comprehension and other essential academic skills. Parents can begin by asking them questions about the world around them, and soon children will follow this example and begin asking questions of their own.

Approaches to Learning

Provide children with toys that encourage exploration, and then allow them the time to explore and complete a task. Children need to understand the importance of completing tasks, so encourage them to finish what they start. Give them crayons and paper, so they can draw a picture. Give them blocks for stacking. Schedule play dates so they have plenty of opportunities to be with children of similar ages, which helps them better understand collaboration.  Allow them to help with recipes or picking up toys. All of these activities help build persistence, creativity, and independence. 

Motor Development

Physical well-being and fine motor skills are important aspects of school readiness. Give children opportunities to run, hop, and walk. Let them throw and catch a ball. Teach them active games, so that physical activity is a positive experience for the entire family. Along with physical well-being, provide children experiences that help them with fine motor skills. One of the most difficult academic challenges for children in school is learning how to write. Holding a pencil and forming the letters can be frustrating, so begin working on fine motor skills early. From learning how to fasten a button, zip a zipper, and use scissors, children can practice and improve their fine motor skills beginning at an early age.

Social Emotional Development

Create opportunities where children are exposed to people of all ages. They need to understand how to interact with both children and adults before school begins. Schedule play dates as well as participation in sports or other hobbies where an adult such as a coach is involved. Help your children develop empathy, so when squirmishes evolve on the playground, they have the ability to understand how the other child might feel. Along with empathy, your children must understand the importance of sharing, so by providing multiple interactions with others, they will gain experiences involving sharing and collaboration.

You can help your children succeed in school by offering a variety of opportunities where they engage in creative play, build skills, and interact with others.