Prepare For The First Day Of Kindergarten

The first day of kindergarten can seem a little intimidating to your
child. Make the transition easier by preparing him for the first day of
kindergarten with these activities.
Prepare Your New Kindergartner For The Big Day

My son is only days away from his first day of kindergarten. He is excited but a little nervous. I am confidant that he will be able to start off his public school career with a bang and not a whimper because I have done a great deal to prepare him for this exciting new event.

Granted my child has a head start over some kindergarten students because he attended preschool, but even so I took five key steps to help him make the transition to a new school, new teacher, and new experience. These five steps can help parents prepare their new kindergarten student for this important life event.

Introduce The Space

I took advantage of every opportunity offered to bring my son into the building where he will attend school. We toured his classroom and school, attended the kindergarten open house, and every time we had to bring paperwork to school I made sure to bring my son as well. Long before the start of school my son knew which school would be his when he started kindergarten. Long before the first day of school my son was familiar with his classroom and the basic layout of the school.

Introduce Key People

Make sure that your child has a chance to meet her teacher before school begins. Simply having one familiar face on the all-important first day will make a big difference. If your child will ride the bus then try to introduce her to the bus driver as well. Attend your school’s open house or visit school before the first day to also introduce other key teachers and staff members such as the school nurse, librarian, principal, etc. The more people who are friendly, smiling and familiar when school starts then the less intimidating school will be to a young child.

Find Some Friends

My son didn’t want to say good-bye to his preschool and move on to kindergarten and elementary school. However when I pointed out the number of his friends who would attend his new school he started to get interested. When he went for kindergarten screening one of the screeners included a friend from church who is also one of his Sunday School teachers. Soon I could point out even more teachers that he would know as well as how many students are familiar and he soon forgot his reluctance to attend the new school. By the time it he attended kindergarten open house he knew that one of his friends had the same kindergarten teacher and that an older friend had the same teacher a few years before. On the night of open house he was soon meeting his future classmates and playing together like old friends.

Go Over The Schedule

While I don’t know a minute-by-minute plan for his kindergarten day, I do know from talking with school officials and his teacher approximately how my son’s day will go. I have gone over the big picture scenario with him several times. I don’t expect him to memorize his schedule even to remember much of the detail. But I know that he likes to have an idea of how his future will unfold. This same child always asks for directions when we are going on a trip even though he is 11 years away from driving.

Introducing your child to the main events of the day will help take some of the fear and uncertainty out of those first days of school when so much is strange and unfamiliar.

Make Up Some Guidelines

Starting school will mean your child is likely inundated with a long list of new rules governing their behavior, their schedule, and their education. It can be rather overwhelming for young children. While my son is learning the specifics, I gave him these three broad guidelines to help him make better decisions about how he should behave in school:

1. Listen to his teachers

2. Be kind to others

3. Try his best
Really, all the other rules he will encounter in school will simply be refinements of these three basic rules.

Use these five simple steps to prepare your child for kindergarten and to ease the transition into school life.

Additional Resources:
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Deanna Mascle shares other early childhood education articles and tips with her blog Teach Phonemic Awareness at http://TeachPhonemicAwareness.info

Potty Training Guide

Potty training is an exciting process for parents and children. You will
find some great tips on how to make a smooth transition from diapers
to the potty.

Toilet training (herein referred to as “potty training”) is an exciting time for parents and children, as the child takes the next step to becoming a “big” girl or boy. While parents usually start this adventure filled with the anticipation of being able to cross “diapers” off the shopping list, their toddlers can make them wonder if this will ever happen.

Successful potty training requires a positive attitude and tons of patience on the parent’s part. More importantly, it requires cooperation and readiness on the part of the trainee. Attempting to train a child who is not physically or emotionally mature will not only be unproductive, it will cause unnecessary stress for both parent and toddler.

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that between 18 and 24 months, children often begin to show signs of being ready to begin training. Some children may not be ready until 30 months or older. Since children under the age of 18 months have little to no control over their bladder or bowel movements, beginning before this time is not useful.

Some of the signs that indicate a child is ready to be trained are:

Your child shows interest in using the toilet.

Your child makes a face, changes her posture or tells you when she is about to urinate or have a bowel movement.

Your child wants to be changed soon after soiling his diaper.

Your child can speak well enough to communicate when she needs to use the potty.

How to Start

Once you feel your child is ready to begin potty training, the first step is to purchase a potty chair. A potty chair is smaller than the toilet and helps the child to feel more secure.

Have your child sit on the potty during times she is most likely to urinate or have a bowel movement, such as in the morning, before and after naps or after mealtimes. Reading a book, talking or singing songs will encourage your child to sit on the chair longer. Avoid trying to force your child to sit for long periods of time or against her will.

Don’t be surprised if, after sitting on the potty without result, your child stands up and begins to urinate. This is often perceived as stubbornness. The fact is, your child may not have mastered the skill of relaxing his bladder muscles. If this happens frequently, it may be a sign that he is not yet ready.

Training Pants

When your child begins to successfully use the potty, you may want to consider purchasing training pants for daytime use. Disposable training pants are convenient for outings, but cotton training pants will allow your child to be more aware of when they are urinating, encouraging them to use the potty instead. Plastic diaper covers will help protect your home from accidents.

Nighttime

Some children simultaneously learn to stay dry during the day and at night. For others, it can take several months, even a few years. Allowing your child to wear a diaper at night until she begins to consistently wake up dry will prevent feelings of shame and failure.

Regression

A new baby, changes in routine, family crisis or putting too much pressure on your child, can cause him to regress in the potty department. Avoid making your child feel bad during this time and encourage him to keep trying.

Relax

Every child’s body is different. Some catch on quickly, while others take much longer to recognize the signals their body is sending them. Lavish praise on your child when she is successful and reassurance when she has an accident.

Avoid comparing your child’s potty training progress to that of an another child’s. Mastering the use of the toilet is not an indication of a child’s intelligence. It is dependent on their physical, physiological and emotional maturity. Have patience and eventually, your child will be a “big” boy or girl.

Additional Resources:

Potty Training Tips
Potty Training Advice and Tips From Moms & Dads Like You.

Karen Bianchi is a freelance writer and the editor of AwesomeMomsNetwork.com. She is also the mother of 4 potty-trained kids. You can contact her at kbianchi@AwesomeMomsNetwork.com

Play Time Ideas - Play Dough - Make it Special

By Gayle Geisenheimer

Bringing out the play dough always brings a few smiles at my house. The play clay available in the stores comes in bright colors with fancy (and expensive) kits and tools. Try making homemade play dough. It’s easy to prepare a few large batches. It works well for me because I usually have a “large batch” of kids in the yard too.

Gather these ingredients: Flour, Salt, Food Coloring, vegetable oil and Cream of Tartar

In a two quart saucepan add 1 cup of flour, 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar and 1 cup of salt. Mix dry ingredients together. Measure 2 cups of water (with two drops of the liquid food coloring of your choice added) Drop in two tablespoons of vegetable oil and stir to mix. Add the liquids slowly to the dry ingredients in the saucepan and stir till combined. Heat over medium heat stirring often until the dough begins to form,starts to pull away from the side of the pan, and becomes a bit dry. Remove from heat and place on counter or board. Knead until smooth and cool. Keep cooled dough in plastic containers or plastic bags to keep soft and “playable”

Now, forget the fancy plungers and character kits sold in the store. Use a shoe box or Plastic storage box to create a special kit your kits will love. Look through the kitchen drawers, you’ll be sure to find some safe gadgets to inspire creative dough play. My kit contains two small rolling pins, some rounded plastic knives, spoons, melon ball gadgets and a collection of plastic lids and cookie cutters. Boys and girls love rolling out the dough and cutting out the different shapes, gingerbread boys and animal shapes. They use the melon ball utensil to form meatballs and cut strips of dough with the plastic knives. Search neighborhood yard sales for cookies cutters and plastic trays and such for your homemade fun dough collection. I also include Styrofoam meat trays (trays on which you get meats & produce at the market) I put my trays through the dishwasher to make certain they are germ free for the little ones. These trays make a great surface for each child to roll out his play dough and/ or collect and display the “cookies” and other goodies they make. Add some plastic candle holders or any cake decorating goodies you’ve saved over the years. Children enjoy adding these to their “pretend” cakes and pastries.

Most often I observed the kids using the old cupcake trays and cookie sheets to “bake” their creations in their imaginary ovens.

Do you think only girls will like making cookies and play clay pies? You’ll find the little guys are just as interested in pretend baking.

There are of course many things children will want to do with their play dough. You may want to try this with your mixture if your little one needs some help learning to cut with scissors, or needs to strengthen his/her hands. I was once caring for a young boy who, according to the Pre-K Teachers, had trouble cutting with scissors. The paper seemed to always slip out and he had a weakness in his hands. Cutting play dough is an excellent exercise for this problem. I rolled the dough into long robes and had the youngster use scissors to cut the clay into small pieces.

The idea was a good one. The child’s cutting improved; he gained some strength in his hands and most importantly, loved the activity!

When I play with the children I find they enjoy rolling out the dough and making their own pizzas and meatballs. Hotdogs, tacos and cupcakes are next on the list of favorite things to make with the mixture. Give these ideas a chance at your house and invent some news ones too.

I only use play dough at the table on the deck whenever weather permits. When my children were small, I learned quickly the mess it makes in carpeting. So that would be my only advice about limiting its use…otherwise the sky is the limit with home made dough. Children have great ideas for using the mix for creating a good time. Make a batch today - and let the fun begin!

We Recommend:
Potty Training Tips
Potty Training Advice and Tips From Moms & Dads Like You.

Copyright 2005
Gayle Geisenheimer
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