As a parent, you may marvel at the speed with which your children grow, and in the blink of an eye, they are almost ready to go to kindergarten. This is going to begin their long process of education and will prepare them for the big world ahead, but there's a lot that you can do to get them ready for their first day in this new environment as well.

Where to Start

While they will certainly pick up a lot of targeted education when they are in kindergarten, you can do a great deal to augment this learning in the home environment.

Literacy

To begin with, you should focus on reading and spend as much time as you can with your child and simple books. Don't worry about a particular approach here and just begin by reading a few sentences aloud, while trying to introduce the child slowly to each letter of the alphabet. They will just need to get used to the look and sound of each letter and how it fits into a particular word. Once again, this is a long process, but you can certainly help to get the ball rolling.

Association

You should also try to associate a particular sound with pictures in the book, as this will help the child to learn how to comprehend and listen. They will be able to associate these pictures with the various sounds in their mind, and eventually, this will become second nature.

Numeracy

While the ABCs are important, so are the 123s, and your next task should be to introduce your child to some very simple arithmetic. Just explore the concept of addition or subtraction through the medium of an enjoyable game that you can experience with the rest of your family. Again, a simple approach is best as you lay the foundation for their time in kindergarten.

Making a Start

Some parents worry that they may do things the "wrong" way, but this is impossible. You don't need to have professional training, as the experts in kindergarten will be prepared and ready to take on this task. If you do make the effort, your child will be better able to transition from the home environment to this unfamiliar place, alongside all those new faces. They will be able to enjoy the experience and be less anxious about their first few days at kindergarten, so long as you take the time to prepare them through some of these exercises.

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