“You are your child’s first teacher.”
I have taught for 22 years, and I do believe I have said this to parents for 22 years, as well. As a parent of a preschooler myself, I understand that sending a child to preschool can be an emotional experience. Since I have always worked outside the home, the experience of a little one starting “big school” is probably easier on my emotions than most. However, my youngest is about to start preschool and this is pulling at my heartstrings since he is the baby.
“There are so many wonderful things parents can do to prepare their preschoolers as well as themselves. From social skills to self care skills, home is a great place to start.”
-Katie Presley, Preschool teacher for 22 years
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL
Social-emotional skills are those skills needed by children to express and manage emotions, form healthy relationships with others, and be curious and comfortable in their environments. These skills are the basis for the preschool classroom (especially a three-year-old room).
A great resource I found is www.brighthorizons.com. This site has practical (and easy) tips on fostering emotional development in your preschool child.
Here are some ways to help foster these skills.
1. Discuss emotions when the child is having a hard time.
2. Model, model, model.
3. Teach them to take turns
4. Help children to develop the skill to follow directions
5. Empathy can be innate and learned, as well.
SELF-CARE
Self-care skills are what I like to refer to as “practical skills.” These skills are the ones that most of us parents think about working on before preschool begins. Potty-training (every preschool has its own set of rules about this), getting coats on/off, rolling up a nap mat, opening lunch items, and hand-washing are only a few self-care skills that preschoolers are learning as they go!
Parents can help make preschool an easy transition by working on some of these skills before preschool begins.
1. Potty-training
2. Handwashing
3. Lunch items
4. Nap mats and backpacks
5. Nap time
CLASSROOM READY
1. Prepare your child to learn
Classroom ready for me as a teacher simply means that a child is ready to learn! Not long ago, a parent came to me concerned because her soon-to-be preschooler does not know all his numbers. I told her that if he did, I might be out of a job. Ha!
Many times, I say that I do not recognize my preschoolers when we get out in May. They grow exponentially during this time! I have had a preschooler in August that did not know one letter and then was trying to read by May. Remember, all children are unique, and just because your neighbor’s preschooler knows all his/her letters by December does not mean that your child will.
2. Practice sitting still and listening
Classroom ready means that a child can sit still and listen to the teacher read a book. The child is ready to play learning games, go to “free” centers (like the kitchen area or baby dolls), and can sit at the table and follow directions during small group time with the teacher. Preschool is pivotal in a child’s social, emotional, physical, and educational development.
SETTING A POSITIVE TONE
Remember what I said about parents as a child’s first teacher? I really believe that! Seeing our little ones grow up is rewarding and emotional at times. And with everything going on in our world, we parents are understandably concerned about school starting. But we can set the tone for all our children, no matter the age.
1. For preschoolers, specifically, staying upbeat in front of them is so important.
Preschoolers can always sense parents’ emotions, and that includes anxiousness about school. My advice is to smile, give a hug, and a QUICK goodbye.
2. Give them time to adjust
Trust me on this! The longer parents linger, the more likely the child is to start crying. If your child is already crying as you leave, give him/her some time to adjust.
Preschool teachers see this often and have experience helping little ones feel safe. I had a student one time that cried every morning for months. By the end of the year, he did not want to go home at the end of the day! This was extreme, so please know that your child WILL adjust. It takes time.
COMMUNICATION AND SUPPORT
1. Support your child’s teacher and school any way you can.
In so many families (mine included), both parents work outside the home. Since I have always been a teacher, I have never been able to be the Homeroom Mother or help with parties. There are so many other ways to be supportive, though.
2. Check folders daily
My preschoolers have backpacks and daily folders. If your child has something similar, check his/her folder every day. Teachers send lots of notes about school functions, parties, and dress-up days in addition to children’s daily work that they have completed. If your child’s class/school has a social media page, check that as well. Sometimes I will post something on my class Facebook page that I forgot to send home in a note.
3. Attend PTO meeting
Our school has PTO meetings four times a year. These meetings are awesome because parents can get information that pertains to the whole school. There are many ways to support your preschooler in his/her educational journey.
4. Trust the teacher
Last, but not least, please remember that your child’s preschool teacher has his/her best interests at heart. Preschool is really school! We have a set of criteria and objectives given to us by the Department of Education that we use to gauge teaching and learning in the classroom. If you ever have questions or concerns about your preschooler, let your child’s teacher know. I tell parents to email me at my school so that I can get back to them as soon as possible.