Academic skills compose only one category of those that children need in order to function independently. Children also need to learn social skills, to solve problems, and to make good choices for themselves and others. Considerable learning takes place before school begins. The experiences below are some parents can provide children that will enable them to make an easier transition from home to school:

• Provide opportunities to make friends with other children.

• It may help to leave your child at a friend's home for an occasional morning or afternoon.

• Teach your child the safest way to and from the bus stop or to and from school.

• Teach your child his/her full name, address, and telephone number.

• Have your child practice verbalizing this to other people.

• Encourage activities in which your child is successful and feels good. Self-esteem is important.

• Read to your child frequently.

• Encourage your child to express ideas through drawings, dramatics, and other activities that require the use of the hands.

• Encourage your child to share experiences and stories.

• Give responsibilities such as the following:

  • a. Putting toys away

  • b. Hanging up clothing

  • c. Doing small jobs such as helping set the table, putting away books and magazines, etc.

  • d. Going to the bathroom alone

  • e. Dressing self, tying shoelaces, and putting on boots. It is important that boots are large enough to be slipped on easily.

    • Blue's Clue's Shoe Tying Song

Here are some other fun and educational ideas to do over the summer!

• Alphabet (Literacy)

  • Use sidewalk chalk to practice writing and identifying letters

  • Draw out a hopscotch game with chalk and use letters to fill in each box, instead of numbers

  • Write letters on pieces of paper. Have your child drive a car to the letter you name.

  • Look for letters while you are out running errands or in the grocery store.

  • Make an ABC Memory Game, students match together two pieces of paper/cards with the same letter. The person with the most matches WINS!

  • Go on a letter hunt. Put letters on post-it notes or small pieces of paper around your house. See if your child can find all of the letters

  • Put some foam shaving cream on a tray or table. Practice making letters in the shaving cream.Put a piece of paper in a plastic page protector. Use dry erase markers to practice writing name or letters

  • Using the dry erase, you write the letters and see if your child can identify them

  • Play alphabet twister! Use a white shower curtain and write letters where each circle would be in a Twister game. Call out a letter and have your child identify it and play like Twister!

  • Say the alphabet while going up the steps or washing hands.

• Math

  • At snack time, ask your child for a certain amount. Example:

    • "I want 4 animal crackers" and practice counting them.

  • Use a bag of M&Ms, fruit snacks or Skittles and sort them by color

  • Count steps when you go up and down.

  • Identify colors of cars you walk by in a parking lot.

  • Use sidewalk chalk and make a hopscotch with numbers

  • Make a picture using stickers and count them as you put them on the paper.

  • The Dollar Tree has foam numbers that stick when wet. Use them in the bathtub to practice identifying numbers by finding them and sticking it on the tub or shower wall.

  • Blow bubbles and count them as you pop them

  • Go on a shape hunt

    • cut shapes out of paper and hide them around the house, see if your child can find and identify the shapes.

  • The Dollar Tree also sells large dice. Roll it and count the amount, then make the same amount with toy cards, crayons, cereal or whatever you can find to count!

  • Practice counting with one-to-one correspondence.

    • While counting, have your child point to one item as they say one number.

• Fine Motor

  • Playing with Play Doh

    • roll out snakes and make balls

  • Hide small buttons in the Play Doh, have your child find them and take them out.

  • Put coins in a piggy bank

  • Put holes in the top of a recycled plastic container (example: discarded frosting container). Use pom-poms (available at Dollar Tree) and have your child push them through the holes. String plastic beads on a pipe cleaner

  • Pop bubble wrap (SUPER FUN!)

  • Clip clothespins on a card or paper

  • Draw lines on a piece of paper and practice cutting on the line

  • Use a Light Bright

    • pushing in small pegs

  • Legos are great fine motor practice too!