Monthly Archives: January 2019

The first day at school isn’t too easy for both parent and child. It usually comes with some serious challenges. To make it at least a bit easier, it’s a good idea to start preparations for the big day before it finally comes. Below we present several useful ideas to make it less bewildering for children and unpredictable for parents. Learn how great effect you can achieve by mixing entertainment with traditional ways of learning.

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Good basics

The written word is the foundation of learning at school. But before a child can learn to properly use it, first must master some basic manual skills. And subsequently, the written word will open numerous paths of imagination and creativity. It also allows communicating much more effectively.

To train manuals skills needed to write, use various stationary objects like crayons, pens, pencils or even plasticine. Add a piece of paper and just let a child play with this set of items.

You probably already know that children love to learn through play and that’s a very effective method. So learning how to write properly should be conducted on the same path. Free play is a very good beginning to know better new objects and learns how to hold them naturally. Watch closely child general behavior and his facial expressions to judge whether the activity is entertaining or not. But refrain from intruding too much in this initial phase. You will start introducing some useful advice a bit later. Now just make sure that the child feels comfortable with new items.

Don’t worry too much, children are amazingly effective observers. They are able to pick up and introduce a lot of completely new information by simply watching the surrounding world. So it’s a good idea to allow a child to watch how you write, draw or paint.  But on this occasion try to do it a bit slower than usual. So that the child can keep up with your movements. Later you can encourage him to repeat your moves one after another.

Alphabet

Learning the alphabet is really a big challenge for a little child. So you can try using visual stimulus like for example coloring pages for children. You can easily find the whole alphabet on a series of coloring pages where a child can try to fit colors inside the letters. Moreover, the pictures are usually decorated with a relevant drawing, for example, letter “A” is accompanied by an antelope, “B” by a bear and so on. This will very effectively instill visual associations working as reminders. This will be a true handicap for a child beginning to learn the alphabet at school.

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Reading can be fun

Reading to your child is a must. It’s a great way of describing him several aspects of life and the art of storytelling. Listening to relaxing sounds of a parent’s voice will surely encourage a child’s curiosity about the world and awareness of the surrounding environment.

When a child is of pre-school age, reading can be a very good way to help him prepare for school and gives him a basic insight of what to expect on the very beginning of the education process. When a child knows more beforehand, this will give him more confidence during the first weeks in a classroom.

But how exactly reading can prepare children for school? Well, numerous researches prove that even just 10-15 minutes reading to a child a day substantially helps:

• to develop social and emotional skills of a child
• strengthen a mutual bond with parents
• strengthen self-confidence and willingness to learn

Combine reading with more interactive methods to make it even more fun. This way children who begin learning to read at school are usually in a positive state of mind.

So what can you do exactly? For example, make animal noises or funny characterizations. This will increase child’s engagement and generally make it more entertaining.

Try asking some simple questions regarding the story, such as: “What would you do it this situation?” or “Do you think that it’s right or wrong?”.

It’s also a good idea to swap the roles for a moment. Just let your child be the storyteller. If he can’t read yet, then he can describe what he sees in the picture. You, on the other hand, can ask some additional questions. It allows a child to use imagination and interpret the surrounding world.

Remember to steer clear of TV, radio or mobile phone noise to make reading the most efficient and relaxing.

You can make it!

Learning at school can be a big challenge for many children. A rigorous routine, many new friends and a teacher who isn’t always the most polite person.  Especially at the very beginning it can be truly overwhelming for slower adjusting kids. Prepare your child for this big challenge to build a positive attitude and optimism towards his first day of school.