I'm not actually sure how I have a three year old already to even be thinking about this, but here I am.
Maggie won't be starting school this coming fall (2024). I've given it some thought and I would prefer to have her be one of the oldest in her class rather than the youngest. It gives me a little peace of mind to know that she will be a little further ahead than a little behind. She will begin pre-school when she is four years old, head into Kindergarten when she's five. Because her birthday falls in April (the end of), I think that's really what is best for her.
However, this means that she is missing a year of school that others are getting. So I've taken it upon myself to start working with her a little more and will continue to sort of home school her through this year.
I've done some research and found that what I need to work on so she is prepared. Before pre-school she should know:
- How to count 10 things
- Know basic colors (she's got this down pretty well)
- Hold a pencil properly
- Communicate her needs (she is very good at this!)
- Know the concept of reading (she loves to be read to)
- Answer simple questions (she can do this)
- Draw (she loves to draw)
- Enjoys participating in group activities (she's a social butterfly)
- Arranges objects by size (she can do this)
- Recognize letters (she knows a few)
- Identify name in print
- Have a little independence (she is quite independent with many things)
- Communicate clearly (she does this)
- Dress Herself (we are still working on dressing herself, she can put on her shoes and take off clothes)
- Follow directions (she does this)
- Potty trained (she has been since she was two years)
- Tell stories (she's a pro)
- Pedals a tricycle (sort of)
- Hold a pencil correctly (we were just working on this the other day)
- Copy square shapes (she can do this)
- Pretend play (she does this frequently and has since she was 16/17mo)
- Express emotions (we are working on this, she has been in her feels lately and we are trying to get her to understand she has to tell us what's wrong)
Last year at Christmas time I bought both Maggie and Brightlynn some puzzles and games that will assist in her learning her letters and what sounds they make.
While at Costco I purchased a dry erase book for her that will help her write her letters also. She loves to draw in that but we will start really working on it soon and hopefully she picks it up. We started working on how to hold a crayon/marker correctly recently and she struggles a little but she's working on it.
A lot of the above list she can sort of do or we have touched on. There are some things I want her to understand that doesn't have anything to do with academics. I really want her to learn our names, our phone numbers, and our address or at least the town we live in. I think this is something children usually learn going into Kindergarten but with how crazy the world is these days, I would feel better sending her if she knew what to say to police officer (or other trusted adult) should she become lost.
I found this printable on Pinterest that I intend on purchasing to help with that. Honestly the site I linked to has a lot of great printables that I intend on purchasing for her. Then I'll already have them when Walter is ready for them.
These printables are so cute! I think she's going to love learning with them. Honestly the entire site has some good recourses for homeschooling preschoolers and I will probably be using it quite a bit over the next year.
Some things I'm not concerned about, like being potty trained. She was fully potty trained by two years old and has no issues wiping, getting her pants back up, or letting me know she has to go potty. We were having some issues with her not wanting to use a public bathroom for a while but now she seems to have gotten over that and is doing great! I'm glad because I was always worried she would pee on herself while we were out because she was holding it too long. Not to mention the UTI she was sure to get if this continued.
I'm really hoping I can prepare her as much as possible. So that the setting is the only really new information for her.
How did you get your preschooler ready to start?
0 comments