Y’all, I’m still in shock that Remy is registered for her first year of school. While it may seem like months away, I’m making it my mission to prepare her for the structure that kindergarten entails. Thankfully her preschool is really organized and offers a block schedule to prepare the kids for what’s in their future, but once summer rolls around that structure become a bit more Lucy Goosy. Here are some of the ways I’m preparing Remy for kindergarten in the meantime.
1// Schedule a school visit. Once Remy was officially enrolled for the 2018-2019 school year, the school was nice enough to offer an orientation. I jumped at the opportunity to have Remy familiarize herself with the school so that it’s not so big and scary when September rolls around.
2// Create a ‘work’ area & include starter tools. For Remy’s birthday, I’m planning on transitioning her play table, which is downstairs in the basement, into her room to create a work area. This way when school begins, she’ll have a special place to focus and get her school work done.
Within her work area, I plan on stocking up on plenty of ‘homework’ for Remy to do as a means to prepare her for a school curriculum. I’ve already introduced these flashcards from the Kindergarten Toolkit! They were the a great next step along our reading journey since Remy had already mastered letter recognition and letter sounds. For kids that are just beginning, “The Original” flashcard set is a great way to get your child ready for school and create a solid academic foundation for the start of kindergarten. The flashcard set includes the basics such as colors, shapes, letters, numbers and sight words.
We also introduced a Brain Quest Workbook (we got the kindergarten one). It is full of curriculum-based activities, exercises and games in every subject and Remy loves it! It is meant to reinforce what kids are learning in the classroom in a fun and interactive way. I love that it breaks down phonics to prepare Remy for reading.
3// Explain the perks! When I explained that she would be getting a whole bunch of perks when she started school Remy’s excitement shot through the roof! From a new backpack to school materials (pencil case, notebooks, etc.), to new clothes, homegirl was ecstatic to choose her new gear. I’ll intentionally make it her job to choose the color, patterns, etc. for all the required new things that come with starting school. This way she’ll gain some independence.
4// Start a countdown! About a month before the first day of school, I’m planning on doing a craft project with Remy in where we create a calendar specifically to countdown the days until school starts. This way we can update the calendar together as a family daily and discuss our excitement for the big day! My hope is that this will calm jitters for both kid and mom;)
