Deciding whether your child is ready for school yet or not can be a daunting task. However, with the right planning and preparation, you can make the transition a smooth one. 

School readiness refers to whether a child is ready to make an easy and successful transition into school. Through forward planning you can prepare your child by ensuring they regularly participate in activities that develop skills required for optimal learning when they start school. 

Being ready for school is not just about being able to spell their name, recognise colours and count to ten. It’s also about a much broader range of skills including self care, attention and concentration, physical, emotional, language, and play and social skills. 

Why Is School Readiness Important?

Developing school readiness skills allows a teacher to expand and further develop these skills in a range of specific areas. Without these basics established before school, kids will find themselves having to catch up to others. 

What Is Needed To Develop School Readiness?

There are a few developmental ‘building blocks’ that are essential in ensuring readiness for school. These skills include:

• Self regulation
• Receptive language
• Expressive language
• Emotional development/ regulation
• Social skills
• Planning and sequencing
• Gross motor skills
• Fine motor skills

How Can You Prepare Your Child For School?

There are numerous ways you can help your child get ready for school. You can:

• Change parenting expectations and encourage them to be more independent in dressing and preparing to leave the house;
• Build social skills through encouraging child to build relationships with other children;
• Build literacy skills by reading books with them;
• Use visuals to help them understand routines and schedules;
• Spend time talking with them about school and expectations ;
• Prepare them for excursions by taking them on outings to places like the library, zoo, shops to help them understand how to behave in different settings; and
• Develop fine motor skills through activities like art and craft, writing, colouring. 

There are many simple activities you can use to help your child prepare for school. Read some more suggested activities here. 

At Cubby Care, we know how important it is for your child to get the best start. Our balanced, educational child care programs will help your child develop the skills needed to thrive at school. 

Talk to our friendly team or visit one of our centres today.