Schedule/routine for Activities

1. Drawing or any other activity that gets your son comfortable with holding crayons/pencils in his hand and using his imagination.

2. Letter recognition and writing. YES, they expect your son to at least have some knowledge of letters at this age. Again, getting him to write them will go a long way for him to recognize them and get his hand muscles used to that type of activity. There are simple activity books at the grocery store/book store in the magazine area that can help with this or you can just do it on your own.

3. Some reading comprehension. When reading to your son, take the time to ask him simple questions about the pictures and the story...such as, "What is that cow doing in the picture?" or "Why do you think the girl in the story is happy?" While you may think the answers are obvious, for a young one it goes a long way to help them keep all the pieces and parts of a story together and start understanding the flow of stories, etc.

4. Quiet time. Your son will need to be able to settle down and focus on an activity for a bit of time. THIS IS THE HARDEST THING FOR MY KIDS! If you and your son are used to being active and on the go all the time when he is awake, you will both need to take out some time in your day to focus quietly on an activity. Any of the activities above would do. You will probably find that once you get started on the activities above other ideas will pop in your head that you and your son can explore.

Have fun!

I'm a schedule nut.. In corpoerate table time into when he gets home from preschool do your table time activities just like you would do Homework time when he got home from reg. school that way he is already in the mind set when he gets to reg. school that when he gets home have a snack then it's homework time. (teach them that playtime is after school work is down)..My girls are 12/15 & we have had the routine sense they were little so there is no arguing to do something else they already know whats expected..

Hi,
Socialization is key. Library reading time, gym classes, play time with other kids will help them focus with other kids distracting them. Art/craft time at home every day...get scissors(safety), glue, colored paper, crayons, washable markers, glitter glue etc. Try googling preschool for free ideas and printables. Also letter recognition, phonics, counting, shapes, number recognition (1-10), and counting objects;try adding another sit down project time. Check out website starfall.com for some free fun time with learning these subjects. Once it clicks they will thrive. Most importantly do it with them..PRAISE them...and if they do not want to do it don't push at that moment..back away...offer a snack or to play what they want for a certain amount of time then come back to it. Once the habit forms of doing this everyday, you can schedule it better in your day. Best of luck!

Sounds like you are doing a great job already! That's what preschool is FOR. I don't think you need to prep him. :) Iwould guess that your day is educational as it is. Sing while you are in the car, sort laundry by color, read stories , talk to him about everything you do! My opinion (take it or leave it) is that as parents we tend to get too wrapped up in making our kids the Best at everything. You are setting him up for success by nurturing and loving him. Keep up the good work!

Hi S.,
I'm an occupational therapist, and I worked with pre-school aged children for 6 years. I'm also the mother of a 4 year old pre-schooler (boy).

At this age, you probably know, children learn the most through play. The more variety in fine and gross motor play, the better. Also, we are lucky enough to be raising our children at home, but that meant our son didn't have the experiences other toddlers get in daycare for socialization and learning to stand in line, sit in circle quietly, etc. For this, we took our son, once a week to the local community center for, "Tumbling Tots."

If you want your little one to get a head-start on some pre-school skills, invest in some scissors for tiny hands, glue, construction paper, crayons, stickers, etc (you probably have most of these already) and set aside a set 20 to 30 minutes each day for your little one to sit and work on a project without distractions. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. But learning to cut in a straight line, punch holes, stick stickers, and hold a crayon are all basic developmental skills your child will be working on in pre-school.

Most of all: start talking about school to your little one: how exciting for them! They get to go to *school*! awesome! They will learn to dislike some things about school on their own soon enough. The least you can do is to get them started on the right foot :)

Good luck!
t