Considering Kindergarten (continued)

Know the system. Many school systems start holding open houses and asking parents to fill out an enrollment form as early as January or February. While it is never too late for you to sign your child up for kindergarten in a public school, you should still try to attend meetings and pick up forms to find out about the process and important dates. You might have to rank your choice of schools if there is more than one in your community, and you will want to attend any open houses. If you are unsure about your child’s readiness, some school systems also offer an assessment. Even if it is not advertised, you should ask about it.

First day fears. Once you have enrolled your child in kindergarten, you should start preparing both her and yourself early for this big event! Be sure to take her to visit her kindergarten classroom. Many schools invite new students before the school year actually starts. This is a great opportunity for her to meet her teachers, and maybe even take a ride on the school bus! You can practice walking to the bus stop or to school with your child. Get a list of what she will need for school, and pick things out together, like a backpack, folder, or lunchbox. Practice the routine a few weeks early. Start waking her up at the time she will have to get up for school, and do everything that needs to get done in the morning, like getting dressed and eating breakfast. Pack her bag together the night before so that she knows what is in it and where to find everything.

If your child is not ready. If your child is not ready for kindergarten, do not be concerned! Even if he is five years old, you would rather your child be academically, socially, and emotionally ready to start school than have trouble later on. If your child’s friends will all be starting kindergarten, it might be best to take him out of his preschool program and put him in a pre-kindergarten program or even another preschool classroom so that he does not feel left behind and left out.

For more information, visit http://preschoolerstoday.com/resources/articles/kindergarten.htm orhttp://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=701 .