5 ways to send your smart child to Kindergarten.

Zzzpectacular Parents going wild into Kindergarten.  As our children transition into Kindergarten, so many questions come to mind for the first day of school.  Parents notice that their child seems to be more prepared for the academic setting than other children.  Your child may be sounding out words and reading already.  They may be writing their name and have all the foundations for an academic setting, while other children seem to be less prepared for Kindergarten and may need more support to transition well into their new school year and new school.  The biggest question that comes to mind for a parent who may have a gifted child transitioning into Kindergarten is:

Question: 
Will my child be bored in Kindergarten and what can I do to keep the magic in learning? 

Answer: 
1.  Never stop working with your child to even out learning abilities for another child.  What you have been doing with your child is obviously working nicely with your child's learning style.  Every child learns at their own rate and every child has their own unique strong areas of abilities that they all can share and learn from each other.

2.  Keep communication open with your child by asking positive scaffolding questions every day.  Ex:  "How was your day?"  "What very awesome activities  did you do today?"  "Did you meet a new friend today and what is their name?"  "If you were to guess; what is the best thing that happened in school today?"  Stay consistent, so your child will expect open communication as the norm and prepare to answer them with you.  Awareness of their day brings meaning and purpose in what they do during their day as well.  This can be on the way home, during dinner, looking through their backpack together and celebrating a job well done or while making dinner together.  Stimulating open communication will allow your child to express their feelings about learning and about learning in their new environment.  This will also give you the opportunity to instill good positive outlooks toward learning in an academic setting and with new friends.

3.  Teach your child to be helpful at school by bringing their talents and creativity to light in their world confidently.  When children are aware of their talents and creativity, they will share this with other children.  And when a child feels useful, accepted and comfortable in their own classroom, they will flourish and survive through anything that comes their way.  It's our job to help our children to use their knowledge to help others and to realize that this is just the beginning of something even greater.  A futuristic approach with our new explorers and discoverers stimulates curiosity and a thirst for more knowledge.  To keep it fun, we need to express and show fun while learning new things in everything we do every day.

4.   Keep communication open with your child's teacher throughout the school year.  Attend back to school events, parent teacher conferences and volunteer for class events and trips.  Being a presence in your child's education will not only please your child, but will allow you to watch your child in the classroom setting.  Is your child an introvert or an extravert?  Is your child helpful or seems to be the last one to offer himself as a team member?  Is the classroom environment instilling family togetherness and working together as a group?  These are all dynamic building questions that may have an effect on your child's happiness in this new setting.  Realizing that every child adjusts to new settings differently, the magic is finding ways to help an intelligent child to work well with others as an equal and to find friends to share their learning experiences with during their day.  Ask your child's teacher to recommend any suggestions that may help your child to transition into his/her new setting easier.  It's ok not to be perfect, because that's what humans do best and naturally.   We make mistakes and find new ways to survive in a complex world whether we are young or old. So, show perseverance, flexibility and kindness by role modeling problem solving techniques in a positive way.  This is how they learn, by your example.

5.   Most important, relax and enjoy your child as a child and not as a robot.  Smart children tend to be more sensitive to their environments and new situations.  Knowing that their environments throughout their week are all part of bringing to them their learning processes so that they can grow and to develop in a healthy way.  Children have a funny way of taking a situation and making it fun without our help.   How we can help, is by showing strength during difficult times ourselves.  This will help your child to see their world in a positive and in a fun way too.  Also, this will help you and your child to approach changes in schedules, environment, curriculum and even teachers with open arms and minds.  Knowing that it's ok to have feelings of fear, uncertainty, anxiety on the first day in a new school and knowing that they have control of these feelings with a good positive approach for preparation and support can make the difference in their day. 

Note:  Good family values to build your own cultural integrity is the key to setting the foundations for any child at home and in the academic environment to succeed in their world around them.  Keep it fun by bringing out their talents and creativity.  This will build a positive foundation for learning for any child.  Have fun the first day of school and we're available to make your day easier with our unique Natural Learning Through Play extra-curriculum program for Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Grade School and beyond.  ~ Deborah Barnes, Early Childhood Specialized Curriculum Consultant, Teacher and Kindergarten Readiness Tutor.

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