Tips for What Your Child Needs to Know Before Starting Kindergarten:

• Know their name, address and phone number.

• Be able to tie their shoes and get their coats and boots on and off.

• Be able to use the bathroom and wash their hands.

• Have experiences cooperating with other children; wait their turn, work with others, share supplies, etc.

• Use language appropriately and extensively.

• Have a healthy feeling of self-worth and positive feelings of self and of others (can-do attitude).

• Have good health and good nutrition habits.

• Be a good listener.

Tips for Activities to Help Prepare Your Child for Kindergarten:

• Visit the school with your child prior to the first day of school.

• Allow your child to be a part of a playgroup, church group or another group where she will learn to work and play with others.

• Read to and with your child. The single most important activity for building the knowledge for success in reading is reading aloud to children.

• Talk to your child as you go through the day’s activities. Try to spend at least 30 minutes a day talking and listening to your child.

• Talk about items found in the home and make labels together to show that the item names can be written down as words.

• Limit your child’s TV viewing. Children who are watching television are not playing outside, thinking, or being creative. • Buy or make hand puppets and help your child put on a puppet show after reading a favorite book.

• Sing or recite nursery rhymes, songs and finger-plays.

• Expect your child to succeed in school and celebrate when he does. Children work harder when their parents expect more and when parents recognize and praise their successes.

• Give your child tasks they can master. Help him learn one step at a time. Teach him to button his own clothing, climb steps. Build an "I can do" attitude.

• Let your child make some of the choices. If he’s young, it may mean choosing a sandwich cut in triangles or squares. If he’s older, he can decide what to do first, take a bath or pick up the toys.

• Hug your child and let him know your love is unconditional.

• Make learning fun. He will learn more and quicker if it’s exciting and "game-like". "Let’s see who can find the blue squares!" Cook together. Finger-paint, color, draw, cut and paste. Take a nature walk.

• Help your child choose healthy snacks such as fruit, carrot and celery sticks, plain popcorn, etc.

• Keep up with immunization requirements. Call your doctor or local Health Department to see if your child needs additional booster shots.

• Visit new and interesting places such as: library, park, police station, airport, post office bakery, bank, stores, railroad station, farm, malls, museums, the zoo, schools, and fire station.

(Source: South Carolina Department of Education, www.myschools.com, 2004.)