I have a 3 year old cousin who is the smartest little kid I know. His vocabulary is ridiculous and his comprehension is amazing. While sometimes it’s humorous, it’s also very admirable, because he’s only been in pre-school for less than a year, and doesn’t even go full time. My cousin is as smart as he is because his parents, our grandparents, and everyone else around him advocates learning outside of school. He watches educational children’s programs, he loves to read, and I even envy the games and toys he has that taught him his letters, numbers, and colors. As a parent, you can’t just rely on teachers and schools to teach your child. Take matters into your own hands before they step foot into a classroom:
- Read to your children: Reading is one of the most important skills a child can learn, and the earlier the better. You should start reading to your child while you’re a newborn. When they’re able to talk, go over the alphabet, get their first books to read for themselves, and practice building their vocabulary with simple words.
- Count everything: Math tends to be a rough subject throughout a child’s school career and that’s because they weren’t prepared. Start counting everything before your child enters preschool. Go over numbers 1-10 faithfully, counting on fingers, counting forward and backward.
- There’s an app for that: New developments in technology has allowed parents to go the extra mile to educate their children. Applications on smart phones and tablets make learning fun and easy. There’s a variety of games geared towards children that can keep their interest and help them retain the knowledge. If your child is already tech-savvy (my cousin already knows how to turn the computer on and navigate the Nick Jr. website), see what kind of apps there are out there.
How did you prep your child for school?