Ways to prepare for Kindergarten

*How to use these simple activities to prepare your student for Kindergarten learning

Coloring

Color with wax crayons on a large piece of paper. This will allow students the opportunity to practice the correct pressure needed.

Cutting

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Cutting leads to several learning opportunities. In terms of fine motor skills, the hand learns to separate the functions of its two sides; the thumb region and the rest of the hand perform different actions. The body is also learning to coordinate its two hands as they perform different actions. Hand-eye coordination is also stimulated during cutting exercises . Cutting stimulates capacities that help the child learn, among other things, to handle a pencil, manage buttons and zippers, and tie his shoes.

Playdough

Forming tiny balls of dough between the palms of his hands.

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Stretching out a ball of dough by rolling it on the table to make a "snake".

Cutting using a knife and fork by holding the dough with the fork (non-dominant hand) and cutting with the knife (dominant hand).

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This activity, which can call upon a child's imagination, offers numerous opportunities for the development of fine motor skills, motor planning, and the coordination of both hands. Here are a few examples of challenges involving modeling dough:

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LEGO Blocks

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Fine motor skills, motor planning, and creativity are called upon when a child plays with LEGO blocks. Encourage the child to play with LEGO blocks often, especially if he does not seem interested, since his lack of interest may be covering up difficulties. Trick: At first, letting the child build freely will provide a bigger payoff than asking him to build different models according to plans.

Playing Cards

Have you ever noticed how young (and not so young) children hold many cards in their hands? It is not an easy task and it is often hard to resist the temptation of helping them manage their cards. Often, we end up playing with our cards spread out on the table. Manipulating playing cards stimulates wrist and thumb control as well as the coordination of both hands. Here are a few challenges you can suggest, in order of difficulty:

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• Picking a card by separating it from the rest of the stack.
• Turning a card over on the table.
• Holding several cards like a fan.
• Taking cards out of a box and putting them back in the box at the end of the game.
• Shuffling cards.
• Placing playing cards together to build a castle.
• Placing a rubber band around a stack of cards.

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Crumpling Paper

Not only is this activity quite interesting for the development of motor skills, it is also amusing for children. Crumpling paper stimulates the musculature of the inside of a child's hands as well as the ability to separate the movement of different fingers. Have fun exploring different types of papers (tissue paper, magazine pages, copy paper) to adjust the level of difficulty. I like to call this activity the "recycling game", since it nearly always ends with a game of basketball where the child attempts to toss balls of paper in the recycling bin. Here are a few challenges to try:

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• Crumpling paper without using the table or his body for support.
• Crumpling paper with one arm stretched out.
• Crumpling paper without moving the fingers of the other hand or his tongue.

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Zippers

Snaps

Buttons

Getting Dressed

Practice zipping backpack, lunchbox, and pants

Practice snapping jackets and pants

Practice buttoning pants and jackets