Parents across Michigan are preparing for open houses and registration for kindergarten students. Education experts recommend that parents don’t stop there, in fact, they recommend working with their soon-to-be students now to ensure they get a good jumpstart inside the classroom next year.
Nicole Kelso, a Kindergarten teacher at Our Shepherd Lutheran School in Birmingham, said there’s several places students can get a jumpstart.
From a cognitive standpoint, kindergarten students are going to be working on alphabet, letter identification and number recognition in school — all things that are easily practiced at home, especially with the advent of apps that can be used in-home.
Kelso uses a variety of apps inside the school, in total the students may get 1/2 hour a week using the apps but because they’re simple to use parents can increase their child’s productivity — or jumpstart the process by using them now.
- TODO Math: An educational app that allows children to count, trace numbers and play games
- A-B-C Tracing: An educational app that helps students learn how to write/recognize letters in the alphabet
- Rhyming Bee: Another educational app that teaches children to identify root words and rhyming.
Kelso also stresses making sure that your child is socially and emotionally prepped for school.
“One example of prepping your child is giving them more responsibilities at home,” said Kelso. “So, possibly giving them an age appropriate chore: clearing the table, or making their bed.”
It sounds simple now, but experts relate a good educational foundation in the early years of education with success in the years ahead.
