Going to kindergarten in this new age is a lot different than it was when we were children. Modern children are more aware of the adult world, more sophisticated and certainly more aware of technology and the internet than was imaginable even a few years ago when that youngster was a newborn. So we have to take that into consideration when we begin to prepare a child for kindergarten because there is really no level of schooling that is untouched by computers and technology.
The first step for finding out how much your child needs to know about computers and the internet day one in kindergarten is to visit the school and talk to the teacher. It really isn’t a matter of kids being forced to learn about cyberspace. Schools are simply using the internet for teaching because kids are showing up already knowing all about it. As you look around any modern kindergarten class, you will see dozens of computer kiosks so the kids can connect to the internet and use the internet for anything from research to communications to learning games to exploring the galaxies.
Continue reading ‘Computers for Kids’
One of the things about a child going to kindergarten that is so new is the feeling of being apart from mom and dad for the first time. For most infants, one of the things they can count on the most is being able to be with mom or dad, all the time. It’s one of those constants that gives a young child that sense of stability and safety from which she can explore the world.
So when that moment comes when the child will be going off to kindergarten, it might be the first time that your child will be away from you for any significant period of time. And that can cause anxiety for the child as well as for mom and dad. But there are things you can do to prepare for that moment of separation so the shock isn’t so sudden and so the child can acclimate to the new world of public school.
The key to reducing the anxiety of that big move to kindergarten is to “test drive” separations from mom and dad in the year or so before kindergarten. Now, it’s fairly normal for a child to be with a babysitter for an evening. Often this is grandma or the child spends the evening with other relatives with whom there is already a fair amount of comfort and security. But you might think about making these kinds of separations more frequent to where the child knows he or she will be away from mom an evening each week indefinitely.
Continue reading ‘A Little Separation is a Good Thing’
That phrase is the one we least want to hear either the day of or the night before the big moment when your child is going off to kindergarten. The last thing you want is for your child’s first day at kindergarten to be the result of a power struggle. That kind of unpleasant start to what is going to be a very big change in the life of a child will only put a cloud over the day and perhaps his year at school and that is exactly the opposite of what you want.
Of course, if it comes down to a pushing contest, you are going to win. And sometimes children test your borders with a comment like, “But I don’t want to go to kindergarten”. You know your child best and if that is what is going on, you also know how to maintain your authority so they know that going to school is not option and that not only will they go today, they will keep going every day for the entire school year.
Continue reading ‘But I Don’t Want to go to Kindergarten!’
