Milestone Reminder

It can be scary to see these milestones and think, “my child isn’t there yet.” In most cases, that’s completely normal. Milestones serve as a general guideline — if your child isn’t hitting them “on time” it doesn’t mean anything is wrong, or that they never will. Some kids take longer to talk, some take longer to walk, but they all tend to get to the same place eventually.

Of course, if you’re concerned, you can always talk to your child’s pediatrician or daycare teacher to see if they have any insights. Early interventions, while not always necessary, can make a huge difference. You can always help your child continue to grow in these skills at home, and enroll them in a daycare or educational program where they can continue working towards their kindergarten readiness. But the most important thing to remember with milestones is that they serve as an idea of where kids should be — they’re not written in stone.

With that in mind, take a look at some other things that your child should master or be working on by the time they get to kindergarten:

Social Play

This is one of those milestones that takes consistent practice and lots of time — in fact, many adults still need practice with positive social interactions! By the time your child gets to kindergarten, however, they should know about taking turns, sharing, and be able to have conversations with their peers and adults. Playing games, interacting with play groups, practicing safe play and learning to respect other people’s physical boundaries are all important things to work on before and during kindergarten. This can be a great reason to enroll your child in daycare — all of these social skills are consistently practiced and taught.

Independent Bathroom Use

It’s not uncommon for kids to have accidents. Especially in younger years, children might have seemingly mastered using the bathroom, and still have the occasional night time incident. For the most part, however, kids should be able to independently use the bathroom by the time they enter kindergarten. This means advocating for themselves and recognizing when it’s time to go, taking care of business, and washing hands when they’re done. If your child is still struggling with this, talk with their doctor for some additional advice, and communicate to their teacher what works best for your young one.

Number Fluency

Recognizing patterns — such as seeing two identical shapes that repeat in a sequence or even knowing that they brush their teeth and listen to a story before going to bed — are essential for kids to start picking up before kindergarten. Children should also be able to count to 10, as well as be able to identify the numbers (even when they’re written out of order).

Additionally, while pre-kindergartners don’t need to be able to tell time precisely yet, they should understand words like “soon,” “later,” “tomorrow,” “today,” and “yesterday,” to name a few.

Milestones can seem like a big responsibility for both parents and children, but with the proper guidance and support, children will thrive. Our daycare center utilizes a curriculum and lessons to specifically help the development and growth of each child, and we know that your entire family will love what we do at Growing Kids Learning Centers. With flexible scheduling and pick-up/drop-off times, experienced and compassionate caregivers, and nine convenient locations, there’s a reason why families in Northern Indiana choose our daycare program again and again. Help your child prepare for kindergarten — enroll them in educational daycare with Growing Kids Learning Centers!

The post Some More Kindergarten Milestones appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.

At Growing Kids Learning Centers, we are highly knowledgeable in child growth and development, and we formulate our curriculum, learning environments, and daily schedules to help each child continue to thrive. Enrolling in preschool at our South Bend (at Ireland Road, State Road 23, and North Bendix Drive), Elkhart, Valparaiso, Goshen, Bristol, or Chesterton locations is one of the best ways you can help your child continue to hit those milestones. Learn more in our blog, and place your child in Northern Indiana’s best preschool and educational childcare programs!

Language Comprehension

By the time a child enters kindergarten, they should be able to both respond to questions, as well as ask their own. It’s pretty typical for your toddler to repeat “Why?” about as frequently as they take a breath, though sometimes, kids might need a little bit more direction (such as saying “do you have any questions about _____?”). Kids at this age should also be able to speak clearly, though many preschool-aged children have some minor to moderate struggles with certain letters and sounds. If this is the case with your own child, talk with their pediatrician and see if any language interventions may be necessary.

Why It’s Important: Teachers judge a lot of understanding off of verbal communication, especially at an age where written concepts are still forming. If your child can’t communicate what they understand (or what they don’t), teachers may have a difficult time addressing their academic needs most appropriately.

Print Awareness

Children don’t need to necessarily know the entire alphabet by the time they enter kindergarten, but they do need to know at least some of the letters. Print awareness also includes holding a book the right way — children in preschool should have a general sense of line direction (we read from left to right), and know to turn the pages from the right to the left.

Why It’s Important: Even if your child isn’t reading at this point in time, they’re continuing to develop concepts to prepare them for the moment it clicks. It’s like how before playing sports, they need to know what the ball is and what it’s like.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills are tough to grasp (literally), but are essential for entering the academic world and society as a whole. By the time your child enters kindergarten, they should be able to pick up a writing utensil (crayons work too!) and make marks on a piece of paper. Pouring something into a glass, practicing cutting with scissors, velcroing shoes, and painting with a paintbrush are all ways to help develop these skills.

Why It’s Important: These days, knowing how to type, hold a pencil, and use an iPad or other touch screen are all necessary skills for people to know, all of which require fine motor development.

We’ll continue with some more milestones in our next blog, but in the meantime, know that the preschool programs at Growing Kids Learning Centers are designed to help your child thrive. Preschool is the most important grade, and so much of this is because it helps children get on track for the rest of their school years (and life) to come. Enroll with Growing Kids Learning Centers today!

The post Milestones to Hit Before Kindergarten appeared first on Growing Kids Learning Center.