Is your little one about to start kindergarten? If so, then you must be feeling both excited and nervous. There’s no need to worry, though, for this is an all-natural part of being a parent.

Nevertheless, you can help your child experience kindergarten for the first time in a positive way with these essential starting kindergarten tips

Become involved in the school

A parent’s involvement is necessary for the child to feel more secure, thus, allowing him to perform better in school. This is important in all levels, but especially so in kindergarten.

Teachers would want you to stay in touch with them so that you can collaborate with them to help your child have an enriching learning experience. Get to know your child’s teacher and exchange contact information with him or her.

Also, it helps to do a bit of inspection on the school grounds. For instance, you must ensure that the playground is certified safe for kindergarteners.

Teach your child proper etiquette

Gradually, instill proper manners in your child so that he can interact well with both the kids and adults that he is about to meet. Proper bathroom etiquette such as how to wash hands and flush must not be overlooked as well. That way, your child will know how to use the bathroom with minimal supervision.

Let them practice basic skills ahead of time

Empower your child by equipping him with some basic skills even before he starts kindergarten. This will not only motivate him to want to learn more, but also let him gain the confidence he needs to tackle the tasks in store for him in the classroom.

Here is a list of some of the basic kindergarten readiness skills that you and your little one can bond over for a couple of minutes each day:

Shapes and Color Recognition. Your child will learn how to identify basic shapes and colors. It helps to hang posters of shapes and colors on his bedroom wall and playing several games to help enhance his ability to recognize them.

Letter and Sound Recognition. In most kindergartens, children are taught to recognize the letters of the alphabet, especially the sounds associated with each letter. Aside from singing the Alphabet song, you can also try games such as by playing with alphabet magnets on the refrigerator with your child. A poster with pictures, each of which has a name that starts with a letter in the alphabet, is also useful.

Number recognition. Basic counting skills are taught to kindergarteners, including recognition of the common numeral system (which is Arabic numerals, in most cases). You can recite the numbers with your child and play with number refrigerator magnets, or hang a poster with the numbers and pictures to represent the different numbers.

Fine motor skills. Give your child some crayons, markers and some age-appropriate activity sheets to practice his drawing, coloring and writing skills ahead of time. By letting your child practice early on, he can perform more confidently in the classroom.

Hopefully, these tips have also inspired you to think of even more ways to help your child start kindergarten confidently. Feel free to share these starting kindergarten tips to other parents as well.

Starting Kindergarten with Young Scholars Academy of Colorado Springs

Young Scholars Academy is dedicated to helping you and your child transition into kindergarten. Our Preschool and Junior Kindergarten programs can help your child prepare for the big step into kindergarten. Come check out our programs and contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you!

Like many things in life, childcare programs are not all made equal. Childcare comes in a variety of types. From simple in home babysitting, to educational childcare programs like preschool, to school age programs, childcare is as diverse as the children who benefit from it. But just because they are different doesn’t mean that one is better than the other. A babysitter is fine if you just need to get away for an evening. But if you want childcare with purpose, childcare that is more than supervision, childcare that exercises your little one’s mind and ignites their creativity, educational childcare with childcare enrichment programs is what you are looking for. Let’s take a look.

What are Childcare Enrichment Programs?

Childcare enrichment programs are programs that focus on the mental and creative development of your child. From art to music, STEM programs to dance, childcare enrichment programs both supplement and enrich a child’s educational development.

Music Childcare Enrichment Programs

The importance of music education cannot be overstated.  Music education has been shown to give children a number of cognitive benefits as well. Early music education is linked to higher test scores and contributes to ease of language acquisition and reasoning skills in young children.

The memorization techniques that are required to keep time, beat and melody all coming together into one boosts the parts of the brain associated with recall and memory. Keeping time and beat also contribute to the development of fluid intelligence and control.

Art Enrichment Programs

Before written language, there was art. Cave paintings scribbled by our Neolithic ancestors make clear the natural tendency for human beings to represent their lives in picture and story. Unfortunately, art education programs have suffered years of cutbacks and limited budgets. But that is starting to change. More and more education experts are acknowledging that art is an important element of a child’s education. And it’s never too early to start. In fact, many early childhood education centers are incorporating art programs for young children into their curriculum.

Foreign Languages

With foreign language programs, the younger the student the better. A young child’s mind is primed for language acquisition. It is important to realize that to a young child the language of their parents is just as foreign as Swahili is to an adult English speaker. The difference is the fact that the child does not have the limiting brain structures that develop as we age. They can absorb new words as concepts, while us adults absorb them as equivalencies between words, requiring the dreaded memorization techniques that made foreign language a bore in highschool. If you get them started early with a childcare enrichment programs that focuses on foreign languages, they will learn it with the same ease as they learn their native language.

Childcare Enrichment Programs with Young Scholars Academy

Young Scholars Academy of Colorado Springs has a number of childcare enrichment programs. From sign language to music and dance, Young Scholars Academy is dedicated to diversifying your child’s learning experience. Come check out our child care programs and contact us today.

One of the biggest misconceptions about child care is that it is just another form of child supervision, like babysitting. And in some cases, this may actually be true. Not all child care centers are accredited. And not all child care centers hold themselves up to the current standards of quality child care practices. The best way to determine the quality of a child care center is to learn how much emphasis is put on two things: safety and education. Educational childcare centers have programs and staff that are dedicated not only to day care supervision but also to the intellectual and social growth of the children in their care. Let’s take a look at some of the aspect of quality educational child care.

Educational Child care vs. Daycare

“Daycare” and “Childcare” are terms that are often used interchangeably. In some instances, that is okay. But childcare, especially educational child care, offers more in the way of programs than traditional daycare.

Daycare can best be described as a daily babysitting service. There is nothing wrong with traditional daycare. Children are supervised, fed and given some fun activities to do while their parents work. It is essentially out of home babysitting. But you may be looking for a little more for your child and the money that you will be spending.

Educational childcare is a step above daycare. Educational Childcare offers programs and activities that contribute to your child’s growth and learning.

Types of Educational Childcare

Educational childcare is usually reserved for children from infants to preschool age. But there are also some great programs that cater to school age children as well. Summer camp programs are often a great way to keep older kids engaged and learning during the summer break.

But the most popular and most well-known type of educational childcare is preschool education. There are many benefits of preschool child care for both parents and students, including preparation for kindergarten, social engagement and cognitive development.

Preschool is not just daycare. It is a place where your child transitions from the at home informal learning of early childhood, to the more formal classroom based learning of kindergarten and grade school.

There are also great educational toddler programs that focus not only on play but also on learning and cognitive development and motor skills. Before enrolling your child in a child care program, don’t be afraid to ask the center staff exactly what their philosophy and curriculum is. If they are a quality child care center, they will gladly offer you their information and educational policies.

Educational Child Care Programs with Young Scholars Academy 

Young Scholars Academy of Colorado Springs is dedicated to providing children with the quality educational childcare programs they deserve. Come check out all our awesome child care programs and contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you!