Five Ways to Prepare Your Toddler for School

Let me preface this with..I am not a toddler expert but I am a teacher at heart and have taught Kindergarten or TK for the past nine years. It is just in my blood to work with my babies (I have a 9 month old and a two year old). I know what they have to know and it doesn’t feel like a chore to me because I was put on this planet to be a teacher. I am overwhelmed, overly tired, my house is a mess, and my laundry is always up to my eyeballs but I’ll be darned if my kids don’t know their letters and sounds by age 3. #imafreak

With all of that to say, I have had several people say to me “You need to write a book to tell me what to do” or “Can you make a list of activities for me” or “Pinterest is so overwhelming so I just don’t do anything”. Here’s a list of five ideas that can maybe help get the ball rolling for those of you that have been asking!

1. Exposure

In the most simple way I can possibly say this, talk to your children. Even if you feel ridiculous talking to your baby that doesn’t make a noise back, talk! If their name starts with an “A” and you are out and see that letter say something like, “Oh, look (let’s just say) Amanda, there is a capital letter “A”…that’s the name your name starts with. So many parents do this without even thinking and talking to your child and noticing things out loud for them. You will start to find that they will start do this back and they will start noticing those types of things as well.

Get a few different toys (not all for goodness sake) that have numbers, letters, and shapes. We have foam shapes in the bathroom and we practice them at night during bath time. We make it a game and they think it’s hilarious to make the letters stick to their head and back.

Obviously, I don’t think screens are the end all be all but there are some good apps and DVD’s out there! I all about some Letter Factory

I also love the idea of a subscription box! What a great way to have some activities sent right to you without having to seek it out! I linked an article that has several mentioned. I’ve never tried one, but what a great idea.

Exposing your kids to something is better than to worry if you are doing it right!

2. Name Recognition

The easier, the better. That’s the name of the game. We did this activity with a chalkboard, paint brush and water. I wrote her name in chalk and she used a paint brush dipped in water to make it disappear. Don’t have a chalk board? That’s ok. Grab some sidewalk chalk and take it to the sidewalk. If you don’t have any chalk and don’t want chalk..get creative! Expo marker on a mirror (that sounds scary so maybe for just very mature toddlers ;-)…let me know if you have one of those because I’d love to meet them). Toddlers love a mess so if you’re up for it…shaving cream, sand, paint…all of it works for practicing. Just let them see their name as much as possible.

3. Fine Motor

What the what is fine motor? It’s the little muscles that control movement. Usually if a teacher drops the word “fine motor” they are referring to pencil grip or scissor control. Kiddos that struggle usually need some fine motor help. You can do some activities with your toddler to help them before they get to school.

I was about to type out my own list of fine motor ideas and then Pinterest just saved my life (again) and you can pick your own from this list of 30 activities! We may do 30 by the time my 9 month old goes to Kinder…whew. I felt good just lacing some beads. Those are Melissa and Doug beads lacing beads that we are using.

4. Read out loud every day

I could go on and on about the statics of how important it is to read to your toddler, but just believe me…read. Model fluent and expressive reading to your baby, toddler, kids that can already read…don’t stop. Share stories together and connect good feelings and reading memories with your babies. It’s so good for your heart but it is the MOST important thing you can do to help impact your child’s success. Start from day 1!

5. Practice School

Basically, send them to school…if you can. I know it’s expensive and I know that you might have just rolled your eyes. But y’all, your kids need interaction and exposure from peers and someone else other than you. If anything, send them to Sunday school once a week if you can’t get in to a preschool, daycare or mother’s day out. It is crucial that they have some practice with sharing and interacting with peers before they get to Kindergarten.

If you have any resources or ideas that you have used or currently use, I would love to hear about them! Just leave it in the comments and hopefully it will help other mamas and teachers so we have it all in one space!