Parents often worry if their children are “ready” for school. Most of the time, children who come from homes where adults read, spend time playing and engaging with their children, value literacy, and/or have some social interactions with other children in daycare, play dates, or preschool are usually well prepared for kindergarten.
However, there are some common school readiness myths to be aware of before you start becoming too anxious about whether or not your child is ready for school.
Myth 1 – Learning the ABC’s is crucial before school starts.
The Truth: While it is important, learning the ABC’s is a memorization skill. It is much more beneficial for children to recognize letters and identify their sounds to prepare for school.
Myth 2 – Children need to be able to count to 50 before school starts.
The Truth: While the order of the numbers is important, like with the alphabet, when it comes to school readiness, it’s much more important to understand number correspondence (each number counted corresponds to an object, person, etc.) and quantity.
Myth 3 – The more Pre-K looks “like school”, the more prepared they’ll be.
The Truth: Young children learn best in an environment that allows them to make choices and empowers them to try new things with a teacher who guides the learning. Just because a program isn’t structured how you remember school as a child, doesn’t mean it won’t help prepare them!
Myth 4 – Children need quiet to learn.
The Truth: Children actually benefit from a language-rich environment where adults provide responsive language interactions and where vocabulary is regularly introduced.
Myth 5 – The more teacher-lead learning, the better.
The Truth: Children comprehend concepts more fully when they are actively engaged in learning versus being told something by a teacher. Teachers should be there to guide learning.
There are some things that will definitely help your children make a smooth transition into school, such as "school skills" like lining up and raising hands. However, the best way to get your kids ready for school is giving them the chance to explore and experiment in an environment with caring adults who guide, support, and extend their learning.
Voluntary Prekindergarten (V.P.K.) from Kids & Company
The VPK program at Kids & Company is FREE for all four-year-olds born on or before September 1st of the program year who reside in the state of Florida. The program has high quality standards that include: qualified instructors, age appropriate curricula with a strong emphasis on early literacy skills and manageable class sizes.
Our VPK program includes free breakfast, lunch and snack. There is a 30 minute grace period before class and you can pick up your child as late as 1pm if enrolled in the morning program. The afternoon program is from noon to 4pm. There are special rates for the VPK program students if additional hours are needed.
If you have any questions about our programs, you can contact us online or give us a call at (407) 227-1015.