Early childhood education is crucial for your child's development. Preschool provides your child with a strong foundation that will mold your child towards achieving their best potential. However, before enrolling your child in a child care center, they should have developed some basic knowledge and fundamental and social skills.

The Basics

First, your child should have some basic knowledge. For example they should be able to say their first and last name when asked. They should also be able to write their first name with the first letter in uppercase and the remaining letters in lowercase. Your child will feel prepared if they can identify all the letters in their first name. The idea is that your child needs to know the basic things about his identity especially his name. This will help the teacher and boost their social skills.

Fundamental Skills

Second, there are also fundamental skills that they should have developed before entering kindergarten. Most important among these skills is the appropriate use of the three-finger grasp when holding pencils and crayons. If they know how to properly hold writing materials, writing numbers and letters should be a lot easier for them. They should also be able to count to at least thirty. Other fundamental skills include identifying numerals, shapes, and colors. The idea here is that your child should have the fundamental skills that will assist them in learning more things as the school year progresses.

Social Skills

Third, your child should also have the social skills needed to be independent and sociable in preschool. For example, they should use restroom independently, take off and put on outer clothing, and wash their hands on their own. They should also know how to sit for a story for at least five to ten minutes and retell the sequence of the plot. When faced with difficulty at school, they should solves problems on their own or ask for help without aggression. They should also be sociable: they share materials with their playmates, communicate well with adults, and follow 2–3 step directions.

The good news is that you can help your child prepare for child care if they lack some of these skills. Incorporate learning these skills into your everyday communication and in playtime. Go to interesting places like an educational theme park, zoo, or museum. Introduce them to the world of learning and education.

You can also start telling him about the possibility of getting enrolled in a preschool to see his reaction. Ultimately, your child's confidence and positive attitude towards entering kindergarten despite knowing that they will separate from you is the most important thing to establish.

To learn more about the skills your child needs for child care or kindergarten, contact services like Small World Early Learning & Development Center.