6 Ways To Help Your Elementary Child Prepare for Next School Year

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Depending on where you live, school either just let out for the summer, or summer is quickly coming to an end. In either case, you may find yourself asking, “What can I do to help my child prepare for the next school year?” And if you haven’t got a clue, take a deep breath, and read on to see what real teachers suggest.

1. Have your child READ!

It’s not surprising that the number one recommendation given over and over again by teachers is to have your child read. Summer backslide is real. (I see it at the start of every single school year.) Teachers can definitely tell who has read over summer and who hasn’t. Research shows that those kids who haven’t read over summer may lose as much as 6-8 weeks of learning!

So what’s the best way to get your child to read? Get them involved in the summer reading programs at your local library. These programs are usually free, and kids often earn cool prizes for hours spent reading or number of books read. Some libraries even have neat programs during the week that gets them out of the house for a few hours. (Then you’ll avoid that never ending question of, “What are we going to do today?”)

They’ll be having so much fun that they won’t even realize they’re working on an important skill needed for school (and life!).

If you can’t make it to the library, there are some great online reading programs. One of my favorites is Vooks. You can read all about it here.

2. Work on basic life skills

This is such a huge deal, especially at the early elementary level. There’s often times only one teacher and 20-25 little kids. Needless to say, there isn’t always enough of the teacher to go around. Take a moment to skim this list of important life skills teachers would like kids to come in knowing:

• how to tie their own shoes
• how to button and unbutton their pants to use the restroom
• how to wipe their own bottom (You may think this one is a joke, but it’s not. I’ve had 1st graders before who refuse to wipe their bottoms. You don’t want your child to be embarrassed. Help them at home!)
• how to zip and unzip their coat
• how to open and close lunch containers and packages
• how to ask to use the restroom
• how to wash their hands
• how to cover a sneeze or cough
• how to ask for help appropriately
• how to follow directions the first time
• how to use words to describe their emotions-temper tantrums are not okay at school
• speaking in complete sentences instead of just a few words

Don’t let this list scare you. Most of these are things you work on in every day life. Just make a conscious effort to know if your child can do these things. Then make sure to spend some extra time on areas you know your child struggles.

3. Work on fine motor skills

These are things like cutting, coloring, and holding a pencil properly. Play Doh is also another great way for kids to practice using their fine motor muscles. If kids don’t use these muscles in their hands, then they get weak. Then they struggle with completing their work in school.

4. Review academics

This does NOT mean that you need to do school work all day. It just means to be sure to take a few minutes each day to fit it in. Don’t totally dismiss technology on this one. Here are some FREE links to help work on those skills: Starfall, PBSKids, Sumdog, and ABCya!.

Below are a few simple things you can fit in each day to review those important academic skills as well:

• Practice counting-count by 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s, etc. Count by 1s as high as they can go.
• Practice drawing-This is so helpful during writing time when we often tell them to draw a picture first then write sentences to match.
• Read books. Then have them retell the story or draw a picture of their favorite part of the book.
• Practice proper letter and number formation.
• Practice writing complete sentences.
• Practice telling time and counting money.
• Practice naming letters and the sounds they make.
• Work on math facts and sight words

5. Play

Play games with them. (You can read about some of my favorite game recommendations for kids here.) This teaches them about taking turns, sharing, communication, following directions, and being a good sport. You’d be amazed at the number of kids who don’t know how do these things. There are also lots of kids who don’t know how to be a good winner or loser.

Let them play outside and be a kid. Play in the sprinkler, swim, climb on the swing set, blow bubbles…the list is endless. They won’t even know they’re working on gross motor skills that they also need for learning.

6. Learn their phone numbers, addresses, and grown ups first AND last name

This one always scares me. There are so MANY kids that don’t know their phone numbers, addresses, or grown ups first and last name. If they were to get lost, they couldn’t tell someone their grown ups name is “Mommy” and they live “at home” and expect to be found. They also couldn’t report an emergency if needed. I always invented silly little songs to help my kids learn their phone numbers and addresses when they were in kindergarten. And you know what? It worked. Such a small thing to do for a little peace of mind.

Hopefully by now you’ve realized that it just takes a few minutes each day to keep those skills sharp for school. And if you have fun doing it, the kids won’t even mind. What other ways do you like to help your kids keep their skills sharp over the summer? Or do you have any questions about this? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

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