Ready for What?

Being a kindergarten teacher, one reoccurring question asked from parents with kids getting ready to enter the world of education is:

What can I do to get me child ready for kindergarten?

The answers always came easy. Read with them.

But I am not sure if that answer was enough for them. Once school started, I’ve seen more and more kids come to kindergarten more prepared for academics than ever before. Maybe they used online resources. Or attended an academic-rick preschool. Or spent time with a tutor. Or completed workbook and worksheet after workbook and worksheet.

But being ready for the ABC’s and 123’s came with a cost. Academic preparedness was viewed as the ultimate precursor to success in kindergarten, but in reality, it is only a piece of the puzzle. A small piece.

I’m going to be honest here and sometimes honesty can hurt. When it comes to academics, it’s icing on the cake. What should really be baked into the preparation of a child entering school are the social-emotional and general life skills we often place on the backburner due to our unhealthy addiction to prepare children academically.

Problem-solving. Risk-taking. Communicating. Heck, even tying shoes and zippering coats. These are what kids need.

So now when people ask me that question, I’ve made a slight change in hopes that those asking may make a slight change as well.

Read with them and play with them. Every day.