Age three is a pivotal stage in your child’s development. It marks a transitional stage at which children not only start to become more independent, but also get ready for the next several years of school life. It’s a big change for them, and a big change for you.
Helping your kids prepare for an educational enviroment can be difficult. It’s tough to know where to start, and parents often feel a lot of pressure to ensure they don’t fall behind.
Much of starting on the right foot involves fostering that budding sense of independence, and there are several ways you can go about it. In this article, you’ll learn seven foundational elements that underpin the process.
1. Arranging Play Dates
By this stage, your three-year-old will already be at kindergarten and regularly socializing with other children. This doesn’t mean they’re necessarily making friends, though, so it’s generally up to you and other parents to set up play dates.
Every child develops at a different point, and it’s common for kids to be too shy to make friends on their own. Moreover, they can be intimidated by the setting of kindergarten, and will be in a much better place to socialize when they’re at home in a familiar environment.
It’s usually better to start by inviting just one potential friend over in the beginning, but if your child wants to socialize outside of kindergarten with more than one friend, be sure to encourage it.
2. Getting Them Ready for the School Environment
School may come as quite a shock to your kid, and as briefly touched on above, you’ll want to do your best to prepare them for the sort of educational environment they’ll be placed in.
There are many methods you can try, from setting up roleplay sessions to simply talking to them about what will happen in an encouraging way that they’ll understand. Ultimately, you should be there to answer any questions they have and foster an open dialogue.
Above all else, be honest with them – children understand much more than people think, and there’s a way to be frank while also showing them compassion and empathy. Everything is a balancing act.
3. Encourage Their Mental Development
The topic of pre-learning – that is, elements of your child’s development that prepares them mentally for education – is a broad one, and there’s an almost overwhelming amount of activities and habits that are suggested to help.
Developmental activities for 3 year olds can come in several different forms, from outdoor adventuring to crafts and counting games. The key is to try a few things out and see what sticks – you don’t need to get it perfect and come at pre-education from all angles, as this will place too much pressure on both you and your child.
Just have fun with it, and encourage them to learn and be creative in a way that suits them.
4. Build a Healthy Routine
Humans thrive off a good routine, so it stands to reason that this is something you want to prioritize as your child is getting ready for a new life at school.
You don’t want the basic variables, like bedtimes and meal times, being too flexible or undefined, as this may get in the way of the school routine. As such, it’s key to establish core habits so that the framework surrounding school is conducive to supporting the transition.
It’s already going to be a big change, so it’s important to keep as many constants as possible.
5. Talk to Them
It may sound obvious, but one of the best things you can do to help prepare your three-year-old for school is to talk to them.
Once they’re in the classroom, you don’t want them to sit at the back of the class mute – you need them to have the confidence and independence to answer questions and ask the teacher for help if they don’t understand something.
Ask open-ended questions and have them debate you in their own idiosyncratic way. You can also sing songs, make rhymes, and read together, each of which will help them learn to communicate more effectively.
6. Inspire Their Imagination
School can either become something your child resents or a place that fills them with a sense of imagination and wonder. That thirst for knowledge often starts at home before school begins, and there’s plenty you can do to inspire them to learn.
There are so many different fun activities you could do together, from creative pursuits like fancy dress days or painting portraits of each other to visiting local attractions and getting out and about in the real world. You don’t need to put pressure on yourself or them here – simply see what they gravitate towards and work to encourage it.
7. Give Them Some Basic Chores to Do
While you certainly shouldn’t be giving your three-year-old any proper chores to do, this is the age at which kids start to enjoy pretending they’re adults. It’s something else that builds a sense of independence, which will help them when you’re not with them at school.
You can cultivate this new sense of responsibility by giving them little tasks to do to make them feel like they’re helping. This should be something really simple, like bringing you the plates from the table to the sink to wash up after dinner, or having them help you tidy up in a way that’s manageable for them.
Don’t force it. Always frame it as helping mommy or daddy, and reward them afterwards.
Wrapping Up
Getting your child ready for school doesn’t have to be something stressful or anxiety-inducing; it’s the chance to explore new things with them as they prepare for a new chapter in their lives.
This is one of those things that’s easy to overthink, but know that it’ll just happen naturally once you start. You’ll figure things out, and now that you have a few tips to get you going, you can approach the challenge with optimism and excitement. Good luck!