Parents often wonder what they can do to prepare their young children for kindergarten. Summer is the perfect time to help your child grow academically, emotionally, and physically. Take the opportunity to work with your child a little bit every day, but remember that children learn best through “play” experiences. Learning at this age should be fun! Pre-kindergarten students love to work with their hands, play with friends, pretend, and get a little messy.
Here are ten hands-on summer activities to prepare for the first day of school!
1. Play with a friend at one of Doral’s beautiful parks to develop imagination skills, gross motor
skills, and social skills.
2. Get messy! Young children love to use a variety of materials to create their own unique artwork. Encourage your child to make his or her own creations using paint, drawing and coloring tools, sand, clay, and other hands-on materials.
3. Take an alphabet tour! Find items around the house that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Have your child record the letters they find and draw a corresponding picture.
4. Involve your child in cooking lunch or dinner to practice math and science skills. They can assist you in reading a recipe, measuring ingredients, and mixing.
5. Build with Legos or blocks to develop creativity, fine motor skills, and math knowledge.
6. Take your child with you to the grocery store. Encourage number recognition by counting objects in your cart or giving them directions concerning items needed.
7. Make a sock puppet using an old sock, markers, glue, and old buttons to strengthen creativity and fine motor skills. For language development, have your child put on a puppet show.
8. Play with a variety of objects and manipulatives in your home. Practice counting, ordering,
sorting, matching, creating patterns, and comparing household objects. These activities provide
the necessary foundation for early math skills.
9. Experiment with water. Transfer water into different sized cups or bowls to improve comparison, measuring, and fine motor skills. Children can transfer liquids using spoons,
measuring cups, and eye droppers.
10. Read! Read! Read! Reading every day is the single most important thing you can do with your pre-kindergartener.
Divine Savior Academy provides college-prep academics in a Christian environment for PreK3 to 12th grade students. Schedule a private tour at DivineSaviorAcademy.com or call 305-597-4545.
