by Cynthia Sherman

Created on: May 24, 2008   Last Updated: January 05, 2012

Kindergarten is fast approaching. Children are nervous, scared, but excited. Parents are nervous, sad, but excited as well, each with their own reasons for these feelings. Parents everywhere wonder if their child is ready for kindergarten. Parents begin to question themselves if they did everything possible for their child's success.

The most important readiness tool that a parent can provide is love, a nurturing environment, and the belief that a child will succeed. In order for a child to complete school successfully, they need to know without any doubt that they are loved and upon returning home from school, their parents will be proud of them no matter what occurs. If a child is secure with themselves then half the battle has been won before the child ever steps foot inside of a kindergarten classroom.

Beyond that, other readiness tools for parents are the basics. Books, books, books, I can not stress this enough. Exposing children to books and a library at an early age is extremely beneficial. There are so many wonderful and educational books for a child's reading pleasure, it is amazing. The local library has stacks of interesting and fun books. Promoting a love for books and introducing all of the many adventures inside of books allows the child's imagination to grow.

Coloring is another useful tool. Children love to color and finger painting can be a blast. Parents can teach them the basic color names as they possibly color a page together or paint at an easel. Not only do the children learn their colors, they are exercising the muscles in their fingers and the child becomes comfortable holding a crayon or paintbrush. Don't forget the use of clay or Play-doh.

I am not a huge fan of television, however Sesame Street is another educational tool. This show teaches reading, letters, phonics, sharing, social skills, and once they get to kindergarten many teachers read Sesame Street books to the class. Having prior knowledge of the characters will ensure that the child is comfortable with their classmates as these Sesame Street books are read. Familiarity will be present.

Letter recognition is important as well. Teach your child the alphabet. Even teaching them to write their own name and recognizing their name would be helpful. Many teachers will tell the children to find their name at the tables so they know where to sit everyday.

There are many educational computer games as well. The Jump Start programs usually have a program for each grade level.

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