As a parent of a five year old I have been working hard this summer to make sure my child is prepared for her first year at school. I don’t mean teaching her the basics such as ABC’s and 123′s. That is a given that each child should know that. But, there are also many other every day basics that are vital to a child’s learning experience that we as parents may not think about until it becomes a problem.

1. Tying their shoes – When my child was younger I did not come across too many shoes for my daughter that needed to be tied. Most of the shoes that were sold in her size always had Velcro or they were slip on type shoes. But, as she is getting older the shoe styles are rapidly changing and are vastly becoming laces only.  This could pose a problem if she does not know how to tie by the time Kindergarten starts. I would prefer her not to have to interrupt her class each time her shoe comes untied!
2. Zipping and fastening pants – The past few weeks I have quickly realized just how often I have to zip and button her pants for her and I don’t think any teacher would appreciate having to stop in the middle of class to fasten her button. It is something that my daughter has hated to learn because often times she says she “Can’t Do It.” However, we have been working very hard on buttoning and I know with perseverance she will have no problems with buttons by the time school starts.
3. Fastening their belt – With the growing numbers of charter and private schools popping up there are beginning to be more and more dress codes that include belts. Belts could easily become another disturbance in class if they do not know how to fasten them properly.
4. Name, Address, and Phone number – I know that my daughter will probably have a few field trips this coming school year and one thing I want to make sure she knows is her name, address, and phone number. This can come in handy in many situations at her age and as long as I teach her the basics of when it is okay to give it out and when it is not we should be okay!
5. Cutting paper with scissors– My mom is a pre-school teacher and she always tells me. “You would not believe the amount of children that don’t know how to cut paper.” In Kindergarten I am sure that my child will have many instances where she will need to cut paper on her own. I am glad to have taught her how to cut with scissors properly as well as how to carry them the appropriate way as to not hurt herself of another class mate.
6. Sitting Still – This has been the hardest accomplishment for my daughter. She is constantly on the go and does not want to sit in her chair for a long period of time. I started out with making her sit still in a chair daily for at least 5 minutes. We have now worked up to her sitting still for one hour. It was not an easy feat but we accomplished it and I know that you can as well!

There are many other items I would encourage you all to teach your children this summer while you can such as writing letters (especially their name), writing numbers, telling you items that start with certain letters, counting items, and using a pencil. With these steps your child will be on a fast track to success in their very first year of school.

Marina Chernayak. Marina is the co-owner of 1001Shops LLC, an online store of fine imported products like Music Boxes, Venetian Masks and a lot more.