Helping Your Child Get Ready for School continued...

3 to 4 Years

What to expect

Children this age

• Start to play with other children, instead of next to them;
• Are more likely to take turns and share;
• Are friendly and giving;
• Begin to understand that other people have feelings and rights;
• Like silly humor, riddles, and practical jokes;
• Like to please and to conform;
• Generally become more cooperative and enjoy new experiences;
• Are increasingly self-reliant and probably can dress without help (except for buttons and shoelaces);
• May develop fears ("Mommy, there's a monster under my bed.") and have imaginary companions,
• Are more graceful physically than 2-year-olds and love to run, skip, jump with both feet, catch a ball, climb downstairs, and dance to music;
• Are great talkers, speak in sentences, and continue to add more words to their vocabularies; and
• Have greater control over hand and arm muscles, which is reflected in their drawings and scribblings.

What they need

Children this age require opportunities to

• Develop their blooming language abilities through books, games, songs, science, and art activities;
• Develop more self-help skills--for example, to dress and undress themselves;
• Draw with crayons, work puzzles, build things, and pretend;
• Play with other children so they can learn to listen, take turns, and share; and
• Develop more physical coordination--for example, by hopping on both feet.

Kitchen Cut-Ups

Here are some recipes popular with preschoolers. Things always seem to taste better when you make them yourself!

What you'll need

Knife

For applewiches: 1 apple, cheese slices

For funny-face sandwich: 1 piece of bread; peanut butter, cream cheese, or egg salad; green pepper, celery, radishes, carrot curls; olives; nuts; hard-boiled egg slices; tiny shapes of cheese; apples and raisins

For fruit Popsicles: fruit juice (any kind), an ice cube tray or small paper cups, yogurt, mashed or crushed fruit, Popsicle sticks

For bumps on a log: celery, peanut butter, raisins

What to do

1. Choose a safe spot to cook where you won't have to worry about making a mess.

2. Tell your child what the ingredients are. Talk about what you are doing as you go along. Ask and answer questions.

3. Let him smell, taste, and touch as you go. Let him (with your help) pour, stir, measure, and help clean up.

4. Applewiches. Core an apple. Cut the apple crosswise into thick slices. Put cheese slices between the slices. Cheddar cheese is particularly good. Eat like a sandwich.

5. Funny-face sandwich. Cut the bread into a circle. Spread with cream cheese, peanut butter, or egg salad. Decorate using green pepper, celery, radishes, carrot curls, olives, nuts, hard-boiled egg slices, tiny shapes of cheese, apples, or raisins for eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

6. Fruit Popsicles. Pour the fruit juice into small paper cups or an ice cube tray. Place a Popsicle stick in each cup or compartment before the juice is completely frozen. Return to the freezer until frozen solid. For variations, mix yogurt with the juice before freezing for a creamier Popsicle, or add mashed or crushed fruit such as strawberries, pineapple, or banana.

7. Bumps on a log. Spread peanut butter on the celery stalks. Decorate with raisins. Great snacks!

Cooking helps children learn new words, measuring and number skills, what foods are healthy and what ones aren't, and the importance of completing what they begin. It also teaches about how things change, and it can teach children to reason better. ("If I want a cold fruit juice Popsicle, then I'll have to put it in the freezer.")

Scribble, Paint, and Paste

Young children are natural artists. Here are some activities that introduce preschoolers to scribbling, painting, and pasting.

What you'll need

For scribbling: crayons, water-soluble felt-tipped markers, different kinds of paper (including construction paper, butcher paper), and tape

For fingerpainting: storebought fingerpaint or homemade fingerpaint made with soap flakes, water, food coloring or powdered tempera; an eggbeater or fork; a bowl; a spoon; an apron or smock; newspapers or a large piece of plastic to cover the floor or table; butcher paper; and tape For collages: paper, paste, blunt-tipped scissors, fabric scraps or objects that can be glued to paper (string, cottonballs, sticks, yarn)

What to do

1. Scribbling. Give your child different kinds of paper and different writing materials to scribble with. Coloring books are not needed. Fat crayons are good to begin with. Water-soluble felt-tipped marking pens are fun because your child doesn't have to use much pressure to get a bright color. Tape a large piece of butcher paper onto a table top and let your preschooler scribble to her heart's content!

2. Fingerpainting. Use store-bought fingerpaint, or make your own by mixing soap flakes (not detergent) in a bowl with a small amount of water. Beat the mixture with a fork or eggbeater. Add powdered tempera paint or food coloring. Spread out newspapers or a large piece of plastic over a table or on the floor and tape a big piece of construction paper or butcher paper on top. Cover your child with a large smock or apron, and let her fingerpaint.

3. Collages. Have your child paste fabric scraps or other objects such as yarn, string, or cottonballs to the paper (in any pattern). Let her feel the different textures and tell you about them. Here are a few tips about introducing your preschoolers to art:

• Supervise carefully. Some children would rather color your walls than the paper. Some also like to chew on crayons and markers or try to drink the paint.
• Don't tell them what to draw or paint.
• Don't fix up their pictures. It will take lots of practice before you can recognize their pictures--and that often doesn't happen until after they are in kindergarten.
• Give them lots of different materials to work with. Parents can demonstrate new types of art materials.
• Find an art activity that's at the right level for your child, then let him do as much of the project as possible.
• Ask your preschooler to talk about his picture.
• Display your child's art prominently in your home. Art projects can spark young imaginations and help children to express themselves. These projects also help children to develop the eye and hand coordination they will later need to learn to write.

Chores

Any household task can become a good learning game and can be fun.

What you'll need

Jobs around the home that need to get done, such as:
Doing the laundry
Washing and drying dishes
Carrying out the garbage
Setting the dinner table
Dusting

What to do

1. Tell your child about the job you will do together. Explain why the family needs the job done. Describe how you will do it and how your child can help.

2. Teach your child new words that belong to each job. "Let's put the placemats on the table, along with the napkins."

3. Doing laundry together provides many opportunities to learn. Ask your child to help you remember all the clothes that need to be washed. See how many things he can name. Socks? Tshirts? Pajamas? Have him help you gather all the dirty clothes. Have your child help you make piles of light and dark colors.

Show your child how to measure out the soap, and have him pour the soap into the machine. Let him put the items into the machine, naming them. Keep out one sock. When the washer is filled with water, take out a sock. Let your child hold the wet sock and the one you kept out. Ask him which one feels heavier and which one feels lighter. After the wash is done, have your child sort his own things into piles that are the same (for example, T-shirts, socks). Home chores can help children learn new words, how to listen and follow directions, how to count, and how to sort. Chores can also help children improve their physical coordination and learn responsibility.

4 to 5 Years

What to expect

Children this age

• Are active and have lots of energy;
• May be aggressive in their play;
• Can show extremes from being loud and adventurous to acting shy and dependent;
• Enjoy more group activities because they have longer attention spans;
• Like making faces and being silly;
• May form cliques with friends and can be bossy;
• May change friendships quickly;
• May brag and engage in name-calling during play;
• May experiment with swear words and bathroom words;
• Can be very imaginative and like to exaggerate;
• Have better control in running, jumping, and hopping but tend to be clumsy;
• Are great talkers and questioners; and
• Love to use words in rhymes, nonsense, and jokes.

What they need

Children this age need opportunities to

• Experiment and discover within limits;
• Use blunt-tipped scissors, crayons, and put together simple jigsaw puzzles;
• Practice outdoor play activities;
• Develop their growing interest in academic things, such as science and mathematics, and activities that involve exploring and investigating;
• Group items that are similar (for example, by size);
• Stretch their imaginations and curiosity; and
• See how reading and writing are useful (for example, by listening to stories and poems, dictating stories, and by talking with other children and adults).

"Hands-on" Math

Real-life, hands-on activities are the best way to introduce your preschooler to mathematics!

What you'll need

Optional: Blocks
Dice or dominoes

What to do

1. Talk a lot about numbers and use number concepts in daily routines with your preschooler. For example:

• Cooking. "Let's divide the cookie dough into two parts so we can bake some now and put the rest into the freezer."
• Home projects. "We're going to hang this picture 6 inches above the bookshelf in your room."
• Home chores. "How many plates do we need on the table? One for Mommy, one for Daddy, and one for Jenny." It's best not to use drills or arithmetic worksheets with young children. These can make children dislike math because they don't fit with the way they learn math naturally.

2. Talk about numbers that matter most to your preschooler--her age, her address, her phone number, her height and weight. Focusing on these personal numbers helps your child learn many important math concepts, including:

• Time (hours, days, months, years; older, younger; yesterday, today, tomorrow). To a young child, you might say, "At 2 o'clock we will take a nap." When you plan with an older preschooler (4 or 5 years old), you could point out, "It's only 3 days until we go to Grandma's house. Let's put an X on the calendar so we'll know the day we're going."
• Lengths (inches, feet; longer, taller, shorter). "this ribbon is too short to go around the present for Aunt Susan. Let's cut a longer ribbon."
• Weight (ounces, pounds, grams; heavier, lighter; how to use scales). "You already weigh 30 pounds. I can hardly lift such a big girl."
• Where you live (addresses, telephone numbers). "These shiny numbers on our apartment door are 2-1-4. We live in apartment number 214." Or "When you go to play at Terry's house, take this note along with you. It's our phone number: 253-6711. Some day soon you will know our phone number so you can call me when you are at your friend's."

3. Provide opportunities for your child to learn math. For example:

• Blocks can teach children to classify objects by color and shape. Blocks can also help youngsters learn about depth, width, height, and length.
• Games that have scoring, such as throwing balls into a basket, require children to count. Introduce games such as dominoes or rolling dice. Have your child roll the dice and count the dots. Let her try to roll for matches. Count favorite toys.
• Books often have number themes or ideas.

Getting Along
Learning to get along with others is very important.
Children who are kind, helpful, patient, and loving generally do better in school.

What you'll need

No materials required

What to do

1. Let your child know that you are glad to be his mommy or daddy. Give him personal attention and encouragement. Set aside time when you and your child can do fun things together. Your happy feelings toward your child will help him feel good about himself.

2. Set a good example. Show your preschooler what it means to get along with others and to be respectful. Say "please" and "thank you." Treat people in ways that show you care what happens to them. Ask for things in a friendly way. Be kind to and patient with other people.

3. Help your child find ways to solve conflicts with others. Help your child figure out what will happen if he tries to settle his mad feelings by hitting a playmate: "James, I know that Tiffany took your toy truck. But if you hit Tiffany and you have a big fight, then Tiffany will have to go home, and the two of you won't be able to play any more today. What is another way that you can let Tiffany know you want your truck back?" James might decide to tell Tiffany that he's mad, and that he wants his truck back. Or he might let Tiffany play with his truck for 5 minutes with the hope that Tiffany will then give it back. Listening to your children's problems will often be all that is needed for them to solve their own problems.

4. Make opportunities to share and to care. Let your child take charge of providing food for hungry birds. When a new family moves into the neighborhood, let your preschooler help make cookies to welcome them.

5. Be physically affectionate. Children need hugs, kisses, an arm over the shoulder, and a pat on the back.

6. Tell your child that you love him. Don't assume that your loving actions will speak for themselves (although those are very important). Teach your child the international hand sign for "I love you." You can "sign" each other love as your child leaves home for the first day of kindergarten.

Children need good social skills. Teachers and other children will enjoy your youngster's company if he gets along well with others.

My Book

Most 4-year-olds like to talk and have a lot to say. They generally can't write down words themselves, but they enjoy dictating a story to you.

What you'll need

Paper
A paper punch
Blunt-tipped scissors
Pencil, pen, crayons
Yarn, pipe cleaners, or staples
Paste

What to do

1. Make a booklet of five or six pages. Your child can help punch holes close to one edge and thread yarn through the holes to keep the pages together. You can also bind the book with twisted pipe cleaners, or staple the pages together.

2. On the outside cover, write your child's name. Explain to him that this is going to be a book about him.

3. Let your child decide what will go on each page. Write it down. Examples: Other people in my family. My favorite toys. My favorite books. My friends. My pet. My neighborhood. My home (or my bedroom). My own drawings. Making this book will help your child develop his language skills and give him more practice using the small muscles in his hands. Your 4-year-old will also love having your undivided attention.