As your child prepares to start school, you want to help your child succeed in any way you can. Ultimately, kindergarten is a foundational stepping stone in your child’s education. When children begin learning fundamental principles and get a positive experience, they’re more likely to continue thriving in school. In kindergarten, children have the opportunity to gain essential social-emotional skills that are linked to future positive outcomes in areas like employment and education.
By encouraging strong studying and attendance habits, they can offer the support and accountability children need for a positive learning experience. How can you help your kindergartener succeed in school? Consider the following ways to help your kindergartener at home so they can achieve success in school.
1. Visit the School’s Website Beforehand
Understanding how your child’s school operates and its expectations for students is key to helping your child find success. When you explore the school’s website, you’ll be able to get a better sense of its core values and see what behaviors and skills will help your child thrive.
Be sure to pay attention to some critical points, including:
- Educational philosophy: Explore the school’s mission and approach to education to help you get a sense of its core values.
- Curriculum: Research the school’s standards for its curriculum. What’s their timeline and process for teacher implementation and training?
- Class environment: To understand what kind of environment your child will be in, find out about the school’s approach to safety and discipline, the average class size, and technologies used to support learning.
- Schoolwork: See if you can find information on the school’s approach to assignments so you know how much you can expect your child to bring home daily.
- Transportation: How do students get to school each day? Explore options for busing or driving your child yourself.
- Additional classes and extracurricular activities: Look into the extracurricular experiences your child can have at the school. Are art classes, sports clubs, bands, gym classes, or programs for gifted students available?
- Challenges and accomplishments: Explore the school site for information on top achievements or challenges the school has overcome.
- Bullying policies: Find out how the school handles bullying. Does it have anti-bullying measures in place? What support and resources does it offer for children and families to address bullying concerns?
Finding the answers to some of these questions can help parents of kindergarten students understand the school environment, so they can prepare their kids properly.
2. Support the School’s Homework Expectations
In any grade, completing homework is an integral part of a child’s academic success. Making sure your child finishes and turns in homework can help them find success in early grade levels. When you work with your child to provide accountability and support, your efforts can help them take more responsibility and pride in their work.
One reason for researching a school before your child attends is that it can help you better meet homework expectations. Take time to understand the assignments your child will bring home. As a result, you can help them prepare to complete their projects to the best of their ability.
3. Attend Parent-Teacher Meetings
Whether in-person or online, parent-teacher meetings are a big part of your student’s success. These meetings let you know where your student might be struggling so you can get them the academic help they need. Whether it’s a behavioral challenge or a struggle with a specific subject, your child may need some extra encouragement and accountability to overcome an obstacle.
To best help your child, it’s vital for you to understand your child’s challenges and successes in the classroom. Hearing the teacher’s perspective can help you identify growth areas and empower your child to move forward. Go into these meetings with an open mind and look for constructive steps to help your child grow. With time, you’ll be able to better support your child through the insights you gain from parent-teacher meetings.
4. Develop Organizational and Study Skills
Helping your child learn organization and study skills early will set them up for long-term educational success. According to research, children who develop solid problem-solving capabilities are more likely to build long-term social and academic success. Once they can create their own systems for processing, organizing, and understanding lessons and homework, children gain critical skills to more effectively:
- Manage their time.
- Retain information.
- Create successful test-taking strategies.
5. Keep Attendance as a High Priority
Whether online or in-person, class attendance is vital to children’s overall learning success. A student can’t learn key topics or navigate assignments if they miss classes, so make their attendance a priority. Help your child plan their day-to-day schedule to get to classes on time. Even in kindergarten, learning planning skills makes a difference.
Talk to your child about how going to class can help them learn and grow, and encourage them to be excited about learning more.
6. Try to Become a Learning Coach
Getting involved with other students as a learning coach can contribute to how you help your own child succeed. In other words, it can give another perspective on the situation. Work to be a dedicated supporter of your child’s education by gaining experience to help further other children’s learning. In the end, you may be surprised by how much of a difference your training makes.
7. Always Make Time to Talk About School
It’s important to talk with your child about school to stay in touch with how they’re feeling. Regularly check in on them to discuss what they’re enjoying about school and what’s been challenging. Ask about their friends and teachers, and create a safe space for them to share their experiences.
CCA Can Help Your Child Succeed in Kindergarten
At Commonwealth Charter Academy (CCA), we’re dedicated to creating a quality educational experience that engages students and families. Every year, we enroll students from counties across Pennsylvania. At CCA, we strive to help our graduates grow into the leaders of tomorrow, recognizing their potential and helping them pursue their passions. Through prioritizing safety, flexibility and customized curriculums, our goal is to create positive learning experiences for our students.
If you’re looking for trusted educational solutions, we’re here to help. Check out this virtual information session about kindergarten with CCA, or learn how CCA can help your child succeed at all grades levels by contacting us today.
