Guest Author - Diane Claus

Guest author Jeanette Norman

There are many books on the market available that will tell you tons of information about what your child needs to know for kindergarten and how to prepare your child for the experience. But there aren't many that give you actual activities to go along with their suggestions. "The Kindergarten Readiness Guide" by Jaclyn Morris is just the book every parent should have to help their preschooler get ready for the big step.

Jaclyn Morris has been a kindergarten and first grade teacher. She developed this program from her experience for parents who want to play a vital role in getting their children ready for the kindergarten experience. In her letter to parents at the beginning of the book she says:

“So many parents tell me that they want to help their child learn to read, write, draw and count, etc., but they just don’t know how. Often there are skills learned in kindergarten that parents never even think of! Well, here it is in one book: what to do to better prepare your child for school, how to give your child a head start.”

I have bounced the idea of home schooling around in my head for a while but, like Ms. Morris stated, where do you start? The activities provided in this guide don’t require a lot of time so if you are a working parent like myself, even 15 to 30 minutes a day using these activities is better than saying “I just don’t have time.”

The subjects covered are reading, writing, motor skills, listening and speaking, math, and social/emotional development. Then after each subject heading, the activities are in order from basic, intermediate and advanced and are labeled so. An example of a reading activity from the book that I like to use is on page 7. There is a box with uppercase letters and another with lower case. Under each box is another box area for you to keep track of the child’s progress. You can write the date you attempted and the letter they miss. Then on page 8, Ms. Morris gives further suggestions for helping your child with letter recognition. Some of the suggestions are singing the alphabet song often, buy ABC or phonics flashcards (or if you are thrifty like me, make some out of index cards and markers!) and have your child name them, and point out words everywhere and ask the child to name them.

I also found the Frequently Asked Questions section beginning on page 45 very helpful as well. There are tips for subjects that aren’t covered in depth in the rest of the guide such as tying shoes, rules and consequences, science and social studies, and what to look for in a good preschool.

In addition to the guide, you will find the website Jaclyn Morris has to be extremely useful in addition to the book. It is located here. This 53-page guide is extremely helpful for me in teaching my 5-year-old Wesley. My daughter who is 2 ½ even gets involved in the activities!