By Shayna Schroeder, Director of Curriculum, First School
There are certain things parents of four-year-olds can do at home and on errands that will help them easily grasp concepts introduced in their preschool classrooms.
When making projects at home, for example, ask how many bows they are adding. Or, when drawing a person, ask — does the person have everything they should? Does the drawing have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, two ears, etc.? Drawing a complete body with arms, legs, feet, hands, and facial features is something teachers look for in Kindergarten.
When out and about driving, have your preschooler look out the window and look for letters. The letters could be on signs, storefronts, in the vehicle, etc. Have them tell you the letter — this is a great use of environmental print.
When you are grocery shopping, have them listen to your instructions and help.
“Could you go get a bunch of bananas, please?”
Then work on adding more directions. You are working on following two- to three-step directions.
In my four-year-old preschool classroom, a typical curriculum might include working on recognizing the first letter of classmates’ first names. We also work on recognizing the letter mixed in with other letters, letter sounds, writing the letter, and being able to find the letter around the classroom — all very age-appropriate lessons.
An example of this is when we read a book — we talk about the letters in the title. We point out the different letters in the month and the days of the week. When we write words on the chalkboard, we talk about the sound and the letter.
We also work on lots of shapes, including basic shapes and even pentagons and octagons. We have worked on numbers 1–10. By the end of the year, I want the students to understand numbers 1–20 concretely and to be able to count on from 20.
When at home — and also when driving around — it should be easy to have your preschooler point out numbers, shapes, and letters. This is a very fun and easy way to help them grasp these concepts and will set them up to be engaged, creative, life-long learners.
