Teachers suggest that parents start preparing youngsters early

By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer

At the Early School, 4-year-old Marasia Olang and 3-year-old Genevieve Brooks-Harris play in the sandbox area. Experts say children entering kindergarten should have good social skills. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

With kindergarten registration currently taking place at most schools for the 2001-2002 school year, now is the time for parents to consider enrolling their children.

Most schools require children to be 5 years old by the end of the calendar year in order to register for kindergarten. But age requirements aside, how can parents know if their children truly are ready for school?

Although the actual first day of kindergarten may be months away, parents should begin helping their children build the skills they will need to succeed in school.

A recent study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, along with a number of public agencies and private foundations, reports that children are increasingly showing up for kindergarten unprepared and lacking, for example, critical social and emotional skills.

The report contends that children who fall behind from the start "may be plagued by later behavioral, emotional, academic and social development problems."

Up to 46 percent of kindergarten teachers in the study reported that half or more of their class had specific problems in a number of areas making the transition into school.

Lauren Inouye, a kindergarten and first-grade teacher at Hanahau'oli School in Makiki, has been teaching for nearly 25 years. Inouye said that over the years she has not noticed a decline in skills among the kindergartners she has taught.

But Inouye and other experts offer advice on what parents can do to develop both their child's learning and social skills to ensure kindergarten readiness and success:

• Expose your child to stimulating experiences. "In general, children should come to school with a curiosity about the world," Inouye said, "because really, their work at that age is to discover how the world works and (what) their part in this world (is)."

Inouye said that introducing children to interesting experiences, whether it's going to the zoo, the beach or to a cultural event, can stimulate a child's curiosity.

"It gives their brains something to focus on and wonder about," Inouye said. "It fosters creativity . . . (and) causes them to ask questions about the world."

• Constantly talk with your child. The ability to communicate, to express needs and wants, is important for kindergartners to have, said Stephanie Feeney, professor of education at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and early childhood specialist.

Sheryl Camello, a kindergarten teacher at Holomua Elementary School in 'Ewa Beach, said exposing children to interesting and even everyday experiences helps develop their verbal skills.

"Kids need a lot of experiences before they come to kindergarten ... it could be something simple like taking a walk," said Camello, who has been teaching kindergarten for 10 years. "When you take a walk, you can point out so many things ... you can talk about colors, shapes, sizes."

Camello said when parents talk to their children this way and ask them questions, it stimulates conversations and helps a child learn how to communicate.

• Read to your child every day. "Read books, talk about books, spend time with books . . . (and) make it fun," Feeney said.

She said that children will be successful in kindergarten if they are familiar with books and stories, and if they like books and know how books work; for example, knowing how to pick up a book, treat it gently and look at the pages.

Parents also can take their children to bookstores or libraries, and can even take advantage of children's story times that may be offered at these locations.

Reading to children is "absolutely crucial," Inouye said. "They need to hear the English language, they need to hear the vocabulary and the words, and it stretches their imagination."

Most teachers say that reading is a must because it also stimulates conversation and develops thinking skills.

• Be a positive role model. Feeney said that many teachers want children with good social skills.

Besides giving children opportunities to play with others and practice their social skills, parents need to be good role models.

"They have to be modeling appropriate social behaviors all the time . . . (such as) treating someone with respect," Inouye said. "Children are always watching the adults around them for cues as to how to behave in social situations."

Parents should also model a positive learning attitude.

"Parents need to model, too, the behaviors of learners," Inouye said. "The child should see you reading, should see you enjoying the experience with them."

Camello added that parents should model learning behaviors, such as simply sitting down and drawing with their children, "so that the kids can see that learning is important and school is something that their parents value."

What teachers want

There are other basic characteristics that teachers want children entering kindergarten to have because it increases their likelihood of succeeding.

Feeney said, for example, that a child should go to school physically ready to be there.

"The basic health stuff is real important," Feeney said. "Making sure that a child is getting enough sleep and good nutrition . . . (being) healthy, well-rested, nourished, not sick, those things are essential."

Camello said that kindergartners should also be able to take care of their own personal needs. Children should, for example, be able to feed themselves and use the bathroom on their own.

Feeney said kindergarten teachers also want children to be able to sit still and listen to a story or participate in an activity, even if it is just for a short period of time, as well as to be able to follow directions and basic routines.

Both Feeney and Inouye added that children should be discouraged from watching too much TV.

Feeney said that watching television can be negative because children may be exposed to "things that teachers don't want," such as violence and sex.

Feeney recommends that parents have their children help choose what they want to watch, which ideally would be good children's programming such as "Sesame Street" or "Nature."

"A really big, big thing for me is to limit the television viewing because they don't get to interact with materials, ask questions and figure things out," Inouye said. "They're just really passive."

Like Feeney, Inouye suggests parents monitor what their children watch. She said they should sit down and watch television with their children, which is what she did with her own children, and ask them questions about the program to promote an active learning experience.

Is preschool a must?

Camello said that children with preschool experience tend to have an easier time making the leap to kindergarten than those without preschool experience.

"They know the routine and they're not afraid," she said. "If you could afford it, it's a good thing to do."

But Sheryl Hara, a kindergarten teacher at Holomua Elementary, said that preschool isn't always necessary.

"We've had students who have never been in preschool but they come to kindergarten prepared," Hara said.

She said that a child's readiness has a lot to do with how involved parents are with their children.

However, in some cases, parents may expect too much from their child.

Jennifer Simon, also a kindergarten teacher at Holomua Elementary, said that some parents push their children to learn how to read or write, even though their children may not be ready. Doing this may cause children to resist and see the learning process in a negative way.

"Forcing them to sit down and write their name, it's not going to help if they don't want to do it," she said. "When they're ready, the light bulb just turns on."

Inouye said that it isn't essential for children to have strong academic skills upon entering kindergarten.

Feeney added that parents who expect highly academic behavior from their kindergarten children need to realize that "that's not the view of most early childhood educators.

"Most early childhood educators would really like children to be able to develop into happy, well-rounded people who love learning," Feeney said. "A child who loves learning is the child who is going to be successful."

Education professor's advice to parents

Stephanie Feeney, professor of education at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and early childhood specialist, offers these tips on preparing children for their first day of kindergarten:

• Let them know what will happen in their new school. Talk about what the schedule and activities will be like. If possible, visit the school and talk about when and how they will go to school, where they will be dropped off, what lunch will be like, what to do to go to the bathroom and how they will get home.
• Practice things your children will need to do: finding the classroom, finding the bathroom and saying the teacher's name.
• Have your child meet some children who go to the same school.
• Read a book or two about starting school (see book list below).
• Listen to the child's concerns. Let them ask questions and talk about any of their worries. Don't brush off concerns by saying everything will be fine. Really listen and try to understand the child's feelings. Let the child know it's OK to be concerned and assure them that it's natural to feel that way when doing something new.
• Involve your child in planning for school. You can do this, for example, when buying school clothes or supplies, or when organizing school supplies.
• A week before school starts, practice the daily routine and discuss safety.
• Let your children tell you everything about their first day and first weeks. Share their excitement.

Books about school

Parents can read these children's books with their kids to help ease their jitters and prepare them for school:

• "Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner" (Orchard Books, $6.95 paperback)
• "My First Day of School" (Ideals Childrens Books, $4.95 paperback)
• "My Teacher's My Friend" (Ideals Childrens Books, $4.95 paperback)
• "When You Go to Kindergarten" (Mulberry Books, $5.95 paperback)
• "Will I Have a Friend?" (Econo-Clad Books, $12.25 hardback)

Source: www.amazon.com