4 Basic Preschool Life Skills Your Kid Should Know

In the next two months, a new academic year will begin, and many parents will be sending their children to school for the first time. This can be an exciting and nervous experience for both the child and the parents. It is essential for parents to prepare their children adequately for this new chapter in their lives by providing them with the tools and support.

A new challenge emerges for parents: what skills should a preschooler have? The required skills can be taught with the help of preschool life skills. ‘What are they?’ You may ask. Preschool life skills involve basic communication and behavioral patterns that will help your child to adapt to the school’s environment, interact with the classmates, and communicate with the teachers. 

Importance of learning life skills at early childhood

There are 4 Priority Behaviors you should teach and practice with your child before sending her to school:

1) Instruction Following

Following instructions is a major part of academics and because of that, the child will be able to learn alphabets, numbers and rhymes. Practice this process: Call the child’s name. She looks at you and says ‘yes’. You ask her to do something. She will do it immediately. Similarly, when a teacher instructs your child, she will respond right away.

2) Functional Communication

Communication plays an important role, but initially your child must know how to request. To make a request, your child needs to learn these three sentences:

i. Help me, please.

ii. Excuse me.

iii. Excuse me, May I…

When something is too hard, the child must find a teacher and say ‘Help me, please.’ If the child wants something from the teacher or a friend, but that person is doing something else, she must say ‘Excuse me, May I (request something).’ Or if someone is obstructing her way, the child must say “excuse me” and the person will move away. So, these requests will help your child to overcome difficulties and start the process of interaction.

3) Tolerance

The first step in building tolerance is teaching your child to say ‘okay’ and wait. In school, your child will need access for assistance or material from the teacher or friends. It cannot be provided in an instant; she has to wait for it. If someone asks her to wait, the child should say ‘Okay, (and the waiting words)’. And wait patiently until help or things are given.

4) Friendship

Friendship is essential in school, otherwise with whom will your child talk or play with? In an early life, making friends is not that hard. You should teach your child these three sentences: ‘hello’, ‘thank you’, and ‘are you okay?’, and also teach her about sharing. If a classmate comes near your child to talk or play with her, she should say ‘Hello’ or something else which is nice. If a classmate gives your child something, she should always say ‘thank you.’ If a classmate is sad or upset, your child should always ask, ‘are you okay?’ And suppose your child sees a classmate not having an object, she can share it with that kid. With these three sentences and a quality like sharing, your child will be able to make friends easily.

Children find schooling hard due to lack of preschool skills

Preschool and kindergarten is a crucial stage when a child begins his academic journey. These early years set the foundation for future academic success. Children who struggle during these years may face long-term academic challenges.

Unfortunately, there are many children who struggle in the early days of schooling because they do not have preschool life skills. 

As discussed in this blog, preschool life skills include instruction following, building and maintaining tolerance, using functional communication skills and friendships to navigate the world around them. 

But children who don’t have these skills find it difficult to adapt to the fast-paced environment of the school. They may show challenging behaviors, follow classroom rules, regulate their emotions, and make friends. They may act out or become disruptive, which can hinder their ability to learn and make progress academically.

School readiness is another factor that refers to a child’s ability to learn and succeed in a classroom environment. These skills have more academic elements like language and literacy development, their approaches toward learning, problem solving, social and emotional development. Children who lack these skills may struggle with academic demands that are placed in the school, and this can leave them feeling discouraged, frustrated and lonely. 

Why do children struggle in the initial days of schooling?

One of the biggest reasons contributing to this situation is lack of awareness. Parents just want their child admitted to the best school possible. They don’t know whether the child can handle instructions from the teacher very well or sit for a longer period. A toddler's or young child’s brain is still developing. They can not say ‘I feel uncomfortable’, they act it out by showing challenging behaviors. In the end, they get complaints from the teacher ‘Your child cries a lot in the classroom.’

Another reason children may struggle in preschool and kindergarten is because they come from homes where English is not the primary language. Language barriers can make it difficult for children to understand and follow classroom instructions, which can impede their ability to learn and take part in classroom activities.

Fortunately, there are things that parents and caregivers can do to help children develop preschool life skills and school readiness skills. One of the most important things is to read to children regularly. Reading helps children develop language and literacy skills, which are critical for success in school. Parents can also encourage children to participate in activities that promote socialization and self-regulation, such as playdates, sports, and music lessons.

Conclusion

Many children struggle in preschool and kindergarten because they lack preschool life skills and school readiness skills. These skills are essential for academic success, and parents and caregivers can play a critical role in helping children develop them. By providing children with a supportive and structured learning environment and engaging in activities that promote socialization and self-regulation, parents can help set their children up for long-term academic success.

Introducing Butterfly Learnings School Readiness Program

Dear parent, is your child ready to begin their academic journey? Often children have difficulty in adapting to the environment of the school, which causes anxiety and loneliness in them and because of this they show challenging behaviors.

Butterfly Learnings is offering a School Readiness Program.

In this, your child will learn skills like:

• Instruction Following
• Functional Communication Skills
• Tolerance Skills
• Developing Friendships
• Other Essential School Skills

Connect with Butterfly Learnings and let’s prepare your little one for the future!