Help! Prepping a 4yr old for school.

[jesskab]

I need to get my speech delayed 4yr, 3mo old son ready for school. He's only been talking for @18mo. He knows his alphabet letters & sounds. He can read 3 letter words. He can count up to 20 without help. He goes to speech therapy for one hour once a week at a local elementary school. He spends 3 days a week at daycare where no academic skills are taught. He socializes very well. We are still struggling with potty training. He's very stubborn. He has no other delays or medical problems.

He's not really grasping the concept that daycare is not school. I have a month off work, so I want to work on this. I'm thinking of subscribing to a site like ABCmouse.com or pbskidsplay.org. Does anyone have any feedback on those sites? We'll also start working on tracing letters & numbers. I'd love input from the homeschoolers on the best resources. Preschool is not an option yet since he's not potty trained. I'd love for him to be ready for Pre-K in the winter. I was focusing mainly on potty training, but maybe I need to work on the academic stuff first.

This is so new to me since my first son was potty trained and reading by 3. I appreciate all your feedback, suggestions, & support. Thanks just for taking the time to read this.

[adi&co.]

when getting a kid ready for school, it's better to focus on his attention skills rather than him knowing his alphabet and all that stuff. That will be taught in school, but if he can't sit still and focus on anything, he's not going to learn it, KWIM? parents make the mistake of thinking their kids need to know things before they go to school, rather than working on their ability to sit in a chair and listen. I would read to him and have him sit down and color for 15 minutes at a time type stuff. work on getting him to keep attention to task for at least 15 minute chunks and he'll be a lot better off than most kids!

[Jjriward]

It sounds like he's well on his way to being ready! I don't homeschool, but I did a program with my kids last summer. It was a program I bought online and it laid everything out for me - even suggested books to read along with the lessons. The particular program I did is probably a little too advanced for your son (it was geared towards kids who are already in school), but I bet some homeschool parents could suggest something similar for you! Good luck!

[YepBrook]

Many of the things you have mentioned him doing (letter sounds and knowing the alphabet A-Z, counting to 20, reading 3 letter words) are actually skills they learn in Kindergarten. There's no need to rush past that.

I homeschool my kids, and this is how I approached their education before the age of 6. Let him have plenty of time for free play! That is something that will help him more than you realize, and this is what preschoolers need... before school schedules and homework keep him from play time. People underestimate the importance of PLAY for kids. It makes them 'smart' more than workbooks do when they are this age.

Also, let him have time to create and enjoy using crayons, paper, safety scissors, tape, glue sticks, and assorted craft supplies like pom-poms, pipe cleaners, google eyes, glitter glue, craft feathers and whatever else you can gather. I would keep cardboard tubes from toilet paper & paper towel rolls, magazines, caps from milk bottles, etc. and let them use those too. Let him make a mess and have him cut the paper any way he wants, not on lines or to make perfect shapes. Then, let him tape and color as he pleases. This is a great brain activity and good for his motor skills.

Lastly, visit the library once or twice a week and let him borrow a huge bag of books. Read 3-5 of the books out loud to him every day. Reading the same book every day is very good... eventually you can ask him questions about the book and he will remember the story. This is a simple activity that helps with listening skills, patience, sitting quietly, and reading comprehension.

[~Cindy~]

I know with my 5 year old. His biggest thing is sitting. The child can't be still. He is getting better. I will make sure I work on that with my youngest though. Cole was almost four before he was potty trained! I tried everything. His dad told him if he started using the potty to poop and pee. Then he could have a pool. That day he started using the bathroom. He had one or two accidents the first week. Then he was fine! Here's a list of what Cole will learn this year in kindergarten {I'm from Alabama so this list will vary I'm sure}. Here we have all day kindergarten and he gets 30 minutes of quiet time. I would focus more on the sitting/paying attention and the potty training though. It seems like he knows the basic things.

[kristijoy]

My son didn't potty train until he was over 4 years old. I finally did give him a reward which at the right moment tipped him over the edge so he could train. Sounds like he's got the basic 'academics' and good social skills, so I would agree to work on the sitting, listening.

I read to my son a lot. I've always made it snuggle time with Mommy, so he has to sit still and be calm. And my son loves stories, so he wants to listen. When he starts to get fidgety or pay attention to someone else, I pause (and now that he's 7) he knows exactly that Mommy stopped because he wasn't still!

You could also consider doing 'listening' activities out in nature. Take nature walks and do a scavenger 'listening' walk. Listen for birds, cars, frogs, etc... Find something you have to walk really quiet around so they can practice their quiet walk (like tiptoeing up to see a baby duck or something).

And...one of my person pet-peeves is the word "listening". Listening applies to the 2activities above, but what adults often mean by the word "listening" is "hearing the directions and then doing those directions". It's a 2-part thing. 1) is hearing the directions (listening) and then 2) is following through and actually doing those directions.

For my son 'listening' was there, but then getting up and actually "doing" said task is much more different! Following directions is challenging for little guys.

Maybe everyone has some fun ideas to encourage kids to follow directions. Here's a few I can think of

Simon Says Game: Ha! You really got to listen on this one!

Red Light Green Light Game: Similar! Need to listen and then do the right thing!

Building Lego Kits: My son loves new lego's kits and the ones where you have to follow the directions to get the thing shown on the front are great for step-by-step concentration.

Follow the leader type clapping games: Each person makes a pattern and everyone has to try and reproduce it. Like: clap, rub your tummy, snap fingers. Then everyone does it. Next person then makes one up. You can make it short and then get longer as you get better at it. This also gives him a chance to give *you* directions which is really fun for little kids!

Cooking: If there is something special he likes (like chocolate chip cookies) you can work with him on following the 'recipe' to get them to taste right! LOL!

[jesskab]

Thank you all so much! I truly appreciate all the advice. I was directed to some educational sites & he got it right away. He's actually reading more than I thought. There are some things I haven't done lately that I'm going to reinstate. We don't do nearly as many crafts as we used to. Also, we used to take a walk together every Friday night while big brother was in dance class. We'll start that up again this Friday.

I stood my ground on the potty training today. We watched Once upon a Potty like 6 times. He stayed in underwear all afternoon with only one accident right before naptime!

Thanks again everyone!

[Kara]

I agree with Brook on the importance of free play. It is so, so important! I'd also check out a ton of library books and read as much as possible to him, even though it sounds like he is reading some on his own. Those are the two most important things for preschoolers in my mind.