The first five years of a child's life are a time of tremendous physical, emotional, social and cognitive growth. Children enter the world with many needs in order to grow: love, nutrition, health, social and emotional security and stimulation in the important skills that prepare them for school success. Children also enter the world with a great capacity to learn.
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Getting Ready to Learn
How well children will learn and develop and how well they will do in school depends on a number of things, including the children's health and
physical well-being, their social and emotional preparation and their language skills and general knowledge of the world.
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Activities for Children
These activities are designed to help you prepare your child to learn and develop. Most of the activities are simple and easily can be made part of your daily routines. As you do the activities, remember that repetition is important, especially for very young children.
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What About Kindergarten?
The activities in this section will help your child get ready for kindergarten. As the first day of school approaches, however, you may want to do a few more things to set your child on the path to school success.
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Taking Charge of TV
By the time they begin kindergarten, children in the United States have watched an average of 4,000 hours of TV. Most child development experts agree that this is too much. But banning TV from children's lives isn't the answer.
How to take charge ...
Choosing Childcare
Choosing the right kind of childcare for your baby, toddler or preschooler is important for your child's safety and well being. It is also important because these early experiences affect how prepared your child is for school. Here are some tips to guide you in choosing childcare:
How to choose ...
Ready-for-School Checklist
This checklist can help to guide you as you prepare your child for school. It's best to look at the items on the list as goals toward which to aim. They should be accomplished, as much as possible, through everyday routines or by enjoyable activities that you've planned with your child. If your child lags behind in some areas, don't worry.
Ready-for-School checklist ...
