Parents are their children’s first and most influential teachers. Ready! Set! School!, a research-based curriculum, is designed to empower parents to prepare their preschool child to enter kindergarten.
Ready! Set! School! provides a toolkit of 20 activities that all parents can do with their children, divided into the following domains:
These domains are based on the Utah Pre-Kindergarten Guidelines. As you and your child create pictures or sing or read books together, your child will become more confident and will develop skills to prepare him or her for school.
Ready! Set! School! activities are not intended to be completed in any specific order nor all at once. To get started:
Keep in mind your child’s level of development and attention span and always keep learning fun for your child.
Every activity card is organized in the following sections:
Each activity area also has a set of extra activities that are supported by a short description and a book.
To help you visualize how the activity might be done, activities are also accompanied by a six-minute video segment for parents (available online and on DVD), illustrating the activity done in a home. Because each child is unique, your experience with the activity will not be identical to the family on the video, so be creative and have fun!
Suggested book titles are provided as a springboard for discussion as you begin the activity or as an extension of the activity.
Reading children’s books is often a great opportunity to develop your child’s understanding of what words mean, where they might be found in his or her environment, and how to use those words.
You may want to set up a preschool box, basket, shelf, or area in your home where your child knows materials can be found. You will save the time and effort of searching if your materials are always in the same place. You may also want to have a space where your child can store completed work. This might include a display area such as the refrigerator, bedroom wall, dresser, or door.
All of the activities are designed to be completed with adult supervision. Some activities include materials such as scissors, which a child may use inappropriately if you are not present. Some activities ask you to go outdoors, so please be aware and be safe with your child while doing the activity and help your child understand those things as well.
To give you ideas for additional learning experiences for your child, Ready! Set! School! also provides online resources, many also available in Spanish, at www.readysetschool.org:
We hope that Ready! Set! School! will help develop a life of learning for all parents and children of Utah!
Let's start Ready! Set! School!