Your Pre-Kindergartener
"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional."
We’re almost ready for kindergarten! Your kid is telling detailed stories, and explaining how he feels about things. He can count backwards from 10 – even if he never can resist yelling “blast off!” at the end.
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He can compromise – sometimes – and bounce back from disappointment… sometimes. All good signs moving forward. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s all too easy, once we start seeing our kid grow and progress, to focus on the next step and forget to enjoy the current one.
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This is true of childhood overall, really. Some models of thinking seem to consider the whole experience of being a kid as a kind of warm-up for being an adult, as if the only important aspect of youth is whether or not it gets you prepared for what really matters, when we grow up.
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But your time to be a kid matters too. It matters a lot. It’s a period of life in which we discover, explore, enjoy, anticipate, reflect, and a whole lot more. All of which, it’s worth noting, are things we can continue doing as we age, anyway. So don’t let anyone tell you that children are just unfinished adults. And, further, never believe that being a grown-up who gets likened to a “big kid” is in any way a bad thing.
Resources for Your Pre-Kindergartener
Your Pre-Kindergartener
Creative Arts
You always knew there was an artist in the family.
Your Pre-Kindergartener
Social Emotional
To be “good with people.” It seems like such a simple skill, but it’s such an important one – and your kid is learning it now.
Your Pre-Kindergartener
Math
Maybe your child knows what number comes after 19. Maybe he doesn’t. Soon enough he’ll be counting to 100, 1000 and beyond.
Your Pre-Kindergartener
Play & Learning
What could sound less kid-like than “executive functions”? And yet, that’s just what children are developing at this stage.
Your Pre-Kindergartener
Science
Ask any kid. You don’t need a laboratory to do science. There will be plenty of time later for things like beakers and scalpels.
Your Pre-Kindergartener
Social Studies
“Social studies” is just a complicated way to say “learning about people.” And now is a great time to help your child understand that he’s part of a community.
Your Pre-Kindergartener
Physical Health & Growth
Your child has a wonderful, capable body that can accomplish all kinds of things.
Your Pre-Kindergartener
English & Language Arts
Whether you child is a natural chatty Cathy or more of a shy Violet, you’ve likely noticed her conversation skills are seriously improving.
Help paying for child care
Many Indiana families are eligible for financial help paying for early childhood programs. These programs have varying eligibility, but all help families give their children solid educational starts.
