The only thing most of us know for sure is we’re about to be a sobbing mess on that first day of school. Have I prepared my little one for this?  

We asked Kindie parent and teacher, Ms. McNulty, what tips she would give to other parents. What does she expect kindies to know on the first day of class, and how she’s preparing her own daughter for school?  

We’ve broken her top tips down into skill sets, and some typical concerns parents have about sending off their kids.

SELF-HELP SKILLS

Dress themselves (in case of accidents)
Your child should be able to dress themselves in their spare clothing. Elastic-waisted clothes are best, pant buttons are too tricky, and the teacher may not be available to help immediately. Undoing a button on their pants when desperate to pee will not end well.

Shoes
Slip on are best! Even if they can tie, slip-on is easier (a pair for inside and outside). The left-right shoe labels are great for getting them to put their shoes on the correct feet!

Using different toilets
This sounds weird, but many kids feel nervous about an unfamiliar toilet. So, practice using various toilets when you’re out and about to get them more familiar with it. Plus, many kids leave it until the last possible moment to use the toilet, and any hesitation or delay can lead to an accident.  

Wiping their own nose
The first few months of kindergarten will be snotty. It’s important to send your child with tissues and ensure they know when they need to blow (tricky) or at least wipe their nose. The teacher can’t spend all day wiping 30 noses.

Opening their own lunchbox
Practice using the lunch box and containers with your child the week before school 

When teaching your child some of these skills, keep this great tip in mind for supporting them in learning:
I DO – WE DO – YOU DO
You show them how to do it, then do it together, hand-over-hand or using as much oral encouragement and direction as needed. Then when you feel they are ready, they can do it independently, with zero support from you.

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL SKILLS

Taking turns
Taking turns doesn’t come naturally, so practice and play games where you have to take turns. Take turns with who goes first, too. 

Learning how to lose
We like to let our own children win, but that won’t be the case in school with 30 other students. So work on being a good loser. Using words like – wow, what a good game! I am so proud of you for winning (when you lose), and it’s important to then have your child lose at the game too.

Allow them to have those big feelings and talk to them about it. I can see you are really upset that I won. It can be hard to lose, but we still had such fun playing! Let’s play again and see what happens! 

Making friends
Kids at this age are adaptable, so don’t worry if your child has never been in a scenario like a school before. By the end of the first week, most children will have met some friends (though they may not know their names!)

If you feel like your child still hasn’t met any friends, mention it to the teacher. They can keep an eye out in class to see what is going on and help to facilitate some friendships.

ACADEMICS

Getting ready for school can seem scary, but know that academics are the area of the least concern. Kids arrive at school with many different levels from being able to read to not being able to recognize their own name.  Don’t stress out about academics. Your child’s teacher is well prepared to help each child learn.

However, if you do want to work on your child’s academic skills beforehand, here are a few things you can do. Note: Make these tips seem like play!

Recognize their name
This helps them be more independent from the get-go. From finding their cubby to spotting their labels.

Work on segmenting easy words
CAT – /c/ /a/ /t/ You can do this while reading a story and just sound out a word and have your child tell you what it is. Play a game where you say the /d/ /o/ /g/ goes woof – and have them tell you the animal.

Rhyming
Rhyming is tricky – have your child tell you if two words rhyme or not, then you can move on to creating their own rhyming words.

 TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Now that we’ve prepared our kids, here are a few tips to prepare ourselves for the first few weeks of school. Some aspects may catch you off-guard but are totally normal- so be prepared for what to expect will allow you to worry less when your child tells you absolutely nothing about their day!  

What happens in Kindie stays in Kindie
Or so it seems. Kids are often too tired and hungry to talk about their day. In addition, the transition between school and home can be tricky for them developmentally; their days are so busy that they sometimes don’t know where to even begin, and talking about it can be arduous work.

Don’t ask- how was your day. Instead, try using specific questions like, Who did you sit next to at circle time? or Did you make a craft today?

They’ll be exhausted.
At the end of each day, your kids will be exhausted! Give them the time they need after school to recover. Aim for a decent bedtime and don’t overschedule them 

They may get hit
The first time a parent hears “hit me,” it’s alarming. But be aware that kids are kids, and minor disagreements will happen; it’s how they handle it that is important. Some kids have a hard time containing excitement, and accidents can happen. However, it’s often innocent and not worth contacting the school (Unless, of course, it happens more than once, or you see marks or a bruise)

They will lose stuff.
There is so much happening during the day that keeping track of where their stuff is simply isn’t a priority for kids. Labeling all their items will help the teacher get the lost property back into the hands of the owner.   

They will break down.
After-school restraint collapse is a real thing! If your child is experiencing significant breakdowns after school, this is why!

Finally, you’ll be shocked at the skills your child comes home with. They mature so much in their first years, and although it’s hard to watch your baby grow up, it’s also beautiful to see.

For teachers looking for ways to earn funds for your classroom supplies, check out this Fundraising Program – a favorite with teachers and parents. Parents purchase kids name labels, and 20% commission goes back to the school or classroom!

The post How to Prepare for Kindergarten; Tips from a Teacher and Mom appeared first on The Mabelhood.

In fact, even if your child isn’t dyslexic, you’ll probably find this very helpful as your little ones start to learn to read, enter kindergarten and take an interest in reading. So arm yourself with these tips, and you’ll find you and your little one will have a smoother transition into the literary world!

So, what is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia “is a neurologically based condition that affects word-level reading accuracy, reading fluency, and spelling. It is often described as an unexpected difficulty in learning to read.” (IDA – https://www.idaontario.com/about-dyslexia/)

When we are learning how to read, our brain is mapping words (orthography, the art of writing words with the proper letters according to a standard set of rules). We are taking the sounds we know and connecting them to their matching letters and then learning that when blended together, those sounds create a specific word. For example,

/k/ /a/ /t/ – sounds

c  a  t  – letters

Caaaat – blending to hear the word

Cat – reading the word.

Children/adults who are dyslexic can have a very difficult time with this. Typical children need to be exposed to a new word 4 -14 times before it should become orthographically mapped. While children who have dyslexia require 14 – 200 exposures to map the same word.

When you’re reading with your small children, you know how repetitive it can be. They seem to be able to read a word on one page but then don’t recognize it on the next. This means they haven’t yet orthographically mapped that word and need more exposure and support with sounding it out.

It really can be like they are seeing it for the first time, even if they just read it one page before. Working with beginning or struggling readers is hard work. It requires lots of patience, time and repetition, repetition, repetition. So, as frustrating as it can be to hear them mix up a word repeatedly, it’s all a part of the process.

How is dyslexia diagnosed?

There isn’t a test for dyslexia. A child will need to take a psycho-educational assessment through a psychologist. These are expensive to do on your own, and there is often a very long wait time in schools. Most children don’t get one until they are in grade 3 or higher, which is much too late for our students with dyslexia.

Many school districts are getting on board with universal screening, which can’t give a diagnosis, but does share detailed information about what children struggle with when they read.  

For example, in Canada, The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal released the Right to Read Report, and the government is slowly making changes. It’s an interesting read and helps us understand our and our children’s rights.

Is there a link to parents?

Yes! Most children with dyslexia have parents that struggled with reading as well. Think back to your childhood. Was reading easy for you, or did you struggle with it? Looking at your reading experience can help to make sense of your child’s.

Signs your child may be dyslexic vs. normal reading development?

Signs of dyslexia start from a very early age, but some children have excellent coping strategies, so it is harder to tell. One day their coping skills won’t be able to hide their deficit anymore, which is why universal screening at a young age is so important.

This is not a conclusive list, but here are some common struggles kids with dyslexia experience; reading through this list may help you understand whether your child is experiencing normal development or maybe dyslexic.  

Common struggles your child may experience:

-Remembering the alphabet

-Learning the letter sounds

-Struggles with rhyming words

-Writing phonetically (spelling Cat like Lex instead of Kat or Kt)

-With oral wordplay (sun – light, what words does that make?)

-Letter formation – may write slower and/or messier than peers.

-Uses the pictures to guess at words (sees a horse, word starts with p – says horse, not pony)

-Blending words together (it’s like they have forgotten what the first sound was by the time they get to the last sound so the word they say isn’t close to the printed word)

-With reading comprehension (they are spending so much time trying to figure out what the text says that they are unable to understand it)

-Decoding words (they may rely on guessing or will mumble words even if this is a word you think they should know)

What next steps should I If I see signs my child may be dyslexic?

First things first, rule out or correct a physical problem, like needing glasses.  The school will ask for this, so it is better to be prepared.

Get your child’s eyes checked by an optometrist.
Get your child’s ears checked by an audiologist.

Tell your doctor that your child is having trouble with reading (they may have support for you).

Talk to your child’s school. Set up a meeting with the teacher and let them know about your concerns and ask them how they will support your child.

Ask about what testing is available at the school level. How long would a waitlist be for a psycho-educational assessment?

Visit the International Dyslexia Association website for your area. They are a wealth of information, which can be overwhelming. So take breaks and read small amounts at a time.

Research. There are many amazing programs out there that can help support you and your child. There are also many terrible ones, so do your research by reading reviews, call places and asking tough questions. Join dyslexia groups on Facebook and read what others have to say.

Stay calm. You cannot solve this overnight. Reach out and find support through a friend or group. You can do this. You have already started just by reading this article and with that one small step, you are already changing your child’s reading life!

Talk to your child. Let them know that struggling to read isn’t their fault, that their brain is wired differently, and that they just need more support when learning to read. Do let them know that it will be hard work, and they will probably get frustrated. But by persevering, they too can become readers.  Many famous people have dyslexia, including Steven Spielberg, Keira Knightly, Walt Disney and Steve Jobs, and they all went on to do amazing things!

How to advocate for your child at school:

For many years, teachers and educators were told and believed a few falsehoods like,

Struggling with reading will improve once they are in grade 2.
More time is what your child needs.
Boys develop slower at reading, and he just needs more time.

Unfortunately, this is still prevalent throughout the schools, though many great teachers are working on further educating ourselves and others.

Your child will not magically become a reader in grade 2, or when they lose their first tooth. More time is the opposite of what your child will need. Your son does not develop slower and needs more time. Your child needs action. The earlier a child with dyslexia receives support, the easier it is to close the gap.

This doesn’t mean your older children are out of luck; it just means they and you will have to work harder at bridging that gap. Talk to your child’s teacher. (Bring someone with you to take notes). Tell them about your concerns and ask what extra support they can provide for your child.

Be kind. Your children’s teacher should want what is best for them, but they may not know about the science of reading/how to teach to dyslexics or they could be just learning about it. We don’t know their journey.

Ask for extra small group/individual support, even if it is only for 10 minutes a day. Your child will benefit from explicit and systematic teaching of phonics.

Check to see if they offer after-school tutoring at your child’s school, and sign up if you are able.

Check to see if they offer online support through apps or programs purchased by the school district.

Ask for follow-up meetings. You want to stay on top of this.

Ask to see what beginning and ending assessment they will use and how they plan to progress monitor your child. Allow for 4-6 weeks, and then at the next meeting, ask to see the first assessment again to compare to where they are now.

Don’t take no for an answer.  You know your child best. If you are not satisfied with the meeting, let the teacher know you will be booking another meeting with the Learning Resource Teacher (or SERT) to find ways to support your child with reading.

Remember, working with the school and teacher as a team will accomplish a lot faster. Be firm. Know your truth, and do not give up. You are your child’s biggest supporter, loudest cheerleader and fiercest protector.

How to help your child at home:

Start Small:
The chance that your child will not want to read with you or have you teach them is very high, especially after a full day of school where they struggled. Reading takes a lot of work and makes dyslexic brains very tired. Start small. Really small if you must.

Break words apart, and make it fun:
Dyslexics struggle with phonological awareness (PA), which is the skill of manipulating words orally. Like being able to orally identify the first, middle and last sound in a word, hear and produce rhyming words, break apart words into syllables and then put them back together again, and manipulate sounds in words (adding a new sound, deleting a sound or changing a sound). Starting with PA can be a fun low-stakes way to start working on reading, without working on reading. While you are eating, you could say:

“hey… what would fork say without the /f/” and let your child think of the answer; if they can’t, give it to them “ork, isn’t that funny! What about cup? What would cup say without the /k/?”

Do a few and see how they do. You could do this on the way home, on a walk, just before bed. Just do a few at a time using simple words at first.

Say the sounds not letters:
Instead of singing the alphabet, sing the sounds (short vowel sounds) and match them to the letters. This might mean relearning how you say sounds. When we say the sounds of the letters, we tend to add what is called a ‘schwa’ to the end of the sounds. So /k/ sounds like c-uh and /p/ sounds like p-uh. Saying that added ‘uh’ at the end can make it very difficult to transition to blending – /k//uh/ /a/ /t//uh/ is much harder to blend into cat than /k/ /a/ /t/.

Play “I hear with my little ear”:
Play ‘I hear with my little ear’ – just like I spy, but with sounds. Use simple CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) words to start, like cat, dog, cup, and pup. But avoid tricky words like tea ( /t/ /ea/, /b/ /oy/)

I hear with my little ear something that sounds like: /g/ /a/ /p/

Support your child with blending those sounds together if they struggle longer than 5 seconds. We want them to feel successful and have fun!

Decodables:
You may have heard this term floating around. Decodables are books that are easy to decode/read. They are books that your child should be able to sound out almost every word. Decodable books follow a plan of what letters/sounds should be taught in what order. This means that to read the book, your child must have been taught what that letter is and what sound it makes.
As an adult, these books will look and sound dreadfully boring. But to a child who can’t read, it is magic. It may be the first time that they can read a whole page or book by themselves, and their excitement will be palpable.

Remember that they may not be able to read the book the first time through, or second, or third. This may be a book that you and your child read every single night for a week or two. Or longer. Until they feel like they have mastered it. How will you know if it’s mastered? They read it fluently (like they are talking) and don’t have to stop to sound out many if any, words. Rereading texts is one of the best things you and your child can do. It helps them orthographically map those words, helps them with their fluency (reading like they are talking), and gives them confidence that they can read.

Go Slow:
When you are reading with your child, and they have to stop to sound out a word, allow them the time to sound it out and blend it together. Then make them read that word to you again. Ask them to start the sentence over. Only move on once they are able to read that sentence 100% accurately. This may mean you only read one page of the book. That is fine. They are working hard, and so are you. Be proud!

Giving compliments is something we just do as parents. You are so smart, you are so kind, how clever you are etc. When reading with our children, we want to continue that. However, we want those compliments to correlate directly to something they did. Try not just to say ‘good job’ but quantify it with something they did. “Good job rereading that word without me asking!” “I love how you pointed at each letter and said the sound” “Isnt that amazing that you could just read that word!”

Make it fun, and don’t stress.

Here are some great resources parents might find helpful:
Resources to Google for Phonological Awareness:

David Kilpatrick’s One Minute Drills
Heggerty (this is a program, but you can download samples)

Resources for games:
Teach your Monster to read – APP
https://pbskids.org/games/reading

Decodable Resources:
BOB books (available at Indigo and sometimes Costco)
https://halfpintkids.com/ (free online decodables as of 2023)
https://portal.flyleafpublishing.com/learners-resources/ (free online decodables as of 2023)

For more Back-to-School posts in the Mabelhood, check out or School Hub!

The post Signs Your Child May Be Dyslexic; And How to Help Them appeared first on The Mabelhood.