We’re back with Part II of our blog on milestones to hit before kindergarten! Every parent wants the best for their child. When you know exactly how your child should be growing and developing, you can better help them along in the process. With the care, education, and nurturing from our daycare centers in South Bend (at Ireland Road, State Road 23, and North Bendix Drive), as well as in other places across Northern Indiana, your child will truly be set up for success in the years to come. Learn more about milestones to hit before kindergarten, and enroll your child with Growing Kids Learning Centers today!
Milestone Reminder
It can be scary to see these milestones and think, “my child isn’t there yet.” In most cases, that’s completely normal. Milestones serve as a general guideline — if your child isn’t hitting them “on time” it doesn’t mean anything is wrong, or that they never will. Some kids take longer to talk, some take longer to walk, but they all tend to get to the same place eventually.
Of course, if you’re concerned, you can always talk to your child’s pediatrician or daycare teacher to see if they have any insights. Early interventions, while not always necessary, can make a huge difference. You can always help your child continue to grow in these skills at home, and enroll them in a daycare or educational program where they can continue working towards their kindergarten readiness. But the most important thing to remember with milestones is that they serve as an idea of where kids should be — they’re not written in stone.
With that in mind, take a look at some other things that your child should master or be working on by the time they get to kindergarten:
Social Play
This is one of those milestones that takes consistent practice and lots of time — in fact, many adults still need practice with positive social interactions! By the time your child gets to kindergarten, however, they should know about taking turns, sharing, and be able to have conversations with their peers and adults. Playing games, interacting with play groups, practicing safe play and learning to respect other people’s physical boundaries are all important things to work on before and during kindergarten. This can be a great reason to enroll your child in daycare — all of these social skills are consistently practiced and taught.
Independent Bathroom Use
It’s not uncommon for kids to have accidents. Especially in younger years, children might have seemingly mastered using the bathroom, and still have the occasional night time incident. For the most part, however, kids should be able to independently use the bathroom by the time they enter kindergarten. This means advocating for themselves and recognizing when it’s time to go, taking care of business, and washing hands when they’re done. If your child is still struggling with this, talk with their doctor for some additional advice, and communicate to their teacher what works best for your young one.
Number Fluency
Recognizing patterns — such as seeing two identical shapes that repeat in a sequence or even knowing that they brush their teeth and listen to a story before going to bed — are essential for kids to start picking up before kindergarten. Children should also be able to count to 10, as well as be able to identify the numbers (even when they’re written out of order).
Additionally, while pre-kindergartners don’t need to be able to tell time precisely yet, they should understand words like “soon,” “later,” “tomorrow,” “today,” and “yesterday,” to name a few.
Milestones can seem like a big responsibility for both parents and children, but with the proper guidance and support, children will thrive. Our daycare center utilizes a curriculum and lessons to specifically help the development and growth of each child, and we know that your entire family will love what we do at Growing Kids Learning Centers. With flexible scheduling and pick-up/drop-off times, experienced and compassionate caregivers, and nine convenient locations, there’s a reason why families in Northern Indiana choose our daycare program again and again. Help your child prepare for kindergarten — enroll them in educational daycare with Growing Kids Learning Centers!
