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The kindergarten - preschool experience lay an important foundation for the child’s future as the skills and knowledge (i.e the aptitude and character) that your child develops during these years can bring a striking effect on your child's progress when he begins his academic learning and also in the further advancement of life. Giving him an inspiring and cultivating environment is highly essential.

Preschool education is important because it can help your child attain an edge in the world of cut throat competition. When the children who do not develop a proper base, i.e. they don’t get their fundamentals right during their preschool years will be taught about counting, alphabets, colors and shapes at the time of starting their formal education, will lag behind the kids who already possess that much competence.
SOME GOOD REASONS YOUR CHILD SHOULD ATTEND PRESCHOOL
Being a parent of a kid who is about to start his journey of preschool education, the thought that your child is quite young may come up in your mind. However, there are some good reasons that may help you in changing your mindset and enrolling your kid in the preschool.

1. Preschool is an opportunity for growth
   For many children, preschool is the time when they get the exposure in the disciplined environment comprising of teachers and groups of children for the very first time. It's an opportunity to share, learn,follow instructions, and develop the base for learning that will occur in elementary school.
2. Preschool helps children to become ready for kindergarten
   The staff at renowned preschools and day care centers has a thorough understanding of the development & learning patterns of young children. And they know how to organize the available space, time and activities so that its children can develop their social, emotional, cognitive, and physical abilities to the maximum.
3. Preschool assists in social and emotional development
   It is difficult for kids to leave their home and enter a new place where they experience different kind of environment and see new faces but gradually as time passes they learn to interact with other kids and teachers and thus, they learn to develop their social skills. They develop trusting relationships with people outside their family. The programs available for children at preschool help children develop warm relationship with teachers and parents. The experiences they gain at preschool also helps them to strengthen their emotional development.


4. Children can develop sense of self worth& competence
   Teachers may help the child develop sense of self-worth by making them engage in "real work" which offers chances to help out in the classroom, for example, by setting the chairs at recess time.
   
   Teachers also encourage a child to participate in activities which increases competence in child. For example, a teacher might ask all the children to do a certain activity and check who finishes it first.


5. Preschool stimulates language and cognitive skills
   Between the ages of 3 and 5, a child's vocabulary grows from 900 to 2,500 words, and her sentences become longer and more complex. Teachers help children improve their language skills by introducing new vocabulary during the conducted activities. Children have many opportunities to sing, talk about favorite books, and act out stories.
   A young child's cognitive skills are strengthened by engaging in a wide range of hands-on activities that challenge her to observe closely, ask questions, test her ideas or solve a problem.


6. Preschool teachers nurture a child's curiosity
   To nurture their curiosity and motivation to learn, teachers may use children's interests and ideas to create activities. And even a simple event - such as a child's discovery of a snail in the outdoor play area — can be turned into an exciting opportunity to learn.
   Preschool-age children have active imaginations and learn through make-believe play. The imaginary play area in a high-quality preschool is well-stocked with costumes, "props," and child-size household items such as stoves, sinks and cupboards.


7. Preschool activities enhances pre-math and literacy skills
   Teachers offer a wide variety of games and activities that help children acquire the pre- math and literacy skills. Singing an alphabet song while following along in a picture book builds a child's awareness of the connections between alphabet letters and word sounds. Engaging children in a discussion about an exciting read-aloud story encourages their listening, comprehension, and expressive language skills. Playing with magnetic alphabet letters may inspire a child to ask a teacher to help her write the first letter of her name.
   Matching games, sorting games, counting games, and board games build children's understanding of number, categories and sequence, which supports later math learning. Putting together puzzles encourages children to notice patterns, plan ahead and problem-solve.


8. Preschool helps develop motor skills
   High-quality preschool programs provide several opportunities daily for children to run, climb, and play active games. Activities are offered to help children develop fine motor skills, such as threading beads or cutting with scissors. And children are challenged through a variety of activities to build their hand-eye coordination and balance.


9. Preschool helps a child to build up confidence:
   "Kids in preschool discover that they are capable and can do things for themselves -- from small tasks like pouring their own juice and helping set snack tables to tackling bigger issues like making decisions about how to spend their free time."Quality preschools help children find answers through exploration, experimentation, and conversation."

It can be a relief for busy parents that once their kids start going to school, their burden gets reduced as they get more focused on their peer group. But on the other hand, if you spend the day apart, it's easy for your worlds to become increasingly distant. You may not be able to see it instantly, but your influence on them starts reducing, as your child begins to shape his or her behavior outside the home based on the norms of schoolmates or neighborhood kids. Your goal over the next few years is to build a strong relationship with your child, which will provide a counter-balance to peer culture and a solid foundation to get you through the teen years. The game plan for parenting your elementary schooler should include the following points :
1. Develop family rituals that foster connection. Families need rituals that foster togetherness. Embrace the benefits of families eating together several times a week, having meetings where each member can have a say, and outings where your kid can have some alone time with a parent, where you both can learn more about one another. Arrange activities such as family meetings, morning brunches, lunch dates. Whatever works for your family, but make these connection opportunities into routines, so everyone looks forward to them.
2. Teach healthy food habits : By teaching your children healthy eating habits, you can help your children maintain a healthy weight and normal growth. Also, the eating habits your children pick up
when they are young will help them maintain a healthy lifestyle when they become adults. To help your kid develop these habits take note of the following :

• Discourage eating meals or snacks while watching TV : Eating in front of TV may lead to overeating.
• Encourage your children to drink more water.
• Make sure your children's meals outside the home are balanced: Find out more about their school lunch program, or pack their lunch to include a variety of foods. Also, select healthier items when dining at restaurants.
• Have your child eat a healthy breakfast.
• Eat as a family as often as possible. Keep family meals pleasant and positive.
• Buy healthy snacks : Offer healthy snacks that your child likes, and keep them within easy reach.
• Be a good role model : Your own eating and lifestyle choices are a powerful teaching tool. Your child sees the choices you make and follows your example.

3 -Limit electronics: For school-age kids, technology can be a double-edged sword. There are countless benefits that kids can gain from using technology. Computers can be used to do research, play online educational games, and improve language skills. Television (and DVDs) can offer
educational programs such as documentaries and other educational material. And even video games can encourage developmental skills such as hand-eye coordination. But all these electronic devices can also have some disadvantages as well. Here are some reasons why technology should be limited for kids.

1. It may interfere with sleep.
2. It may cut into family time/person-to-person interaction.
3. It may encourage short attention span.
4. It may interfere with school work : Children who watch a lot of TV are more likely to have lower grades and read fewer books.
5. It may lead to less physical activity : More screen time has been associated with reduced physical activity and higher risk of obesity in kids.
6. It may expose kids to too much advertising and inappropriate content: Many television shows and commercials depict sexuality and violence as well as stereotypes and drug and alcohol use. Many commercials also promote junk food and toys in powerful and alluring ways that are designed to get kids to want these items.

Some ways to limit technology for your kid :

1. Do not put a TV in your child’s room.
2. Turn it off: When the kids are not watching a specific program, turn off the television. Keep it off during mealtimes and especially when they are studying or doing homework.
3. Help your child choose a video game or a show: The best way to know what your child is watching or playing is by helping her pick out a show or a game.
4. Limit her screen time: decide the amount of time your child spends watching TV or playing video games and stick to that number.
5. Opt for alternatives to technology activities: Find great ways to spend family time together without tech devices, such as by playing board games or reading good books.

4. Make sure your child's peers value academics. As kids enter school, their attitudes get influenced highly by their peers. The amount of effort they put into schoolwork and how well they perform in school will be very similar to how their peer group approaches it. If you want your child to do well academically, be sure that he or she is in a peer situation with kids who are sincere in studies.
5. Pay attention to your child's peer relations. Kids who are rejected by other kids can develop an inferiority complex that stays with them throughout their life. Make sure your child maintains healthy relationships with other kids.
6. Help instill values: Most childhood education (click here ) experts agree that building a child's character must begin at preschool age. During this period, children can be easily shaped and guided to learn about what is right and what is wrong, and to learn to live a value-filled life. They can easily absorb and emulate what they see and hear from the adults in their surroundings.
Thus, teaching them positive values at preschool age such as honesty, courage, responsibility, self-discipline etc. is likely to be more effective.
7. Focus on controlling yourself—not your child: The behavior of your child is greatly influenced by what he / she gets to see at home. As a parent you need to model the type of behavior you want your children to emulate. You should not do anything that you don't want them to do as you are a role model for your child.
8. Give attention to the behavior you like—not the behavior you don’t: If your child is behaving in a certain way which is not appropriate it would be better to simply ignore it. Be clear and consistent when disciplining your child. Explain and show the behavior that you expect from them. Whenever you tell them no, follow up with what they should be doing instead. Praise the behavior you like. You should know what qualities are to be praised and which ones to be ignored.
9. Develop his emotional intelligence by empathizing and talking about feelings. Some ways to achieve this :

• Acknowledge your child’s perspective and empathize: Even if you can't "do anything" about your child's upsets, empathize. Just being understood helps humans let go of troubling emotions. Empathizing doesn’t mean you agree, instead it’s just that you see it from their side, too.
• Listen to your child’s feelings: Often, your child just needs a chance to feel heard while she expresses her feelings. When we help our children feel safe enough to feel and express their emotions, we not only heal their psyches and bodies, also we help them trust their own emotional process so they can handle their own emotions as they get older, without tantrums or repression.

10. Help your kid learn the value of sharing and friendship: Through interacting with friends, children learn important social skills – how to communicate, cooperate, solve problems, and make decisions. They learn that different situations and different people call for different behaviors. They learn how to lead, how to follow, how to set up rules, how to win,
and how to lose. They learn to deal with satisfaction, anger, aggression, and rejection. By comparing themselves to others, children come to understand who they are through their social relationships. Research shows that children with healthy friendships have a greater sense of well-being, better self-esteem, and fewer social problems as adults and the children who lack friends can suffer from emotional and mental difficulties later in life.
11. Help your child develop good language skills: Parents play a critical role in a child's language development. Studies have shown that children who are read to and spoken with a great deal during early childhood will have larger vocabularies and better grammar than those who aren't. Being a parent you can use the following ways to help your child develop good language skills -- read stories to them, talk to them, make up and tell elaborate stories, never criticize your child’s speech patterns instead help them with the correct pronunciation.
12. Help your child learn a sense of responsibility: Teaching your child responsibility helps build character and makes her a more independent, self-reliant person. As she grows, remember to let her responsibilities evolve.


1. Let Them Help You
   
2. Show Kids the Way First, you can demonstrate how to complete small tasks.If your son wants a snack, show him where the apples are and how to wash one off. Make responsibilities age-appropriate.
3. Praise ThemKeep up positive vibes by offering specific praises for actions. "You hung your coat on the hook and I'm proud of you!"
4. Manage Your Expectations When you ask a five-year-old to make her bed, it may still be lopsided. Don't criticize. Recognize a job well done. The next time you make your own bed, show her how you do it.
5. Teach Consequences If your kid is unable to perform a particular task then he may have to suffer its consequences. For eg : if your son does not clean up after finishing his project work, inform him that he won't be able to play with his crayons and scissors until the next day if he leaves a messy table. The more you enforce the rules, the more likely he is to clean up without being asked.

If you are a parent going through the same phase then go ahead reading some of such tips to help your kid prepare for the big day :

Visit the school or kindergarten in advance 

Many schools and kindergartens encourage the student and parents to visit the school before the official starting of the term. You both can visit the classroom and meet the teachers in advance. This will also ensure that your child recognizes a familiar face immediately upon the first day of class.
Also, the child and parents can both become familiar with the location, look and feel of the school.

Obtain the school handbook.
It is important to know the expectations of the school in advance. Ask for a copy and read it well. If you have any questions about the rules, the requests for money etc., ask them as soon as possible. It is
also important to work through the rules with your child so that she or he is aware of what is expected during school attendance.

Know the schedule of the school :
Let your child know what his schedule will be like. Tell him at what time the school begins and ends each day

Reassure your child :
Spend time together before the first day; talking about the positive aspects of school, about your own experiences and tell her how much fun it will be meeting new kids of her age and about the friendships that develop at school. Boost your child's confidence by telling all the things your child will enjoy being in school.

Shop together to obtain school supplies :
A big part of fun is getting the school supplies and it should be a shared experience. Follow the supplies list given to you by your school, also allow your child to select his or her own favorite items to take along.


Potty training :
Your kid have to be toilet trained and know how to undress and dress themselves and also the ways to inform the teacher on such occasions. So ask yourself whether your child is ready to do those things. If not, it's a good idea to teach them those skills.You can pack spare pants and a change of clothes in your child's bag just in case its required.


Be organized. 
From the very start, it is really important to get into a routine of being organized, both for you and for
your child. Together pack the bag with the all the required school items and get the uniform ready which is to be worn

Feeding themselves: 
If your child has to have any meals at preschool other than drink and biscuits, find out if they'll be expected to use a knife and fork or whether hands are acceptable. Practice at home with a little knife and fork. Make sure you tell the preschool staff
about any strong dislikes your child has, and any food allergies or into lerances.
Give him a brief of what is expected from him 
Prepare him to sit still and listen quietly in the class.

Be supportive but also learn to let go. 
On the first day, give plenty of hugs and reassurance but also be balanced and let go. Tell your child you'll be waiting for her or him at day's end and be sure to be on time!Leave your contact number
with staff in case they need to call you. If your child cries and won't let you leave, ask staff for advice. In most cases they'll ask you to stay for a while with your child in the early days.