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Hi All,

Im new to USA , i came here 9 months ago , we are thinking about sending my 4year old (born in dec)son to preschool/kindergarten this september. I have few questions to ask . Do i need to teach him anything specific before he goes to school , so far he knows ABC, 1-10 , colors and shapes and he cant write ( he dnt even know how to hold a pencil , but we are working on it ) at home we speak only Tamil , will it be a big problem when he goes to pre-K.
My son has been potty trained since he was 3 years old , but he still dosent know how to clean it by himself , i know here kids they clean it in different way , How do you moms teach them . I really need a good advice .. Pls help me ....
GA replied. I didn' t mean to get you all scared there. calm down! The very first thing you need to do is find out about the school and at what age they would take a child entering kindergarten.

One thing, does your child recognize his name? If he does, that is great. If he can recognize his name, then write his name first on a piece of paper and then take his hand and write it with him.Once he feels comfortable, ask him to write his name on his own. That is how my boy learned to write his name. He learned to write his name when he was 4 1/2 years old.

Another thing that would really help him is to read to him everyday. Even if you have 20 minutes, you need to pick up a book and read with him. if you teach him how to do rhyming words like hat, sat, fat, that will help in his reading. Find a book for him on the A,B,C' s this will help him know what words starts with what letters. When you are sitting in the car driving, ask him to count and then after counting to 10, you lead him on. When you are sitting in the car or anywhere else, you need to work with him....A for Apple,B for bear. and the sounds each letter makes.

just a suggestion, the schools here really do expect your child to be independent, for example, follow directions,use the bathroom on his own, all by himself. He is not going to have any help in kindergarten to help clean him after using the bathroom.

Since i am saying this from experience, one last suggestion. Kindergarten is not what it used to be 10 years back. Kindergarten expects alot from a five year old boy. If i were you, i would think twice to put him in kindergarten this year. It also depends on his maturity level so rest you and your husband need to decide about what is right for your child.

A good idea for you is you should go to a bookstore like barnes and nobles, or books a million or even wal mart. There are books there which help parents prepare their child for kindergarten or any of the other grades. There is everything in the book that is expected for a child entering kindergarten.

Hope this helps! SF replied. Hi,

We are staying in Maine and the school that we gng to send my son ( they thinking whether to enter him into preschool / kindergarten , we will be meeting them this coming friday , i think most probably he will be entered into Kindergarten . I really feel nervous now as he will be gng to kindergarten and i didnt prepare him well , now i realized that i didnt teach him properly . Back in india most of the time he was with my MIL and i hardly get time to teach him .How do i teach my son to write as he doesnt know how to write and he cant even hold the pencil properly .

Can you please guide me as what else i need to teach him other than whatever u mentioned here .

Please help Gsuri Anand replied. Hey there,

i just read your message. I just want to know what state you live in? I want to know this because every state has there own set of rules and regulations for entering kindergaten. If your son is turning five this December (Dec.2010)
then there maybe a high possibility that you may have to keep him back one year. My son is born on Sept. 16 and the cut off here in Tennessee is September 30, so he barely made the cut off. if he was born after this date, he would have had to stay a year back.

i just want to let you know that if you do intend to put your son in kindergarten this coming September, then you need to get all the information regarding the states cut off age for the school year and other stuff.
If you do plan to have your child attend kindergarten this coming September, then you need to work with him not only on ABC but the sounds each letter makes, beginning sounds, rhyming,word familes, Ir would also not hurt to help your son learn counting upto 100.Rhey also reccomend the child to learn to write his name before he enters kindergarten. It is reccomended but it is not neccessary as the teachers help the children learn to write thier name.

hope this helps!!!!