What does my child actually need to know before starting school?
Seeing advanced pre-k preparation workbooks can trigger sudden worry about whether you are teaching your child enough. Trying to figure out the right balance can lead to second-guessing daily routines, such as whether thirty minutes of lessons a day is too much.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
What does my child actually need to know before starting school?
- 1Buying pre-k workbooksDid this help you?
- 2Enrolling children in preschoolDid this help you?
- 3Teaching basic social skills, classroom rules, and academic foundations at homeDid this help you?
- 4Reading to children every night before bed and pointing to wordsDid this help you?
- 5Talking to children using advanced vocabulary during daily activitiesDid this help you?
- 6Focusing on play and bonding instead of formal lessons when they get home from schoolDid this help you?
- 7Looking for recommendations from other parentsDid this help you?
- 8Filtering through various books, exercises, creativity, play, and meditation practicesDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I was at the store recently and saw a workbook for preparing for pre-k. I was shocked at what was in it and now I am worried that I don't know what I need to prepare my child for.”source ↗
“I’m trying not to overdo things, so wanting to see if 30 min a day 6 days a week working on some lesson of some sort, is too much.”source ↗
Where this came up
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