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How Play Contributes to Your Child's School Readiness
Invest in Kids' Back-to-School Tip

- Back-to-school time may be as exciting for your preschooler as it is for children familiar with the experience. Whether your child is just starting or continuing kindergarten, or your family is settling into a new, more structured fall routine, the parenting experts at www.investinkids.ca show you how getting ready for school can be a lot of fun for both you and your child.

Here are a few tips on how play and playing with your child can improve your child's school readiness in so many ways.

• Communication: Play with Spoken and Written Words
  - Show your child how writing can help him to express his ideas. When your child draws pictures, ask him to tell you a story about them and write down his words. This allows him to see the relationship between spoken words and text. Include paper and writing tools among his toys and dramatic play props so he can explore the different ways he sees writing used through his imaginative play (e.g. making lists or creating a birthday card). As he practices printing he will discover that the magical markings he is making have meaning!
• Basic Knowledge: Play to Encourage Literacy and Basic Math Skills
  - Build your child's understanding of math concepts like counting, sorting, patterning, recognizing shapes and measuring through his every day play. Recite rhymes like One, Two, Buckle My Shoe to familiarize your child with number words. When your child plays with toys, count them so he can match the words to actual objects. At tidy up time he can sort the cars, people and blocks into separate baskets. Make necklaces from beads of different shapes, sizes and colors to create patterns. Provide building materials for your child or recyclable items for creating three-dimensional artwork. Make a growth chart so your child can discover how tall he is. Exploring math in ways that are fun will add to his math skills one by one!
• Socializing: Play to Support your Child's Interactions
  - Play and interact with your child every day. Parents are a child's first playmate, so it is important to make time together for games and make-believe. When you play with your child, you will see things from her point of view and have the chance to follow her lead. She will also learn from your example and have your support as she learns about rules, other people's feelings and solving problems. Entering the world of your child's play helps your child to enter the world of school confidently!
• Being Independent: Play to Build Confidence and Self-Control
  - Help your child to develop strategies for controlling his emotions, behaviors and thoughts. Talk about the way people in storybooks and pictures are feeling, and talk about what might cause those feelings. This will teach your child the words for different emotions and help your child to describe his own feelings and those of other people. When playing games together, be a positive influence if your child gets upset. Help him to be calm, to try to remain positive and to know that he might not win or be first all the time. Being able to calm himself on his own will help your child be more excited about being and playing with friends!

There are many things that happen at home every day that help to build a strong foundation for your child's success in school. Remember, the time you spend playing with your child now is an investment in her future!

To read a full tip sheet on this topic, visit www.investinkids.ca and look for "How Can Play Contribute to My Child's School Readiness?" in the Answers for Parents. You will also find there additional tip sheets on school readiness and other topics. The site offers parents a wealth of parenting and child development information to help them support their child's healthy social, emotional and intellectual development.

Invest in Kids is a national charity dedicated to helping parents become the parents they want and need to be. By translating the science of parenting and child development into engaging, easy-to-understand, relevant resources for parents and professionals, Invest in Kids aims to strengthen the parenting knowledge, skills and confidence of all those who touch the lives of our youngest children to ensure the healthy social, emotional and intellectual development of children from birth to age five.