November

Get Ready for School

photo of childSkills to Practice this Month

Encourage helpfulness, cooperation, sharing, and concern for others. Help your child to practice sharing toys, books, and other items. Talk to your child about what it means to be helpful and to cooperate with others.

Establish family rules for behaviors and make sure everyone follows them. Practice following directions. Talk to your child about what rules are and why it is important to follow them.

Activities

Teach your child how to work or play with others. Play games that need 2 or more people.

Play games where children must follow directions, such as board games, tag, “Follow the Leader,” or an obstacles course.

Get Ready to Read

Skills to Practice this Month

Read or look at books with your child everyday. Talk together about the pictures and story. Show your child that you are reading the words from left to right and that when you turn the pages, the story progresses from left to right. Let your child turn the pages. Hold the book upside down. See if your child turns the book around.

Provide books, magazines and other print materials for your child to handle. Follow your child’s interests by allowing him to choose books for himself, like trains or cats.

Be Healthy

Skills to Practice this Month

See that your child has had required immunizations and a current health examination. Check with your child’s doctor to be sure that she is up to date on required immunizations. Keep a copy of your child’s immunization record. Make an appointment for your child to have a medical check-up before entering kindergarten.

Help your child learn to eat and wash her hands and face by herself. Help your child practice blowing her nose and covering sneezes. Talk to your child about germs and how they can make us sick.

PDF [PDF]