What can I do to enhance my child’s knowledge before entering kindergarten?
[mme_highlight] Poor school readiness predicts increased likelihood of low levels of academic achievement, high levels of retention in grade, special education and ultimately school dropout. Parents can use a wide variety of strategies since early childhood to enhance their child’s knowledge before entering kindergarten, using cultural activities, mathematics exercises and conversations about everyday’s life. [mme_highlight]
Poor school readiness predicts increased likelihood for low levels of academic achievement, high levels of retention in grade, special education and ultimately school dropout. In turn, this raises the risk for unemployment, teen pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, social dependency, and poor parenting practices.
Studies have shown evidence that early childhood learning interventions have positive results throughout life. Parents are one of the foundations to these, and there are many simple interventions they can put into practice to enhance their child’s knowledge even before entering kindergarten.
What have early childhood interventions proven?
The Chicago’s Child-Parent Center (CPC) Preschool Program, which targeted low-income minority children, offered half-day preschool for one to two years, full or part-day kindergarten, as well as a parent education component. Results shown in the table below refer to participants when they turned 21 years, having had 1 to 2 years of CPC.
Another important study was the Abecedarian Preschool program, which also targeted low-income children with intensive daycare or center intervention according to age, this program integrated activities that addressed social, emotional, and educational development. The results below refer to participants of the Abecedarian Preschool program when they turned 21, having participated in the program for 5 years.
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Results from the Chicago’s Child-Parent Center Program
Intervention group vs control group (no participation in the program)
| Intervention group | Control Group | |
|---|---|---|
| School Dropout | 46.7% | 49.7% |
| Number of years of completed education | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| Rates of juvenile arrest | 16.9% | 25.1% |
| Rates of high school completion | 49.7% | 38.5% |
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Results from the Abecedarian preschool program
Intervention group vs control group (no participation in the program)
| Intervention group | Control Group | |
|---|---|---|
| Increase in IQ | 4.4 | 4.2 |
| Number of years of completed education | 12.2 | 11.6 |
| Rates of 4 year college/university enrollment | 36% | 14% |
| Rates of teenaged parenthood | 26% | 45% |
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Practical tips to enhance your child’s general knowledge before entering kindergarten
Cultural domain
- Each weekend see what’s on in your city concerning cultural activity. Take your child to the theatre, to a ballet or music performance or to an art exhibiton. Talk to her/him about what you are seeing; have no fear of giving too much information. In addition, spare time at afternoon to take her/him to the park and talk about the plants, the animals and the people.
- Example: listen to the “Four Seasons” and talk to your child about it, for instance: “This music was done by a man called Vivaldi. This music makes me think of the Winter…listen, it seems like the wind and the rain drops…”
- Example 2: See that ballerina? She is moving like a swan, look at her arms like wings! She uses special shoes to be on top of her fingers. It hurts a lot, but she does it to move like a feather on the stage.”
Linguistic domain
- Read, read and read with your child! And reread known stories. This one of the most robust evidence as an extremely beneficial early learning experience.
- Talk about everything you see and do together while at home or on the road. “Look at that shop. They sell sockets. We use sockets to warm our feet. These yellow sockets are bigger than the pink ones.”
- Sing songs with your child.
- Give your child complex commands: “take off your gloves and put them on the top of the dinner table.”
- Use open-ended questions: “What do you think about…?”
- Incentive your child to put objects into categories, organizing them by function, color or size.
Mathematics domain
- Teach your child to count to 100.
- Ask your child to identify shapes: circles, triangles, squares.
- Ask your child to make comparisons: more than, less than, same as.
Summary and Recommendations
- School readiness influences the academic success and general well-being of a child throughout life.
- Early intervention programs have consistently shown that intensive and early learning experiences have a considerable impact on parameters like number of years of completed education, criminal behavior and teenaged parenthood.
- Parents can use a wide variety of strategies from early childhood to enhance their child’s knowledge before entering kindergarten, using cultural activities, mathematics exercises and conversations about everyday’s life.
- Reading to and with children is one of the cornerstones for future academic success.
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References
- www.childrenslearninginstitute.org/library/publications/documents/Effective-Early_Childhood-Programs.pdf (accessed 4.11.2013)
- Reynolds, A. J.; Temple, J. A.; Robetson, D. L.; and Mann, E. A. “Age 21 Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Title Chicago Child–Parent Centers.” Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 24 (2002): 267-303.
- Reynolds AJ, Temple JA, Robertson DL et al. Long-term effects of an early childhood intervention on educational achievement and juvenile arrest: A 15-year follow-up of low-income children in public schools. JAMA. 2001 May 9;285(18):2339-46.
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