What is school readiness?

School readiness refers to the foundational skills your child learns before starting their formal education.

Social, emotional, behavioral, and academic readiness can help your child enter their first school year with the groundwork they need to achieve educational success. Establishing a baseline before kindergarten ensures your child has the abilities they need to build upon these skills.

Without these foundational skills, your child may start school while trying to catch up with their peers. Early learning teaches your child how to interact with their peers, follow directions, play, and more.

What does school readiness involve?

Some of the foundational skills children should have to prepare for school include:

Language and speech

Communicating with and understanding others is an important skill for children to have in school. Language and speech allow children to voice their needs, comprehend instructions, converse with their peers, and learn new words and phrases.

Self-regulation

The ability to self-regulate is a critical skill in early childhood development. Self-regulation encourages children to manage their behaviors and emotions in an appropriate way for the situation.

Social skills

Social skills refer to an individual’s ability to interact with others, both verbally and nonverbally. To prepare for school, children should understand how to share, respect others, follow directions, listen, and make eye contact.

Executive functioning

Executive functioning enables children to plan, prioritize, organize, focus their attention, and stay on track when completing a task.

Sensory processing

Sensory processing refers to a child’s ability to respond to sounds, tastes, textures, and other stimuli in an appropriate manner.

How can I tell if my child needs help with school readiness?

The behavioral specialists at project MIND, Inc., can help improve your child’s school readiness if you notice that they:

Get easily frustratedStruggle to regulate their emotionsHave trouble sharing or playing with othersDon’t interact with their peersAre not toilet trainedHave low executive functioning skills (getting dressed, brushing their teeth, etc.)Struggle to sit stillDon’t follow directionsLeave tasks incomplete

At project MIND, Inc., the team specializes in applied behavioral analysis (ABA). This evidence-based therapy uses positive reinforcement, rewards, and goal-setting to encourage children to change negative behaviors into positive ones.