Help your child know personal information.
Focus on Kindergarten Readiness Indicators
- Recognizes similarities or differences in interests, ideas, feelings, and abilities between themselves and others, for example, “I can run faster than my friend” or “My dad and I both like to tell stories”
- Knows first and last name, age, and the names and cultural heritage of family members
- Explores the functionality of digital devices
Activities by week
WEEK 1
Create an “All About Me and My Family” book with your child.
- Help your child make a book by stapling or tying it together with yarn and blank sheets of paper.
- Help your child create the book’s cover by drawing a picture or selecting a favorite photo.
- Let your child decide on the book title and write that on the cover.
- Add your child’s name to the cover as the book’s author. Write your child’s name on the book’s cover. Include both the first and last names. Have your child practice writing it.
WEEK 2
Involve your child in adding personal information to the book.
- Begin writing a sentence and ask your child to complete it. Add to the sentence what your child says, helping with items such as height and weight so that the information is correct and complete.
- Here are some examples of what to include.
- My name is (include child’s first and last name).
- Sometimes my family calls me . (nickname)
- I am a (girl or boy).
- I was born on , and I am years old.
- My eyes are (color) and my hair is (color).
- I am inches tall and weigh pounds.
WEEK 3
Help your child add a family section to the book.
- Add family photos and help your child decide what to write about each family member in the photo. Here are some examples:
- This is my mother. Her name is (first and last name). She makes good spaghetti.
- This is my grandfather. He lives with us. His name is .
- I have a baby sister. Her name is _. She cries a lot.
- Include all family members living in your home and other family members your child would like to add.
- Ask your child to draw all their family members on one page of the family section. Write the names under each figure as your child tells you who each one is.
WEEK 4
Create a section of the book with your child about your family’s favorite things.
- Go through photos with your child of family events such as reunions, outings, and trips, and select some favorites. Add these to the book. With each photo, write what your child says about the event.
- Make Family Favorites lists. Some examples include our favorite songs, movies, TV shows, places to visit, restaurants or cafés, foods, and sports.
- Let your child use washable markers or crayons to draw pictures of their favorite things. Write on the picture what your child tells you about the drawing.
Additional Ideas
Let your child share the “All About Me and My Family” book and the family tree with other family members and neighbors. Suggest that your child “read” what is written in the book and on the family tree.
Your child may not be able to actually read all the words, but with your help can recall what was written. If your child attends a preschool program, there may be an opportunity to share the book and family tree with the teacher and the other children.
Special Activity
Teach your child how to use a phone. As children enter kindergarten, work with them on knowing their phone number and address.
As digital devices are now common, showing your child how to dial a cell phone is a great way to introduce technology and future skills.
Suggested Books to Read with Your Child
Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman
Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack
Families Are Different by Nina Pellegrini
Happy Birthday Moon by Frank Asch
Peter’s Chair by Ezra Jack Keats
The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant, Stephen Gammell, illustrator
