It’s the Most Exciting Time of the Year!

Back to school means lots of things to young children and their families. It can be thrilling for children, or a great relief for parents! For those kids who are unprepared, however, it can be a little scary.

At Tandem, we understand the critical importance of arriving at school confident and ready to learn. But what does “school readiness” mean? What are the kinds of things children are expected to know by kindergarten?

“Kindergarten readiness” encompasses a number of topics, and here’s the exciting part: all of these can be supported by reading routines. Here are a few of the key skills we focus on:

• Language and Literacy; Cognitive Skills including Math and Science
  • Reading with your child develops their language and literacy skills – be sure to ask lots of questions so they are using their cognition while answering you.
  • Count everything you can in the book!
• Social and Emotional Skills
  • For social and emotional skills, ask about what the characters in the book are feeling. When have they felt that way? If their friend felt that way, what would they say to them?
• Curiosity; Persistence
  • Highlight themes of curiosity and persistence in the story – at the end, ask your child to recap the story, paying attention to the problem that was solved. How did the character solve the problem? Was it easy? Is there another way they could have solved it?
• Self-Regulation
  • Take turns flipping the pages, or if you have more than one child, have them take turns answering your questions. Knowing that their turn will come and having patience is an important skill for school!

Great Books for the New School Year

Now that you have some tips and tricks about how to weave kindergarten readiness things through your storytimes, here are some of our favorite books about going back to school. Click the pictures to go to our affiliate links to Amazon so you can buy copies of these great titles for your family!

If You Take a Mouse to School

If You Take a Mouse to School is a classic! I love this book and I know you will too. Colorful illustrations and a fun story make it a great read for everyone. It’s also great for cognition and talking about cause and effect. 

School’s First Day of School

Is your child nervous about their first day of school? They’re not alone and this book is a great way to talk about school and soothe their first day worries. This story is told from the perspective of the school, who is just as nervous as any kid on their first day. I love this book! It’s good for social emotional responses. You can talk about feeling nervous and making new friends, common concerns for young children!

Adventures to School

This book is great for discussing the various methods children use to get to school around the world. Pique your child’s curiosity, and marvel at the persistence some children have just to get to school each day! Talk about how you get to school and what other ways you could get to school. Maybe you take the bus right now, but what if you rode a snowmobile or used a boat? This book is great for learning new vocabulary while learning about the rest of the world.

All Are Welcome

This beautiful book highlights a number of skills. The rhyming language builds literacy skills, the beautiful diversity of children and families lays the groundwork for empathy. There’s hours of curiosity to be had looking at the various children, foods, and cultures.

Support Tandem’s Work This School Year

Please support us at this important time!

Thanks to Tandem supporters, right now, thousands of children will be entering school ready and excited. Yet still, more than half of Bay Area children arrive at school without the kindergarten readiness skills they need to be successful.

We know the best way to prepare a child for school success is through joyful, interactive book-sharing at home. Every child deserves a bag full of books – and you can make a difference!

Please donate today.