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Home » Education » 50 Ways to Prepare Your Child For Kindergarten For Free

in Education, Freebies, Homeschool Printables, Living a Frugal Life

50 Ways to Prepare Your Child For Kindergarten For Free

You’re doing a great job, Mama!  You’ve made it this far, there’s no need to stress now about what your child can or cannot do.  Every child is different and will learn in his /her own way and at their own pace.

As a parent, you’re your child’s first teacher and you’ll continue to teach your children for the rest of their lives.  Not all learning takes place in a school classroom.  Your children learn from you every day.  They see what you do and how you act, and learn about the world around them.

50 things to do at home for pre-Kindergarten skills, photo

Not all learning has to be sitting at a desk or in a classroom.  The world is wide and the possibilities endless.  There’s also plenty you can do frugally or for free and in my opinion these are the BEST!  Have fun and be inventive.

Your child is learning and processing information long before you will see the outcome.  Be patient and understanding.  In our experience and with our children, they tend to go through a “phase” of being unusually grumpy, whiney, and out of sorts for “no apparent reason”.  We’ve learned to (try) to be patient while also trying to teach alternative ways to express themselves.  Then one day out of the blue the switch will flip and the phase will be over – and all of a sudden the child will have acquired new skills of some sort:  using new vocabulary in context, riding a bike, etc.  (We found this to be the case from first words, learning to walk, and most major milestones).  It’s truly amazing to witness and I’m so glad I’m able to see this process in action.

To be honest with you, I was much more stressed when my children, especially our first, were younger.  I worried they weren’t learning enough, and I didn’t want them to be behind.  However, with experience and confidence, I’ve learned that they are learning all the time and you don’t need fancy and expensive equipment to help children learn.  Here are 50 ways to prepare your child for kindergarten  for free (or very nearly free).  Just click on the underlined.

50 Ways To Prepare your child for kindergarten printable PDF, frugal preschool, preschool lerning, childminding activities, babysitting activities, daycare learning, freelearning forkids, frugal preschool, Crystal's Tiny Treasures, photo

 

Back to School with the Kid Bloggers Network {KBN }

Welcome to the Annual Back to School with Kid Blogger Network featuring activities, crafts, supply ideas, recipes, organization, books and MORE to get your family ready for the upcoming school year!

Back To School Linky Party

 

Back To School With KBN Participating Blogs

Stop by my favourite blogs to see their Back To School ideas.

Back to School with KBN Link Party

Welcome to the Annual Back to School with Kid Blogger Network Linky Party featuring activities, crafts, supply ideas, recipes, organization, books and MORE to get your family ready for the upcoming school year!  Link up your kid-friendly posts to have them featured on 35 blogs who are members of the Kid Blogger Network.  We invite you to visit a few posts from participants, leave a comment, and share on social media!  Thank you so much for sharing your Back to School Resources! *By linking up, you agree to have your images shared with credit.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Erica Barker says

    My son started Kindergarten today! I’m so glad to find this so i can continue to work with him at home!
    Thanks for linking up at From the Archives Friday.
    Hope to see you next week.

    Erica

    • Crystal McClean says

      Hi Erica!

      A Mommy’s job doesn’t end when a child goes to kindergarten, children will always be learning from us 🙂 (a bit bewildering, isn’t it?)

      Good luck to your son, and I’ll see you soon.

  3. Teresa Thompson says

    We love back to school shopping. But it always takes us a few weeks to get back into the routine.

    • Crystal McClean says

      Sounds like you’re doing great! I still love looking at all the new stationary! But I have to remind myself that as homeschoolers we can still use the supplies we had last year. We’re just now trying to ease back into a better routine after the summer.

  7. Shannon says

    We started school! We have a kindergarten boy and a second grade girl. Our family is still getting used to the change of everybody being in school!

  8. leslie says

    Back to school time is quite an adjustment, but it’s fun. Really reminds you how fast tie flies with kids 🙂

  9. Katie O. says

    My youngest started school for the first time, Kindergarten, this year. My middle boy started 3rd grade and my oldest 6th! This is the only year they’ll all go to the same school. I was both more and less emotional than I expected, lol. Emotional during times I didn’t think I’d be. Having a quiet house is starting to be a nice thing, but it’s still strange and bittersweet.

  10. Jackie says

    I work in the school district and it is such an exciting time to have the kids come back to school. I love the first day and the energy they bring. Kids are very excited to come back and see there friends and actually get back to learning.

  11. ioana c. says

    This is a bitter sweet time for us , my oldest starts school and I can’t believe how big my baby is! One more week till 1st day!!

  12. Lexi says

    We are about to get started with our new homeschool year and I’m almost ready! The school room is organized and the supplies are all here. We start after Labor Day!

  13. Brandee says

    We are starting pre k this year. My son is so excited to play with all the new things we have found for the school year.

  14. Jen Bigerton says

    My son is entering the 2nd grade this year and he can not wait I love that he is so excited for school to start.

  15. Misha Estrada says

    3 of my kids started school yesterday. My 4 year old is starting to prepare at home for kindergarten next year.

  16. Megan Parsons says

    I still haven’t gotten everything ready and my kids start in 6 days. Back to school time is stressful for me!

    • Crystal McClean says

      Try not to get too stressed. A stressed Mommy can lead to stressed kids 🙁 Life will go on whether you’re ready or not, enjoy the last of the summer with your children 😉

  17. Liza Vladyka says

    i think back 2 school is another gimmick the retailers use to make money is so expensive to get kids ready to go to school high school just told me today that son needs uniform like i got $$ for that to

    • Crystal McClean says

      I totally agree! And there’s no need for new crayons or backpacks just because it’s a ‘new year’. There’s too much waste, and definitely too much $.

  18. Cindy McElwee says

    Back to School time is both, exciting & confusing. No matterwhat, it is to be a adventure for the little one ♥

    • Crystal McClean says

      I don’t remember back, but it must be a bewildering for the eldest child’s first month of school. The younger ones are somewhat used to the routine and know a little about it from the older kids. An adventure is a good way to look at it!

  19. Tina says

    We raised seven children to adulthood with the last three being homeschool graduates. Now, we are starting over with three more, ages 3, 4, and 9. It’s been two years that the girls have been with us now, and we’ve finally found our groove. We school year year round with the occasional break and some relaxed schedule weeks in the summer. We will be back to our familiar schedule next month, and I am actually looking forward to it. It’s a beautiful thing!

    • Crystal McClean says

      It absolutely is a beautiful thing 🙂 You’re a seasoned pro at home ed by now, well done to everyone! It’s scary to think this will be our 4th year of HE and my kids are only 4 & 6! We also go year-round, but not as hard this month. I’m still organising the house, but then I’ll see if I can come up with something of a schedule for next month. I’d love to hear any suggestions you have learned from your experiences!

  20. Sarah K says

    Back to school use to stressful when my own children went to school but with grandchildren I seem to be more stressful.

  21. Amanda says

    My 2nd starts kindergarten this week and I’m more nervous with him! He does not transition well and he needs to fully understand why to do something before he will do it. I think he will get the “difficult” label quite quickly.

  22. heather e.g. kaufman says

    It is always interesting to see how the children will interact with their new teachers. They all have different personalities & teaching styles.

  26. Breenah says

    My daughter freaks out every time she sees a bus and REALLY wants to ride one, but she’s not quite ready for school. We did get some flash cards and are going to start having “school” of our own, though!

  27. Cheryl Petersen says

    I will be home schooling my two boys. I am starting out with preschool activities however, I will be incorporating some kindergarten skills because they are almost at that level. They love to learn new things everyday!!

    • Crystal McClean says

      We’re home educating as well. It’s fantastic to be there and see when our children learn a new concept or try a new experience. Enjoy the journey, it’s awesome!

  28. Jennifer S says

    Back to school has always been kind of stressful for me. Looking forward to getting organized and finding our groove.

  29. Stephanie Shipley says

    I am very excited about my son going into kindergarten! He had such a great time in prekindergarten that I know he is going to love getting to go a full day in kindergarten.

  32. Cassie Hayes says

    Always make it fun. Don’t let your stress show. You allow your child to pick the items/colors they like to let their personality show.

  33. Nicole Stacy says

    Our oldest is starting 3rd grade and our current youngest is going into kindergarten. We are due with another baby in November, and I think I’m more apprehensive about back to school this year than the kids are.

    • Crystal McClean says

      Everything will work out in the end, it always does, stressed or not 😉 So sit back and relax and enjoy the time before the all-nighters begin again. Good luck, and congratulations 🙂

  35. Carolyn Wilhelm says

    Wonderful printable, thanks so much. I pinned it to my A+ Parenting Ideas and Information board on Pinterest. I like how easy the ideas are to implement, the categories, and common-sense approach. It is really a help for parents. Thanks!

    • Crystal McClean says

      Thank you for sharing, and for the compliments 😉 I found I was more stressed the year before school was ‘official’ and I needn’t have. Everyday living is the best teacher in my opinion.

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