With summer at its end, maybe many of your friends have children who are going to kindergarten. That might mean that you have been thinking about the fact that your child has only one year at home before he or she goes to kindergarten, too.

Have you decided to use this year to get him or her ready for that important time in his or her life? If so, from preparing your child at home to arranging for him or her to go to preschool, here are some ideas that might help you.

Preparation At Home - Consider your house to be a kind of mini-kindergarten. For example, set up learning stations in your house where your child can go from one place to another to do things like working on puzzles, doing a craft, and reading a book. You could even use your kitchen for child-appropriate science experiments. For example, if you're making frosted cookies, let your child mix food dyes to see what colors are created.

Another idea is to have one day where other children come to your house for make-believe school. You could read them stories, let them color pictures together, and set up music games that teach things like the letters of the alphabet and numbers. Maybe some of the moms would even be happy to form a home-based playgroup where some of the activities are structured.

Arrange For Preschool - Have you thought about your son or daughter going to an actual preschool? That might be a really great way to prepare your child to enter kindergarten next year. At an actual preschool, your child will have the opportunity to make new friends and to associate with adults that he or she can trust. Your child's caregivers will have the training and the experience to help him or her to have a good experience.

Being at preschool will help your child to learn classroom etiquette, too. Your child will learn how to take turns using the playground equipment, for instance. He or she will also learn that raising one's hand is the way to be called on, rather than blurting out an answer or a request. 

Maybe you don't want your child to go to preschool every day of the week. If that's the case, consider starting him or her with only two or three days. If things go well, you can extend the days to Monday through Friday. 

For more information, visit local preschools like Small World Early Learning & Development Center. 

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