Select Region
Let's Get Social!


How to Prepare Your Child for Preschool with This Important Experience

How to Prepare Your Child for Preschool with This Important Experience

By implementing simple routines and transitions at home, parents can help prepare their young children for preschool.


COVID-19 has demanded that parents take on some teaching duties. With months of limited or no in-person school in the rearview mirror and the possibility of more months on the horizon, parents are overwhelmed and stressed, to say the least. For parents with preschoolers, the lack of in-person school can be especially difficult. Neuroscientists tell us that birth to age 3 is the most critical time for brain development. While school-aged kids may be able to benefit from remote learning, younger children are still in the pre-operational stage, making it unrealistic to expect them to gain much from screen-based school.

In the preschool classroom, separation and autonomy, rather than curriculum, are the primary objectives. As a former preschool teacher who specialized in teaching toddlers, my primary goal for my 2-year-old students was that they feel comfortable without their parent or adult caregiver in the room. Unfortunately, with many families spending their days isolated at home, it is impossible to re-create the parent-child separation that is inherent in the in-person classroom.

RELATED: What You Need to Know About Applying to Pre-K and Kindergarten in NYC

Creating Routines at Home Helps Prepare Young Children for Preschool

But there is an important objective of the preschool experience that can happen at home, without demanding too much of your time or causing too much additional stress. For toddlers who are not enrolled in a preschool program or who are participating in remote learning, implementing a brief at-home routine that includes a few simple transitions can lay a strong foundation for when they finally do start or return to school. After all, a predictable set of routines forms the core of any good toddler program. Activities such as circle time, washing hands, and snack take place in the same order each day in the classroom. The predictability and sequence of these activities is repetitive but not trivial. In fact, the repetitive nature of these transitions helps toddlers understand that they can manage basic life skills independently and without undue anxiety. After a few weeks, they know the routine and can anticipate what is coming next.



The routine can and should be based on the parent and child’s interests, while including activities that focus on both small and large motor skills. And a good transition makes a natural connection between the sequence of activities. 

RELATED: How to Get Your Preschooler to Pick Up Their Toys

If you play the guitar or enjoy singing, consider a short sing-along followed by a transition to dancing to expend some toddler energy, then transition to washing hands and a snack. Or, make story time or drawing time the first activity followed by a round of Simon Says, then move on to washing hands and a snack. Keep in mind that stirring, mixing, and stringing are important for fine motor skill development, so preparing the snack with the help of your child could be part of the routine too. Some of my student’s favorite edible activities included stringing Cheerios onto shoestring licorice and cutting slices of bread into shapes with large cookie cutters.

Choose a time of day when your toddler is well rested. If you can designate a section of your home or apartment for the sequence of activities, ideally different from where your child usually plays, even better. Remember: The specific activities you choose aren’t necessarily key; it’s the fact that the activities follow a pattern that toddlers come to recognize and eventually depend on. 

The toddlers in my program were only in the classroom for 2 hours, twice a week. Four hours per week together wasn’t a tremendous amount of time but it was enough for them to get comfortable with the classroom routines. The at-home routine doesn’t need to last more than 20 or 30 minutes. It’s the consistency that matters.

RELATED: Find the Best Preschool for Your Child 

More Parenting Articles:

Latest News:

Family Activities:

Have a Laugh:

Allison Tibaldi

Author: Allison Tibaldi is a freelance travel, food, and parenting writer. She did graduate work in early childhood education at Bank Street College of Education and has traveled and lived on three continents with her own children. See More

Featured Listings:

Clover Prep Learning Center

Clover Prep Learning Center

Fresh Meadows, NY Clover Prep caters to multiple learning styles starting from age 2.5 to 9th grade. All classes hold a 1:5 or 1:8, teacher to student ratio. This rati...

Twin Parks Montessori schools

Twin Parks Montessori schools

Twin Parks Montessori Schools nurtures a child’s natural tendency to learn. Our 3 campuses on the Upper West Side serve children from 3 months to 5 y...

Ivy Day School

Ivy Day School

Established in 2003, Ivy Day School continues to provide a fun and enriching environment to foster the early academic and social development of toddle...

CK Kids Summer Camps

CK Kids Summer Camps

Middle Village, NY Don’t Miss the Summer Fun at CK! Christ the King has 4 exciting summer camps to offer children of all ages. Camps appeal to all interests’ soccer, b...