School Readiness For Upper Elementary Kids

We share practical school readiness skills that help third to fifth graders feel confident and capable when school starts. We focus on small habits you can practice over the summer that build independence without overwhelming your child.
• Building responsibility by tracking and packing personal items using simple summer routines
• Using a family calendar or planner to record important school and life dates
• Practicing multiplication tables and math facts to support future concepts like area and volume
If you have any questions or need a sounding board, you can message me on Instagram at BeTheir Parent.
And if you found this episode helpful, follow, set up automatic downloads, review, and share.
Youtube link for math war games: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nwnzHh9mEec

Transcript

Welcome And Series Context

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Hi, I'm Sheila, and I'm here to help you be their parent. We've been working through a series about school readiness and things you can do ahead of time to help your kid. In season two, episode three, we have ideas for all students, kinder through twelfth grade. And then in season two, episode four, which happens to be last week's episode, it is all about kinder through second grade students. This week is for our students in third to fifth grade. So if you haven't listened to last week's episode, you might want to go back and listen to make sure your third to fifth grader has most of those skills, or at least is making good progress in them before you tackle any of these.

Safety Info And Independence

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Alright, so for our elementary students, here are some things you will want to work on to help them feel more confident as they start school in the fall. One of the things that I have often seen is that children don't always know their parents' real names. They know mom and dad, but they don't know mom and dad's real names. So make sure they know your names and phone numbers, and that they should also know your home address. Now that also goes with a conversation about the appropriateness of who to tell that to. All right. So give them, make sure they get some practice with that. And then start helping them to learn how to keep track of their own things. And a way you could do that in the summer months, especially is like if you go to a community pool, then you give your kid a list of things that they should have to take to the pool. And then you check in with them the first few times. Like you have your towel, you have your goggles, you have the sunscreen, all those things. And then as the summer progresses, you just tell them you need all your pool things. And the expectation is they should know exactly what that means and they should know where their things are and be able to bring them along. I know that's asking a lot of a third grader. So that might be something that you practice and just continue to help them with as a third grader. But then by the time they're fifth grader, they should be able to do all of that on their own. So practice that with them.

Calendars That Build Responsibility

SPEAKER_00 3:04

Another thing that would be a great skill for them to learn is to write down important dates. Now, some schools, my school has in the past given the kids a planner for the school year. Some schools do that, some don't, and parents provide a planner. But giving your child a calendar so that they could write down picture day as soon as they know about it, even though you know this school sends stuff home, um, would really help them to understand that they need to be responsible for some of the things that is information and from school and relaying that to their grown-up. That would be a great thing. So you could have a family calendar that is visible for everyone and have your child write down the dates for their sports practices and games, or give them the information, help them write it down when they have medical appointments, you know, all the things of how to use a calendar appropriately and to mark it so that way they know that they are communicating it with others. Now, you could also do this all digitally, but you know, ultimately having something as a visual is a great reminder of, oh, that's coming up. And even if you put it on the fridge, so then you maybe you don't forget that tomorrow's picture day or it's the field trip and we need to make sure we pack a lunch. Those kinds of things. So if you can practice that over the summer, that would be super helpful.

Reading Aloud For Comprehension

SPEAKER_00 4:34

Now, this next one, I know some people are gonna probably push back on, but and that's okay. So hear me out. Um, you need to listen to your child read. And I know they're third to fifth graders. That seems silly. That's something you do with little kids. I get it. However, you need to still listen to them so you can make sure they are continuing to grow in their skills and that they are uh proficient in their reading. Because you need to understand that in kinder through second grade, school is all about learning how to read. And then a change happens in third grade, where we start reading to learn. So listening to your child read a book and then asking them questions about it would help them grow their comprehension skills, which is going to impact how well they can do in school when they're having to read text to understand something. So keep listening to them read. Um,

Multiplication Practice That Sticks

SPEAKER_00 5:34

one thing a friend of mine, she teaches high school math, but she said our kids in third to fifth grade and in junior high need to know their multiplication tables. And I know everybody's always intimidated. The new math, new math, new math. I get it. But there are ways to still practice math facts. And you can find games online. There's a variety of them. Some of them you have to pay for, some are free. You just have to look around. But you can do that. Um, I also shared a game that you could play with a deck of cards and practice your math facts that way. Um, it's on YouTube. I'll post a link to it in the show notes so you can go watch it if that is something you're interested in. Um, it's really important that they can do multiplication because it's really going to help them out as they get older and have to do harder math things. So, for example, they're going to have to learn how to find area, perimeter, and volume. And being able to multiply fluently greatly impacts the ability to do it and to do it well. They might understand the concept of area or perimeter or volume, but if they can't multiply, they're always going to have the wrong answer. So helping them practice is still good. You can even get flashcards. I know the dollar store often has them. So do the things to help practice so that they can be successful.

Respecting Shared Classroom Materials

SPEAKER_00 7:03

And then one thing that came up when I asked all my friends about skills kids need, and it was across the board, is respecting materials in a classroom. And that means sharing them, putting them away when they're done, even throwing away trash. I can't tell you how many times in my classroom I had table groups, and there'd be a piece of trash on the table or under the table, and I'd say, hey, someone pick that up and throw it away. And everybody's not mine, not mine. I'm like, doesn't matter. It's your groups, somebody pick it up and throw it away. So even that of being responsible and helping out is huge. And then one thing that kept coming up often is don't write in textbooks. Um, I guess there's a lot of doodling happening in upper elementary all the way into secondary. So teach your kids that if it's a shared material, it's not theirs to write in. Workbooks are, and those usually have blanks, but if it's a book that the teacher's like, you're gonna share this, or I need it back for my next class, don't write in it. I know. It seems obvious, but apparently it's not.

Encouragement And How To Connect

SPEAKER_00 8:12

I know the transition from being an older kid from being the younger kid, it is challenging. And they are learning so many new skills at school, but they're also growing and maturing. However, they're still a kid and they still want to do kid things. So as you listen through this, and maybe you go back and write a couple things down, only pick a few things to work on at a time. Help them to feel more comfortable doing them. Don't overwhelm them with it. Don't expect perfection. They should have some fun doing it, and it's a chance to practice, not be perfect. You are their cheerleader as they are learning all of these things. If you have any questions or need a sounding board, you can message me on Instagram at BeTheir Parent. And if you found this episode helpful, follow, set up automatic downloads, review, and share. I'd appreciate it.