Strategies for Building Your Child's Academic Preparedness for School
In the journey of nurturing a child's growth, developing emotional intelligence and self-regulation skills is crucial for school readiness. These skills not only reduce emotion-driven behavior but also prepare children for the structured environment of school.
Here are some engaging and enjoyable activities that parents can implement at home to support a child's school readiness:
- Mindfulness and Breathing Exercises: Teaching children simple breathing techniques like deep belly breathing or box breathing can promote relaxation, reduce anxiety, and help develop concentration and emotional regulation. These exercises can be practiced before challenging tasks or moments of heightened emotions.
- Reflective Activities like Journaling or Drawing: Encouraging children to express their feelings and thoughts through drawing or simple journaling supports emotional intelligence by helping children recognize and process emotions, while also improving fine motor skills.
- Co-creating Simple Rules or Routines: Involving children in setting basic household rules or daily routines as a game promotes self-control and helps them understand expectations, fostering responsibility and rule-following behavior.
- Concentration-Building Games using Sorting and Categorization: Engaging children in sorting natural elements or toys by color, shape, or size enhances attention to detail and patience while also introducing early math and categorization skills.
- Sensory Play: Activities involving textures and materials like frozen playdough, ice with beads, or other sensory materials help develop fine motor skills, focus, and calmness through hands-on exploration.
- Reading Time with Structure and Comfort: Creating a cozy, quiet reading corner and establishing a daily reading habit with a mix of storytelling, picture books, and opportunities for children to retell stories nurtures a love for reading and models patience and focus.
- Interactive Singing and Movement Games: Incorporating songs with hand/body motions and rhythm instruments builds emotional connection, self-expression, coordination, and attention.
These activities, when combined, support key school readiness skills in a home setting by engaging children in calming, structured, and enjoyable routines that foster self-regulation, concentration, emotional awareness, and early literacy.
Starting the preparation for school early increases the chances of a child's success both in school and in life. Activities such as asking children to repeat what they are expected to do, playing games that require all players to take turns, and the "red light, green light" game, with modified rules to encourage attention and following instructions, are all critical for children's success in their early years and beyond.
Moreover, reading to young children can awaken their curiosity, teach them new words, and reinforce communication skills. Encouraging children to participate in reading activities by asking questions or making comments can help develop their vocabulary, language, and social skills.
A study involving 276 at-risk children aged 3-5 found that interventions based on movement and music activities improved children's self-regulation skills. Encouraging children to make decisions within a parent-controlled framework can also help them practice self-control.
The article was originally published several years ago and was updated most recently on Aug. 12, 2025, by our website's associate editor, Kari Hanson, with a fact-check. Children's school readiness has been associated with academic, social, emotional, and behavioral benefits in childhood and beyond.
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