Issue link: http://hvparent.uberflip.com/i/1008362
hvparent.com n Hudson Valley Parent 17 begins with placing our items in our cubby. It helps children know where to find their personal items at the end of the day. As the weather turns cooler children will put on and take off their own sweaters and jackets. The next step of course is working the buttons and zippers. It is truly amazing to see how the children are able to complete these steps by themselves towards the end of the year." Mom can fill in the gaps Since preschool is not mandatory in New York State and what each preschool teaches may vary, parents can choose to reinforce or even fill in the gaps with what they don't feel their child is learning. For example, Danielle Lee Soto's eight-year-old daughter Elizabeth attended preschool where she learned her letters and numbers and began reading and writing her name. "I felt that her preschool did a wonderful job with drilling in the numbers and letters, but I do not feel like reading was a top priority for them," she says. "As a parent, I wanted her to have more knowledge with reading, so I definitely felt like I had to fill that gap. I think, overall, an introduction to reading in pre-K should be standard and it's really not, yet they half expect kids to enter kindergarten with some reading knowledge." Soto continued teaching and reinforcing her daughter's newly found skills at home even after she graduated preschool. "We started with tutoring the summer after kindergarten," she says. "I did a lot at home with her the summer before kindergarten with workbooks, grocery lists and anything she could write on," says Soto. Another way of reinforcing what your child has learned at school is to simply let them help take care of the home. "Learning the art of (Continued on Page 18)