Skills Training for Kindergarten

In addition to learning their ABCs, colors, and numbers, children entering Kindergarten need social and emotional skills to succeed. Read more about the social and emotional skills needed for Kindergarten success. Children need similar skills to be successful on the Kindergarte entrance exams and private school entrance exams. Read more about these skills in relation to Kindergarten testing.  
 
Social Skills Training
Social skills training can be one-on-one with your child and a professional, or can be a professional and a small group of children similar to your child’s age. You’ll want to talk with a professional experienced in child development so that you can best understand your child’s needs and the best format to meet their needs. Some children best learn the skills needed working individually while other children learn better when they can practice these skills in the moment with their peers and the professional. Social skills training can help your child to learn skills such as establishing and maintaining eye contact, learning how to approach and make new friends, learning how to handle disagreements with friends, learning how to handle frustrations, and learning how to take turns and share. Each of these skills are important for the overall adjustment of your child, but are also important for your child’s transition into and success within Kindergarten and the grade levels beyond.
 
Cognitive Training
Cognitive training has been found to be effective in building important skills needed for school success. Cognitive training can increase working memory skills, increase listening skills, decrease impulsivity, and increase one’s awareness into their own attention (learning how to pay attention to paying attention). Each of these skills is important for success in the classroom and in building effective study skills later in your child’s academic career. You’ll want to consult a professional experienced in working with children, knowledgeable about child development, and trained in teaching these skills. These skills can be taught through fun and interactive computer games such as Play Attention and Captain’s Log Mental Gym. With each of these games, a professional establishes your child’s baseline skills and then designs a program address the skills they need to build. These games use biofeedback to teach your child when they are maintaining sufficient attention while they build their skills of memory, listening, processing speed, or logic. These games teach children that persistence and paying attention can be fun.