Editorial: Home kindergarten prep important to good start in school

Daily Herald Editorial Board

Education experts have a message for the parents of children waiting to start kindergarten: Preparation must begin at home.

That means parents must make time to read books with their children, talk about what's happening around them, play pretend, and help them learn about self-awareness and getting along with peers.

Those are teaching moments that can make a huge difference in helping children navigate their most critical development stage and form the foundation for early learning.

"Parents need to understand that they are their child's first teacher," Peggy Ondera, director for Elgin Area School District U-46, told staff writer Madhu Krishnamurthy in a story last week about kindergarten preparedness.

Unfortunately, those lessons don't happen in far too many homes.

In some districts, such as U-46, more than half of youngsters don't have the basic reading, math, social and emotional skills to be ready for kindergarten.

Many other districts are just beginning to track this readiness gap.

That's important because the days are gone when kindergarten was about colors, shapes, naps and snacks. Now, even knowing the ABCs and how to count from one to 10 isn't enough to get a budding school career off to a good start.

Experts say there can be a 30 million-word gap between families that are actively engaged and talking to children, and those that don't.

Imagine what that means to a youngster developing verbal and communication skills.

Timing is everything to a prekindergartner. That's the age when the brain develops the fastest. Missing those early opportunities means children will not progress as far as they otherwise might, experts say.

Some school districts are trying to address the issue. For example, U-46 has a program in which parent educators make regular home visits to teach parents simple techniques and activities to foster development in children up to 3 years old.

Some districts, such as Wheaton-Warrenville Unit District 200, have expanded access to full-day preschool services for 4-year-olds.

Many suburban districts are creating full-day kindergarten programs.

The truth is strong parental involvement in a child's education is important at all levels of schooling.

It may involve helping your children each night with homework, having dinner-table conversations about the school day and making time to attend parent-teacher conferences.

All these and more send a strong, positive signal that stresses the importance of education and working hard in the classroom.

Any teacher will tell you that lesson must start at home.