Preparing Your Child for Kindergarten in Foxborough

At the Igo Elementary School "Meet and Greet" held on May 18, many parent's were questioning the teachers on how to prepare their child for Kindergarten. Although the teacher's did their best to make suggestions, the answer was not clear cut.

However, Foxborough and surrounding communities offer an array of educational and fun resources to enhance your child's readiness for Kindergarten. Below is a list of three great resources.

1. Visit the Boyden Library.

The Boyden library offers story-time on Wednesdays at 1:30pm for three to five year olds, which is the perfect opportunity to meet other children who may be entering Kindergarten in the fall. Also, the stories chosen by the librarians for read alouds are educational and age-appropriate. These story times can help  to develop basic listening skills and get children comfortable with story-time in an atmosphere other than their home.

It may be helpful to ask the librarian ahead of time what the story may be, so you can prepare a fun activity or craft to do at home afterward.

2. Explore Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in Sharon, Massachusetts.

Right outside Foxborough, in Sharon, Massachusetts, is Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary. This is a wonderful place for future Kindergartners to explore nature in a hands-on way, and build on their natural curiosity to question and make predictions. Nature walks or bird watching at Moose Hill can encourage their sense of wonder, and creativity, while also allowing them to use all five senses to investigate. These skills will help facilitate a passion to learn in Kindergarten.

Be sure to bring along binoculars and field journals, so children can keep track and draw pictures of things that may interest them. After your trip, visit the library to find books on birds, insects, plants and animals that were especially fascinating.

3. Enjoy Booth Playground.

Children learn through play. Playtime helps build children's cognitive skills by helping them to understand and organize their environment and what is expected and accepted of them. Play provides the opportunity to gain proficiency in problem solving and sociability. When playing with new friends, children are able to try out their social skills ,while controlling their impulses and learning the perspectives of others. These skills will be useful in Kindergarten when building relationships.

The Foxborough community provides many opportunities to enhance your child's social skills, foster a love of learning and enhance Kindergarten readiness.