School Readiness

The early years of a child’s life provide the foundation for success in school and life. As their child’s first and most important teacher parents play a crucial role in supporting school readiness. Parents as Teachers Guilford County partners with parents to build supportive relationships that empower parents to prepare their children to enter school ready to learn, ready for life.

School readiness is arriving at school with the knowledge, skills, and physical and emotional health needed to participate successfully. It includes children having basic human needs like food, shelter, and loving and nurturing relationships readily met so that children can focus on learning while at school. School readiness is generally defined by the condition of the children as they enter school in these five domains:

Social-emotional

Manages feelings
responds to emotional cues
interacts with peers
solves social problems
Follows limits and expectations

Cognitive/Mathematics

Counts
Quatifies
Connects numerals and quantitites

Cognitive/Approaches to Learning

Attends and engages

Language & Literacy

Notices and discriminates rhyme
Notices and discriminates alliteration
Tells about another time or place
Follows directions

Physical

Uses finders and hands

Babies are born ready to learn. They are born with most of the neurological synapes or brain pathways they will ever need. Just like a path thru the woods, if not used regularly it is harder to find, brain pathways can atrophy or not be as strong. Parents as Teachers Guilford County is here ready to provide information and opportunities for parents to gain skills and knowledge to provide optimal experiences in a safe environment for their children to reach their learning potential. To have strong brain pathways! The above school readiness expecations are embeded into the Parents as Teachers curriculum. From the point of enrollement until PAT graduation, parents are supported in preparing their children to enter kindergarten ready to learn.