While it may seem like only yesterday you were holding your little bundle of joy in your arms for the very first time, believe it or not it is time for them to enter kindergarten. Chances are, just like everything in life, you want them to be best prepared for their new and exciting adventure ahead. So you work on the alphabet, you practice your numbers, you think about shapes, and you even buy the “learn to read” books. Yet you can’t help but to wonder, is it enough? Furthermore, you’d be lying if you said your little one is loving the preparation process. In fact, they seemed bored and sick and tired of the mundane memorization. So you come to the Internet and you search, “kindergarten readiness”. You are looking for some idea or some product that will improve upon the flaws listed above and will put your child on the right path.
How do I know? Because, I was you.
I felt as though I blinked and all of a sudden, my precious little baby, who seemed like just yesterday couldn’t go a minute without be held, was now ready to enter 4K. We had enrolled her in two years of preschool, she was well versed in her letters and numbers since the age of two (want to know how we taught her from an early age? Check it out here.), she was familiar with school workbooks that we found at the local store, and she was excited to start kindergarten… BUT, was it enough?
One night, my husband, who is an elementary principal, asked me if I felt like our little one was ready for 4K. “Of course“, I replied. After all, we had made sure to do the above. But then what he said next hit me like a ton of bricks, “You know kindergarten is about so much more than those basic skills. She needs to be familiar with math, following multiple step directions, problem solving, working memory skills, etc.” “Oh, I’m sure she is“, came my reply. Yet deep down, I knew she probably wasn’t. At least not to the point where she would need to be for optimal kindergarten readiness.
So, just like you… to the Internet I went. I searched and searched, but nothing seemed more enlightening than what we had already been working on. After all, my husband was already keen on sharing fun educational worksheets with our daughter on a fairly routine basis.
A special thank you to TestingMom.com for sponsoring this post. As always, please know I only recommend products and brands that I 100% love, trust, and use myself. ā
Our Solution to Kindergarten Readiness
Then, as if the Internet was reading our minds (sometimes, I honestly believe this is possible. Scary!)… I received an email from Testingmoms.com sharing about their “Kindergarten-In-A-Box“, specifically their Gifted Learning Flash Cards Set #1- The Kindergarten Readiness Collection.
After a little more digging, what drew me in most was that their flash card collection was far from the mundane “ABC/123” cards. Furthermore, the collection highlighted all the key kindergarten readiness elements my husband had noted prior.
So, I showed my daughter, built up the excitement for a new way of learning, and decided to give them a go. A few days later our “Kindergarten-In-A-Box” collection arrived and as cliche as it may sound… we fell in love!
What Makes TestingMom.com Different?
Simply put, TestingMom.com makes learning, and specifically in our case, kindergarten readiness FUN! Furthermore,Ā TestingMom.com is the only accredited test prep program for students Pre-K to 8th Grade.
Not only was my daughter getting bored with the old learning strategies we were implementing, but she was getting frustrated. What person, especially a young child when they’d much rather being playing, wants to sit and memorize flashcards, etc.?
Yet these flashcards were different. Each one was unique, with beautiful colors and designs… effectively eliminating the boredom. Furthermore, they are created in such a way that they feel more like a game and less like learning. So much so that now when my daughter is given the option between playing CandyLand (her favorite game) and working on her kindergarten box… she chooses the kindergarten box!
TestingMom.com is more than your typical “kindergarten readiness”. With a large focus on preparing your child for admission exams and gifted assessments, their prep materials have already helped over 400,000 parents guide their children in acing tests and boosting grades. Designed to build the skills necessary for testing, life, and overall success; practice tests and parent guidance are created for some of the most important entrance tests,Ā such as theĀ CogAT,Ā NYC Gifted and Talented, andĀ Iowa Test.
Co-founded by a fellow mom, Karen Quinn, she used these resources to help her son go from the 37th percentile in his age group to the 94th, allowing him to be accepted into their first choice school. Excitingly enough, her success story is not unique with endless others sharing similar results after using TestingMom.com’s products! You can read more about the success stories here.
A Closer Look Into the Box
Within the Kindergarten-In-A-Box collection, there are four individual boxes.
Box #1- Following Directions
This box focuses on the following elements: following directions, listening, paying attention, working memory, receptive language, concentration, and thinking. As a bonus, it also provides tips to help your child listen and focus better on tests.
Box #2- Working Memory
This box focuses on the following elements: short-term memory, long-term memory, working memory, visual memory, kinesthetic memory, and paraphrasing. As a bonus, it provides memory games that you can play at home and on-the-go, because let’s face it… who isn’t always on-the-go these days?!
Box #3- Math Concepts
This box focuses on the following elements: quantitative reasoning, counting, adding, subtracting, number recognition, relativity, word problems, simple equations, measurement, fractions, 2 and 3-D shapes, sequencing, and more!
Box #4- Thinking & Problem Solving
This box focuses on the following elements: critical thinking, creative thinking, verbal reasoning, patterning, sequencing, classifying, making logical inferences, spatial reasoning, and persuading skills.
Don’t Stop at Kindergarten
There is no doubt in my mind, that our experience with TestingMom.com will not stop at the kindergarten level. With educational resources available up until 8th grade, we plan to purchase a new learning box each and every year. You can find their entire collection by clicking here.
Want to Dive Even Deeper?
Are flashcards not for you? Or perhaps you want even more resources at the click of a button? TestingMom.com provides for this too! With an online membership, your child can enjoy printables, interactive games, practice tests, and so much more! You can find out more and shop their entire like on AmazonĀ here.
Is your little one prepared for kindergarten? If not, I can’t recommend TestingMom.com enough!