If you're looking for a daycare provider, finding a safe and nurturing environment is likely foremost on your mind. Choosing a daycare provider that can prepare your child to succeed in kindergarten can give them the skills, confidence, and curiosity they need to succeed in school.

Numeracy and Literacy Skills

The foundation of academic learning is to understand the relationships between numbers, letters, and ideas.

• Literacy: Your daycare provider should expose your child to foundational literacy skills. This means keeping your child occupied with more than just a tablet or cartoon. Great daycare providers read to children throughout the day. These reading sessions can include sing-along or read-along activities that encourage your child to experiment with phonics, syntax, and vocabulary. You can continue literacy acquisition at home to reinforce your child's emerging skills.
• Numeracy: All mathematic skills are founded on counting. Daycare providers can encourage children to begin counting throughout the day. For instance, daycare providers often incorporate counting into snack time. From counting crackers to counting how many bites it takes to eat a cookie, daycare providers should find ways to expose your child to numeracy and counting several times a day.

Potty-time Confidence

Helping children become autonomous to their basic bathroom needs is a critical component of the confidence they'll need to succeed in kindergarten.

• Supportive Independence: Even if your child seems confident about using the toilet, having the same confidence can be difficult in new environments. Daycare providers can give children the chance to practice the behaviors they'll be expected to follow in kindergarten. From articulating their needs to asking for help, to providing assistance if they have an accident, your daycare provider should have an established bathroom protocol. Speak with your daycare provider about your child's specific bathroom needs before you enroll your child.

Cultivating Curiosity

Another key to succeeding in school is cultivating a sense of curiosity. Daycare providers should facilitate activities that nurture your child's sense of wonder and experimentation.

• Scientific thinking: Teaching your child to think like a scientist can help them become critical thinkers. Daycare providers can make playtime into thinking time. For instance, they might have your child use a magnifying glass to look closely at things they find on the playground. After looking at things closely, they can compare and contrast the features they find in the objects they observe. Daycare providers can also have your child observe the sky using binoculars.

Contact a daycare center for more information.