Kindergarten is the new first grade, with more emphasis on academics than ever before. Here are some broad guidelines of what you may want to help your child achieve before kindergarten:

* Concept development (top, bottom, middle, in front, behind, to the side, under and over).

* Physical development.

* Social and emotional development.

* Number concepts.

* Capital letter identification.

Play-based, multisensory learning (tactile, auditory, visual, acoustic) is a great way to tap into your child's unique learning abilities. Writing on blackboards, building letters with wood pieces, and moving and singing to music are ideal for introducing rhyming, building, drawing, counting and more.

There's a lot you can do at home:

* Read: Show your child the importance of communicating through words.

* Draw: Give your child small bits of chalk or crayon and allow them to create and explore. Children who draw tend to write better.

* Sing: Use song and music to introduce your child to the alphabet, counting, imitation, memorization, rhyming and more.

* Move: Teach spatial words including under, over, top, middle, bottom. Use visual representations and encourage imitation.

* Live and learn: Explain social concepts such as waiting in line, teach body parts, count objects in your environment, offer small bites of food to teach grasp and coordination.

Ultimately, school success depends on developing good social habits, motor coordination and strength, handwriting proficiency, and other language skills.

A hands-on, playful approach to learning -- at home or in school -- is the natural and easy way to develop pencil grip, focus, posture, and other skills necessary for good handwriting. In turn, good handwriting leads to proficiency in composition and creative writing, reading, and even math. Good handwriting is the key to comfort and confidence in communication and successful lifelong learning.

-- Condensed from "Get Set for Kindergarten With Playful Learning" by Jan Z. Olsen, internationally recognized educator and a creator of the program of "Handwriting Without Tears."

ON THE NET

* www.hwtears.com
* www.getsetforschool.com