Almost everyone wants their child to succeed in school. As a parent, how you prepare a child for school really makes a significant difference.

No matter whether your young child is 2 or 4 years old, you need to get him ready for school. Learning starts now if you want him to be most successful for the upcoming school year.

Sometimes parents believe they must wait for their child to begin school to learn all their lessons. That isn’t true. What you are doing now will make a huge difference in whether your child is ready or not.

You make the difference. If you are the mom or dad who reads to your child daily for at least 20 minutes, you are helping him get ready. Just think how many books you can read to your child in one week!

In 20 minutes you can probably read two, three or four. Imagine how much your child will learn reading 14-28 books a week between now and when school begins.

Compare that to a child whose parents don’t read to him. It is really clear this makes a difference. The library is waiting for you and your little one to come check out a bunch of books.

Verbal exercises

If you talk a lot with your child, he learns and becomes smarter just hearing all you are saying. It isn’t just saying words to him. It is talking to him. Including him in conversations pays off as you will see when you hear him talking in full sentences and carrying on a reasonable conversation with you.

When you are out for a drive, point out things and talk about them with him. Not all parents do this but it really makes a huge difference.

If you area the one who reminds him to count the stairs or the raisins or the cards, you are getting him ready for math. Make a big deal when he counts higher and higher. You will even find him counting when you don’t ask him to count. Just think about the start you are making on his math skills for school.

New areas of learning

Now is an easy time to help your child learn colors. Talk with him about different colors when you go for a ride, or even when you read a book. When he colors a picture, talk about the colors he uses and see if he can tell you why. Talk about the color of the flowers that are growing in your yard.

Be sure to get excited when he learns new things. This helps him become excited about learning when he sees how pleased you are with him. Let him hear you telling your partner or grandma about something he is learning. He will feel even prouder and work harder.

Teach him about non-academic things as well. Teach him about being patient, waiting his turn and that there are consequences for his behavior. Teach him to be a good listener. You certainly want him to learn how to be polite and to say “please” and “thank you.”

You also want him to learn about how to be a good friend. All of this helps make him ready for school.

He is lucky to have you on his team to get him ready to succeed in school but also to succeed in life. These lessons are ones that not only will help him in school but it will also help you to raise him to be a good person.

Some parents believe that these are lessons that are taught at school and not ones they need to work on. Hopefully you aren’t part of that group, because he really benefits from having you help him in many ways for the coming years.

Be excited about your child’s progress. Let him know you are proud of him. Encourage his everyday learning as he becomes an outstanding work-in-progress.

Cynthia Martin is the founder of the First Teacher program and former executive director of Parenting Matters Foundation, which publishes newsletters for parents, caregivers and grandparents. To reach current First Teacher Executive Director Nicole Brewer, email nicole@firstteacher.org or call 360-681-2250.