Dad’s Role in Making Kindergarten Great

In the traditional family structure, the role of father is clearly unique. Perhaps it is because dad goes off to work and comes home with that big booming voice or maybe it’s that he is a soft touch for ice cream or an extra ride on the Ferris Wheel at the State Fair but dad has a special place in the hearts of the kids. He is both the voice of authority and sometimes the voice of wise counsel when children need someone to guide them and direct them.

On the other hand, it is mom who is there every day, guiding every event, making sure the children are safe and cared for. Both jobs are crucial and beloved by the kids, even if they don’t know it or say so. So when the time comes to get your little one ready for kindergarten, it may be that both parents can have a big role in this transition as well.



There is no doubt that in terms of the physical preparations for kindergarten, mom is a big decision maker. The clothing that your new student will wear, buying the right school supplies and even buying the extra things that will be needed in the classroom are all good jobs for the primary shopper in the family which is often mom. But if you can get dad in on the act particularly in the mental and emotional preparations for kindergarten, that can be a huge help because he can use his mentoring role to give the child permission to begin to accept this big change.

This is especially true in the case of dad’s little man. A young boy often idolizes his father and admires him as a hero because dad is brave and able to go out and conquer the world each day. When the family goes on the trip, it is dad who is leading the way, slaying the dragons along the way, saving the fair maiden (mom or sis) and hunting food for dinner (paying at the restaurant). In the child’s imaginary world, dad is a combination of mighty warrior, master hunter and mighty wizard. These are some powerful images that you can tap to help that little guy see himself as ready to the big adventure of going off to kindergarten on his own for the first time.



If you can get dad to be the one to drive that slightly frightened little one to school, he often knows just what to say to change fear into excitement and to motivate his son or daughter to want to go in there and do great to make dad proud. That is the nature of the father’s role in the lives of his children. So why not use it to help your child through this very important day in his or her early childhood development?

Very often dads have a special bond and a special language they speak to their sons. To an outsider when dad says, “Get in there and be a man” to his little boy, that may sound harsh and not nurturing. But what the little guy hears is, “I know you can do it. When you go to kindergarten like a man, you are being a brave warrior like daddy.” And that is just the right language to motivate that little guy to face his fears and go to that first day of kindergarten and be a big success to live up to that strong affirmation and high expectation of daddy.

The Secrets To Getting The Right Protection For Your Nursery, Pre School Or Kindergarten

For many people and businesses Insurance is something they would rather not have to purchase.

Most people don’t want Insurance. Most people don’t like Insurance.

What you probably do want is protection for your family, your loved ones, your business and the things that are most important to you. The mere mention of Insurance may very well make a vast number of people think of words like:

Rip-off, too expensive, waste of money, doesn’t pay claims, annoying, boring and some much worse!



The truth is though for most people and businesses Insurance is required as it provides them with protection and peace of mind.

With literally thousands of insurance companies, brokers and providers you are faced with a massive choice. So faced with decisions at every turn finding the right cover for you, your Nursery, Pre-School or Kindergarten is sometimes difficult.

This article will therefore give you some free advice that insurance providers rarely share with their customers. These few steps should help you in your quest to find the cover that is best for you at the right premium and with the best service.

Secret Number 1

The first secret to making sure you get the right cover at the right premium is perhaps the one that most people will find hardest to believe but it really works.

Are you sitting comfortably??? Here it is:

When you find yourself ringing around for quotes (and for anyone looking for Nursery Insurance I would recommend buying face to face or on the phone rather than online) the chances are you will be asked “What’s your current premium?” or “What’s the best price you’ve had?”



The single biggest mistake people make when asked this question is to not tell the person asking the question. That’s right, when you are asked the best price you’ve had TELL THEM.

Most people assume that by telling an insurance provider your premium you are at a disadvantage. The truth is the opposite is true. Let me explain:

If you tell a good insurance provider your premium they should pretty much know straight away whether the premium is too high, too low or about right. Armed with this information they could give you an immediate indication if they can get a lower premium. If they know they can’t they can tell you and save you time.

Another reason you should tell the person if they ask your premium is because the vast majority of insurance companies won’t give you the best price unless they have something to beat. Let me say that again, if you don’t give your broker or company a price to beat, the chances are you won’t get the best premium. However, if you do tell them, they can use this information when dealing with the insurance company which ultimately can save you money.

One final tip on this matter is, don’t be tempted to make up a price. For example, Mrs Blogs is looking for Nursery Insurance and she has a best price of ฃ2500.00. She thinks it’s too much money so when asked the magic question of “What’s the best price you’ve had so far?” she decides to go in low at ฃ1800.00. By doing this most companies will know the price seems low and many won’t even provide a quote. Whereas had Mrs Blogs been up front and said ฃ2500.00 there’s every chance she could have saved some money.

Therefore Secret Number 1 is be totally honest when looking for insurance as it’s the best way to make sure you get the best premium. Give it a go...it really works.

Secret Number 2

Secret number 2 is common sense but so many Nurseries fail to make sure it happens because they are focusing on the price. The second way to ensure you get the right cover is therefore to use an insurance provider who has an understanding of your requirements.

You can establish this by listening to what questions they ask, how they ask them and how they react to what you are saying. If they enter into a conversation about your Nursery it’s likely to be because the more information they have about your circumstances, the better cover, the better premium and the better service they can provide you.

If the conversation is very scripted and they either don’t understand what you’re looking for or don’t ask the type of questions you would expect there is every chance it’s because they don’t have a real understanding of your business. If this is the case you risk not getting the right cover and ultimately not being correctly insured.

Secret Number 3

Secret number 3 is ask questions. So many people ring around looking for Nursery insurance, Pre-School Insurance or Kindergarten Insurance and spend the entire conversation answering questions. Secret 3 is therefore ask questions to find out if they provide not only the right cover and premiums but also the right level of customer service. Types of question you might want to ask are:

In the event of a claim what will they do to help you and to ensure your claim is settled as quickly and as favourably as possible?

Do they just give you a telephone number and leave you to it or do they offer help when you most need it?

Are they experienced? How long have they been trading? If it’s a Broker, which Insurance companies do they use?

Again, if they are Brokers are they independent? That is, do they have access to numerous policies and insurance companies or are they tied into just one?

By getting answers to these questions you can then a make a decision on whether you would like to deal with them (and whether you trust them to act on your behalf.)

Secret Number 4

The fourth and final secret to making sure you get the best from your insurance provider is another which may not seem right as Insurance is one of the most price sensitive purchases a Nursery, Pre-School or Kindergarten will make.

With this in mind many Nurseries, Pre-Schools and Kindergartens make the decision on where to place their insurance on price alone. I would advise anyone looking for Nursery insurance, Pre-School Insurance, Kindergarten Insurance or indeed any kind of Business Insurance is NOT TO ASSUME THAT CHEAPEST IS BEST.

Whilst getting a low premium is one of the most important things to look for, a really cheap premium without a combination of other factors is probably cheap for a reason. Things you may want as well as a low premium are:

Are they local?

Are they friendly and approachable? (we all prefer doing business with people we like) Who are the insurance company? Have you heard of them?

What is the excess? Make sure the excess is one you agree on and not one given just to give you a low premium

Do they have a good reputation?

Do they listen to you and explain things in a way that you understand?

If you follow these 4 simple secrets there is every chance your experience when dealing with Insurance for your Nursery, Pre-School or Kindergarten will improve. And whilst I cannot guarantee that Insurance will become your number 1 hobby (in fact I’d be a little concerned if it did!) there is every chance the cover you get will be what you want, the premiums you pay will be less than you’ve paid before and the service you receive will be one you would be happy in giving and one you would be happy to recommend.

Kindergarten Homework

Whatever happened to the days when kids were actually kids, and didn’t have to start worrying about things like homework until about third grade? The other day, my sister called me and said that her daughter had homework. I was flabbergasted. She’s in kindergarten! Kindergarten homework? What on earth was going on?



Come to find out, kindergarten homework is not all that uncommon. I belong to some online communities (why, yes, I am a dork), and they have verified that their children have come home from kindergarten with worksheets that had to be done as homework. Now, granted, kindergarten homework isn’t exactly algebra level of concentration, but for a kindergartener it is pretty comparable. Some of the items seemed fun, and like the homework was meant more to get the parents involved in their children’s education, but good lord. Is it really necessary to assign kindergarten homework in order to get parents involved? I mean, apparently it is and that is just sad. However, having a young five year old have to do worksheets seems a little insane.

While most kindergarten homework seemed to be pretty simple and observational work, there were some that seemed to be going overboard. One mother said that her child was doing about an hours worth of homework just about every night. Now that is just insane. The kids are five years old! Shouldn’t five year olds be playing and learning in their play kitchens and dress up trunks rather than homework on how to spell words? In first grade I was learning to spell words. Kindergarten was more of an introduction to school and rules. Now, kindergarteners are expected to enter knowing more than my generation did after they completed kindergarten. Now there is kindergarten homework on top of that?



I’m all for teaching children while they are most receptive and able to learn, and the kindergarten age is prime time for this. However, kids can learn so many things through fun games, songs and role playing. Doing homework is not something that a kindergartener should have to struggle through instead of playing after a day of school. Are kids not kids anymore? They are already growing up too fast, losing their innocence and trying to be much older than they really are. Let’s cut the asinine kindergarten homework from the lesson plans before we make the competitive parents start to do flash cards in the hospital right after birth.

But I Don’t Want to go to Kindergarten!

That phrase is the one we least want to hear either the day of or the night before the big moment when your child is going off to kindergarten. The last thing you want is for your child’s first day at kindergarten to be the result of a power struggle. That kind of unpleasant start to what is going to be a very big change in the life of a child will only put a cloud over the day and perhaps his year at school and that is exactly the opposite of what you want.



Of course, if it comes down to a pushing contest, you are going to win. And sometimes children test your borders with a comment like, “But I don’t want to go to kindergarten”. You know your child best and if that is what is going on, you also know how to maintain your authority so they know that going to school is not option and that not only will they go today, they will keep going every day for the entire school year.

Sometimes just laying down the law is sufficient. Children are tremendously adaptable and once your little one realizes that this is just the way it is going to be, you might be surprised how quickly he figures out the system at kindergarten and becomes a big success there. If that is the outcome, you are to be congratulated because you won the confrontation and established in your child a healthy respect for authority and learning to work within the system.

The key is, one way or another, you want to make them want to go to kindergarten. However, it could be that there are some methods that can be used to provide some inspiration for the child to want to get out there and be part of the fun and go to kindergarten along with the other kids. Peer pressure can be a good force as much as sometimes it is negative if it takes our children into the wrong behaviors. But if you give your child the chance to be with kids his own age and in the neighborhood and those kids are going to go to kindergarten starting that same day, that could be a huge motivation to go to school because the child sees it as extended playtime.

The age kids go to kindergarten is about the time they begin wanting to be with friends and get away from home a little bit. Their curiosity is high and they want to experience new things so you can tap that desire by creating the image that this will be a big adventure and that there will be lots to do there and that kindergarten will not be as boring as staying home day after day after day.

If your child has siblings who are already in school, there is often a desire to go to school to be like older brother or sister. So you can enlist the aid of those siblings to get the youngest in the family who is about to enter school to want to get out there and find out what the world is all about. Often the kindergartner to be also sees that sports and social activities are a big part of school life too.

The important thing is to use whatever motivation is naturally there to help your child get a real enthusiasm for school. You do want to talk to them about obeying the rules and working hard. And there will be lots of chances to do that long the way. But for day one, let this big step into kindergarten be all about excitement and fun. Your kiddo can figure the rest of it out as the school year progresses.

An Active Partnership – Parent Kindergarten

Pre-school learning is an educative partner of the family. Here are some reasons that make kindergarten an extremely important educative factor:

- it creates an environment adequate for children and it puts them in contact helping them become social

- assure a good debut for primary school

- is an environment of protection and passing time with pleasure



Form one kindergarten to the other there are differences regarding the closed and open space children dispose of, the didactic materials, the level of qualification of the teachers and their wish for doing the best they can. Any state or particular kindergarten that is authorized is obliged to offer a good learning process. From the managerial offer of the kindergarten or school, the parents have to find out what are the conditions of life and the environment of the unit, as well as the potential of the personnel.

Directly or indirectly, kindergarten teacher conduct the entire activity of the children. Part of the educative activity is done with the whole group of children, and part is done in stages, with one at a time or with little groups at a time.

The partnership between parents and teachers has to happen. The problems that can come up in such situations vary a lot. Children can come to the kindergarten and have trouble adapting, socially and intellectually both or esthetic and physical. The causes for these things can be discovered by the teachers and parents together. Both the parents of children with difficulties and the ones of children with a normal evolution must be contacted to settle educational programs that involve the family.



Parents can continue at home the educational games their children played in the kindergarten hours, so that the children gain confidence in their power and in the future they can have the initiative when giving answers or volunteering for a game.

The purpose of kindergarten is to make children become social persons, to prepare them for school and to allow them to have fun while they learn. They must be introduce to learning and classrooms at this age, or it will be harder for them be harder to adapt and maintain control once they start primary school.