By Dorcus McCrary

Riverside County leading lady and member of Amos Temple AME Church

Dorcus McCrary

As a leading lady at Amos Temple AME Church, I see many parents and caregivers who don't realize they are their child's first and most important teachers. That's why I have joined the Leading Ladies for School Readiness program, a partnership between First 5 California, First 5 Riverside and leading ladies of African American churches. Our goal is to educate African American parents and caregivers about the importance of preparing children for kindergarten so they enter school ready to succeed.

Below are several easy, everyday activities parents and caregivers can do with children ages 0 to 5 to help prepare them for a lifetime of learning.

Read to your children

Read and sing to your children as soon as they are born. Verbal interaction helps stimulate a child's mind and develop important communication skills. By reading out loud to your children, you help them build the foundation for language skills. Also, your children learn by example, so let them see you reading books, newspapers and magazines and tell them how much you enjoy reading. Unfortunately, only 53 percent of children ages 3 to 5 are read to daily. You can help raise that statistic.

Household activities

Household activities provide opportunities for simple lessons in math and identifying shapes and colors. So, starting at an early age, engage your children in everyday household activities, such as doing laundry, cooking and cleaning. Ask your children to match up socks or find all the shirts and count them. Prepare traditional family recipes together and have your children do some of the mixing and meal preparation. Help your children tidy their room and identify the colors and the number of items they put away.

Neighborhood walks

Take your children out for neighborhood walks. They're a great way to get exercise and offer opportunities for learning. As you're walking talk about the colors you see such as green grass, a blue sky or a yellow house. Ask your children to describe what they see.

Grocery shopping

Encourage your children to help find items on your shopping list. Ask them to point out the colors of produce, such as red apples, green broccoli or purple eggplant. Talk about the shapes of containers, such as a round bottle or a square box. As your children get older, provide opportunities for social interaction by having them ask the clerk where to find an item on your shopping list.

Car activities

While in the car, sing songs to your children and ask them to sing along. Encourage them to make up a song or teach you a new one as an early lesson in developing language skills.

These simple activities will have a profound impact on your children's development and help prepare them to succeed in school. Remember, the majority of a child's brain develops between the ages of 0 and 5. So, what you do during these early years to support your children's mental and physical growth will have a lasting impact on their lives.

For more school readiness information or to join the Leading Ladies for School Readiness program, contact Michelle Burroughs with First 5 Riverside at (951) 248-0014 ext. 228.