Laying the Foundation: Building School Readiness Skills Through Connection and Play - Online Series

For children to succeed in their first formal school experience, kindergarten, they need solid school readiness skills. As a group, we will explore several foundational school readiness skills and how to support children in meeting these goals, while also aligning with where they are in their developmental journey. In this series, participants will examine executive functions, self-help, and social-emotional skills from a developmental lens. Additionally, participants will learn how playful games and intentional adult-child interactions provide meaningful and developmentally appropriate ways to build executive function skills through practice, modeling, and engagement. Through discussion and examples, participants will leave with simple, classroom-ready strategies to support self-regulation, flexible thinking, and independence in young learners.

Participants who complete the series will:

• define school readiness skills needed for children’s successful transition to kindergarten
• explain how executive functions, self-help, and social-emotional skills set the stage for school success
• implement meaningful interactions and playful games that support children’s self-regulation, flexible thinking, and independence

Participants can earn up to 6 PD hours by attending two facilitated online sessions and completing two assignments.