What to do:} {SECTION}] Give your child plenty of opportunities to cut, paste, write, and draw. Help her hold pencils, markers, and scissors correctly. Read, read, and read some more.

Even going to the grocery store can be a fun learning experience. If you need four cans of tomato soup, let your child help you find the labels that start with the letter T and count four cans.

Ask her to help you sort laundry, and talk about similarities and differences between the clothing: Dad's socks are bigger; Mom's T-shirts look very much like Dad's.

[STYLE {Knowing the little things ahead of time can calm fears

A child may be too timid to ask where to put his coat or lunch box. Remember how nervous you were the first day of your new job? Magnify that times a zillion, and you've got the jitters of a kindergartner.

[STYLE {What to do:} {SECTION}] Sometime this spring or right before school starts, take a tour of the building with your child. Ease his anxieties by focusing on all the areas where he may spend time and by asking questions: Where's the bathroom? Will he have to get permission to go or can he simply excuse himself? Where's the cafeteria? What time will he be eating? How does he get a tray of food? Does he have to stand in line even if he brings his own lunch? Will the teacher sit at the table with him or will other lunchroom monitors be there? How will he find the classroom? Where does the bus let children off? Give your child the chance to hear all the details. At home, let him practice opening his lunch box, thermos, milk cartons, and zipper-lock bags. He'll be a pro by the time his first day rolls around.

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