For you parents of a Preschool or Pre-K May 2017 graduate, in about 100 days, your child will start Kindergarten! With the fun of summer almost upon us, those 100 days will go by very quickly! I want to help you make the most of your time together this summer, while still carving out in your schedule some regular blocks of Kindergarten Readiness tasks so that you don’t find yourself in that all-too-familiar spot in August of having realized that all your best laid plans for summer practice went unfulfilled.  “Your child may have gone to preschool, daycare, or a Head Start program.  But in kindergarten, there will be a greater focus on skills such as language and math” (Channing Bete Company, Inc., 2011). There is an easy way to build in this 15- minute time slot 3-5 times per week that will still leave you feeling that carefree vibe that summer carries that should be honored and enjoyed! Create a Summer Staycation Suitcase! Either use a real suitcase or create a suitcase out of a shoe box with a lid. Wrap the shoe box in a glued-on file folder that your child decorates. Add a cardboard handle to each side of the file folder at the top so that the file folder can be held together at the top by you or your child. At the beginning of summer, fill the shoebox with different materials of your choice that you will use throughout the summer to practice certain skills. When you lay the suitcase down with the bottom of the shoebox sitting on the floor, you should be able to pull back the top file folder (which is glued to the lid) to reveal what is inside the box. Plan a fun reveal for your child by hiding the suitcase somewhere in the house. Have your child follow a homemade map, taking a trip through the house or yard to find the suitcase.  When your child finds the suitcase, allow him/her some time to explore and play with the objects inside. Inside the suitcase should be a daily Visual Schedule that can be followed and easily adjusted either daily or several days per week to help you stay on track. This way, come the end of summer, you know that you accomplished your goal of Kindergarten Readiness practice so that your child is readier to take that trip to Kindergarten! Create that flexible Visual Schedule! At the top of a vertical piece of cardstock, title your chart I am ready for Kindergarten! so that your child understands the purpose behind the chart and practice while simultaneously getting excited and confident about going to Kindergarten! Your child will begin to learn to see himself/herself as a Kindergartener! Then, down the left side of the chart, you will want to place 3-5 small pieces of Velcro (the scratchy side) in a column. Be sure these are relatively evenly spaced between the top and bottom of the page.  Then, using cardstock again,…