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New Experiences with Your Preschooler

The preschool years bring all kinds of new experiences for you and your child.

Whether music lessons, sports practice, playdates, or family outings, these experiences can be great Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) opportunities. Discover ways to make the most of these activities and what you need to know as preschool begins.

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Preparing for Preschool

It can be exciting — and a little daunting — to start preschool. Before your child turned three, you likely already started on the path to preschool with your interventionist. Good communication and preparation will make the transition go smoothly. Sharing your goals and expectations will help ensure your child’s LSL progress continues.

At this age, your child will transition from an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) to the Individualized Education Program (IEP). You’ll work with your LSL team and school to coordinate what your child needs, as outlined in their IEP or 504 plan.

Prepare for preschool by making a binder about your child with information:

A short summary of your child’s story
Current speech-language assessment report
Current audiology evaluation report
A copy of your child’s Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP)
Current intervention plans with goals and progress outlined
Relevant medical reports

Preparing Your Child

Help your child feel comfortable and confident in the classroom. Talk through what they’ll experience so they’re familiar before the first day. Tell them about their teacher, the school, the classroom, and more. If you can, use pictures to accompany the conversation. You can ask their teacher to share photos of the classroom and a list of phrases or directions they plan to use. Practice common classroom phrases at home so your child will be familiar with them when they get to school. For example, they may not be familiar with raising their hand after a question is asked, or they may not know what a cubby is.

Riley was my first child so it was hard to leave her but I also wanted her to have the same social interaction other little ones had.

I would go a little early so I could talk with the teacher to show them her ‘ears.’ We talked through some challenges such as listening in noise and changing batteries. I shared some tips to help Riley such as allowing her to sit close to the teacher and speaking with a clear voice. I always wanted the teacher to feel comfortable asking me questions so I let her know up front she could ask me anything. I also let the teacher know her observations were helpful to me.

While it was scary to let Riley try new activities, I found out that as long as we talked about challenges and expectations up front, that things generally went pretty smooth and ended up being not a big deal for any of us.
Merry M.

Activities and Adventures

The preschool years also bring activities like sports, music or dance practice, and new adventures. Make sure your child is prepared to hear everything that’s happening around them.

Prepare them for new activities by talking about what they can expect. Talk through any vocabulary related to the activity, rules to the game, or expectations for participation. Videos can be a great way to talk through what to expect.

Pack your child’s hearing device kit including extra batteries and your child’s remote microphone system and charger

Teach your child to talk with their teachers, coaches, and friends about their hearing loss and hearing devices. Make sure they know to tell an adult when they’re having trouble listening or when their batteries aren’t working.

Talk to your child’s coaches, teachers, and friends’ parents to make sure they know about your child’s hearing loss. Share helpful information about their devices or strategies to direct them to listen.

Arrive early to new locations with your child so there will be plenty of time to help them adjust to the environment, and ask and answer questions.

Focus on all the new words that come from these activities. Talk about what they’re experiencing with lots of descriptive detail, and ask them questions about their day.

For events, outings, and adventures, remember to take photos and save momentos like ticket stubs or brochures. These will be helpful for conversations about experiences. You can use them to make an experience book!

Playdates

Your child’s starting to become an interactive social butterfly, growing their play and conversational skills. Playdates are a great way to support your child’s social development and to encourage lasting friendships.

Try these tips as your child gets older and explores more social settings:

Schedule Playdates

As you meet other families and your child’s social circle grows, plan playdates. One-on-one playdates may be easiest instead of many kids at the same time. You can practice LSL strategies during conversations, activities, and routines involving both children.

Prepare Your Child

Help your child be ready for the experience by talking with them about who they’re going to see, what they’ll be doing, and where the playdate is happening. It’s always a good idea to also practice age-appropriate manners, taking turns, and listening to others before any playdate.

Practice Conversational Skills

Your child learns good conversational skills from you. Make sure to model introductions, different types of conversational questions, how to change topics, and how to end conversations. Also, give your child plenty of opportunities to hear you having conversations with others.

Educate Other Parents

Talk to other parents about your child’s hearing loss, hearing technology, and your goals for listening and spoken language.

Observe Your Child

As your child is playing, observe how they are starting conversations, listening to their friend, taking turns in conversation, attempting to clarify statements, or ask questions. Provide support if you think they need it.

New Experiences with Your Preschooler

On This Page

Preparing for Preschool

Prepare for preschool by making a binder about your child with information:

Read More About It

Preparing Your Child

Activities and Adventures

Playdates

Try these tips as your child gets older and explores more social settings:

Schedule Playdates

Prepare Your Child

Practice Conversational Skills

Educate Other Parents

Observe Your Child

Connect with parents who have been down this path before.

New Experiences with Your Preschooler

On This Page

Preparing for Preschool

Prepare for preschool by making a binder about your child with information:

Read More About It

Preparing Your Child

Activities and Adventures

Playdates

Try these tips as your child gets older and explores more social settings:

Schedule Playdates

Prepare Your Child

Practice Conversational Skills

Educate Other Parents

Observe Your Child

Connect with parents who have been down this path before.

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