Preschool English words: getting your child ready for class

Late summer has a special feeling. The backpack waits by the door, the new shoes are still too shiny, and you start to wonder: will my child understand the teacher? If your family speaks Spanish at home, or your little one is just starting English, a handful of preschool English words can make the first weeks feel much friendlier.

Getting ready for preschool doesn’t mean flash cards or long lessons. It means hearing a few classroom words again and again, in play, until they feel like old friends. Here is what the teacher says most, how to practice at home and how to ease first-day nerves.

The preschool English words your child will hear most

Every pre-K class has its own songs, but the daily rhythm is surprisingly similar from class to class. Children arrive, play, clean up, sit together, eat a snack, go outside and get ready to go home. Each moment comes with short phrases the teacher says many times a day.

Your child doesn’t need to understand every word, because teachers point and show. Still, when a phrase already sounds familiar, your child can relax and follow along instead of guessing.

• Line up: stand one behind the other.
• Sit down and circle time: everyone sits together on the rug.
• Wash your hands: before snack, after the bathroom, after painting.
• Snack time: food is coming!
• Clean up: toys go back in their boxes, often with a little song.
• Listen and look: eyes on the teacher.
• Gentle hands: be kind to friends.
• Shoes on, jacket on, backpack: time to go.
• Good morning and good job: the happy words.

Don’t teach the whole list in one week. Pick three or four that match your child’s day. “Wash your hands” and “clean up” are great starters, because you probably say them at home already.

Little phrases that help your child speak up

Understanding the teacher is one half of the story. The other half is asking for what you need. A shy little one who can say “help, please” or “bathroom” feels braver right away.

• Help, please.
• Bathroom (or “potty”), maybe the most important word of all. At home you might say “baño,” and that’s fine: now it has an English name too.
• Water, please.
• My turn and your turn.
• Stop and no, thank you.
• All done.
• Hello and bye-bye, with a wave.

Even one or two words go a long way. Pointing, tugging a sleeve and showing count too.

“My turn” deserves special practice. Taking turns is a big part of preschool, and a child who can say it doesn’t need to grab. Pass a ball back and forth at home and say “my turn, your turn” each time.

Classroom words for colors and shapes

Colors and shapes show up in pre-K English all day long: on the rug, on the cups, in songs. “Get the red block.” “Sit on the blue circle.” A child who knows a few colors can join in before the rest of the sentence makes sense.

Start with red, blue, yellow and green. Then add circle, square, triangle and star. Name sock colors while getting dressed, look for circles on a walk, and ask for “the red cup, please” at snack time.

Play pretend school at home

Pretend school is the coziest way to practice what the teacher says. Your child tries the classroom routine in a safe place, with you, and stuffed animals make a very patient class.

1. Set up a “classroom”: a blanket for the rug, a few toys as classmates, a small bag as a backpack.
2. Be the teacher and use the real phrases: “Good morning, class!,” “Sit down, please,” “Line up!”
3. Go through a tiny school day: circle time, a pretend snack, “wash your hands,” “clean up” and “bye-bye.”
4. Switch roles. Little ones love bossing the teddy bear around, and every “sit down!” is practice.
5. Have one toy act shy and say “help, please,” so your child sees that asking is normal.

If your child wants the same scene again and again, wonderful. That repetition is how classroom words stick. For more playful ideas, see our post on English for 3-year-olds and everyday games.

A short daily practice for late summer

The weeks before school starts are a perfect time to begin. A few minutes every day works better than one long session on Saturday, and short bits leave your child wanting more. We explain why in our post on why five minutes a day works for toddlers.

• Morning: “good morning” and “shoes on” while getting ready.
• Snack: “wash your hands,” then “snack time!” and “water, please.”
• Play: one quick round of pretend school or a color hunt.
• Evening: “clean up” with a silly song.

Keep Spanish as the warm language of your home. English can simply be the “school language” you play with together, and mixing the two is a normal part of growing up bilingual. If that worries you, read our post on common bilingual toddler worries.

Easing first-day nerves

Many children feel a little nervous on the first day of preschool, and so do many parents. A new room, new faces and a new language are a lot for a small person. Familiar words won’t stop every tear, but they give your child something to hold on to.

• Talk about the day before it happens. “At school you will play, sit on the rug, eat a snack, and then mommy comes back.”
• Practice the goodbye. A short, happy ritual, like a hug, a high five and “see you later,” feels safer than a long one.
• Share a few words with the teacher. Tell them the Spanish words your child uses for important things, like “agua” or “baño.”
• Celebrate small wins. At pickup, ask what color the cups were, and cheer for any answer.

Some children chat in English from the first week, and others listen quietly for a long time first. Both are fine. If you ever have a worry about how your child’s speech is developing, talk to your child’s pediatrician.

Getting ready for preschool can be warm and playful, not stressful. A few preschool English words, said with love and a little silliness, help your child walk into class feeling more at home. If you’d like a calm daily routine to go with your games, Tatako lessons take about five minutes a day and include what the teacher says at preschool, plus colors, animals and first words. Your child hears each word, touches the right picture and then names it, and a Spanish guide voice can explain what to do.