Are you concerned that your young learner may not be ready for school? Wondering if you should hold your child back from kindergarten? Have you heard about Fit Learning’s Lil Fits curriculum and unsure if your child is at the right age for enrollment? Curious about what types of skills are needed before signing up for pre-K coaching? (In other words, how young is too young?)

Nearly every day, it seems there is media coverage about the importance of school readiness for children. The stakes are high and so, understandably, this can be a source of anxiety for parents who want to set up their student for success. Many families have found Fit Learning’s Lil Fits program to be an excellent way to ensure their child is equipped with the foundational skills needed to thrive in the classroom. Here are some tips on how to tell if your young learner is ready to begin Lil Fits.

What is Lil Fits?

Lil Fits is Fit Learning’s structured program carefully crafted for early learners. Like other Fit programs, it achieves impressive learning outcomes by uniquely combining learning science, precision teaching, direct instruction, and curriculum-based assessment. And it does this in a way that is fun and engaging for kids while fostering an early love of learning.

The Lil Fits curriculum covers the following broad skill areas:

• Listening comprehension
• Following directions
• Language building
• Reading readiness
• Early math skills (e.g., number identification, patterns, oral counting)
• Relating and sequencing
• Perspective-taking
• Penmanship

Lil Fits learners are coached to fluency in these areas. In other words, we teach children academic skills, and they practice those skills until they can do them quickly and accurately every time.

When can my learner start the Lil Fits program for school readiness?

Lil Fits is designed for preschool through first-grade learners; however, we realize that every child matures at a different pace. We recommend that children entering the program have the following communication, motor, and life/behavior pre-requisite skills.

Expressive and Receptive Communication

• Follow instructions repertoire (e.g., come to the table, sit down, direct attention as instructed, return items, manipulate items)
• Vocally communicate their preferences, needs, and wants (e.g., sick, hurt, bathroom, hungry, thirsty)
• Express emotions in socially appropriate ways
• Make generalized echoic responses of at least six-words
• Discriminate between “yes” and “no” and behave accordingly

Motor Skills

• Reach for items
• Point items with index finger
• Touch
• Grasp and release
• Place
• Pull and push
• Shake
• Squeeze
• Tap
• Twist

 Life Skills

• Handle bathroom and personal hygiene independently
• Sit in a chair at a table for approximately 50 minutes
• Make sustained eye contact for communication purposes of 3-5 seconds
• Sustain attention to programmatic stimuli of 30-60 seconds
• Direct visual and auditory attention toward another person
• Tolerate denied or delayed access to items or activities
• Respond favorably to intermittent reinforcement
• Transition from preferred to non-preferred activities
• Respond to conditioned reinforcers (e.g., token systems, social activities)

Problem Behavior Limitations

• Show no behavior that would require physical redirection (such as physical aggression toward self or others, property destruction, or elopement).

If you have questions about kindergarten readiness assessment – or whether your child is ready – don’t hesitate to contact us to discuss further.

How does Lil Fits differ from other school readiness programs?

Fit isn’t your average pre-K learning program. We use an alternative teaching method that is exceptionally effective while also enjoyable for kids. We get that every learner is different. That’s why our curriculum is customized to reflect each learner’s unique needs and use the strategies that work best to motivate and encourage them. Our learning coaches bring strong backgrounds in behavior analysis and have extensive experience working with different kinds of learners. No two Fit learning sessions are ever the same.

• All sessions are 1:1, leaving no time for children to get bored or feel disconnected.
• The coaching is fun, fast-paced, and engaging. We keep it moving, and the time passes quickly for learners.
• Our coaches make learning sessions a positive experience that boosts self-esteem and confidence. For example, we involve learners in tracking their progress and celebrating personal bests.
• Our building-block approach goes beyond surface-level “homework help.” We help instill the foundational skills that children will need for continued success in school, even as the curriculum gets more challenging.
• In addition to improved academics, Fit’s method strengthens learners’ executive functioning, processing speed, working memory, and perseverance.
• There is no homework. At Fit, all the work happens during the sessions.
• And finally, our learning outcomes are unmatched. Fit learners average one or two grade levels of improvement after 40 hours of instruction.

Once my child is ready to begin kindergarten readiness tutoring at Lil Fits, what are the next steps?

The first step is to schedule a comprehensive intake assessment. The results will help our team design a customized curriculum for your child. Included in the assessment are at least nine norm-referenced standardized tests from AimsWeb:

• Four tests of early literacy
• Four tests of early numeracy
• A test of oral reading fluency

In addition, we administer the CUBED assessment to measure the learner’s listening comprehension. More information on the tests can be found on our Results webpage. Also, make sure to check out Outcomes Graph 03 on that page, which presents shows results specific to the Lil Fits program.

To schedule the initial assessment or for more information on how our Lil Fits program can help your young learner get off to a strong start, contact Janice Smith, director of the Fit St. Louis learning lab. She can answer any questions you may have and walk you through the next steps.

What other programs does Fit Learning provide besides school readiness?

Even after your child “graduates” from Lil Fits, we have you covered. Fit offers instruction in reading, writing, math, logic, spelling, and penmanship. We also have offer academic summer camp, online learning, study skills training, and a program perfect for homeschoolers.

What’s more, all kinds of students benefit from Fit’s instruction, including:

• Children and teens who are struggling academically in general or with a specific subject area
• Learners who aren’t struggling but want to prevent summer slide or skill regression
• Gifted students who are seeking further challenge or enrichment
• Children who are homeschooled or whose parents are considering homeschooling
• Students with learning disabilities, learning differences, special education needs, ADHD, dyslexia, slow processing speed, speech/language delays, or who are on the autism spectrum

Regardless of what level your child is when they start instruction at Fit, you can be confident that they are making gains that will help truly transform their learning … and their future. Reach out to us today and get started!