Four is a delightful age. Your child is talking and learning all day long, and you have a chance to watch it happen. You know that school is right around the corner — that means more than you may think.

What your child learns now will help him or her be ready for school. The learning that takes place is significantly determined by what you do to help.

The books you read together are critical. This is a skill that many parents know is important, and is only achieved by regular reading times together on most days. It takes time and patience, but i’s a necessary skill to help your child be ready for kindergarten.

Encourage your child to clean up his own clutter. He needs to learn how to keep his space clean including putting toys away. Have a box or basket he can easily put things into to clean up. In kindergarten, he will be expected to help with cleaning up regularly.

Give her lots of time to use a pencil or crayon so she learns how to hold it. This isn’t just to be able to make marks on paper; it is the beginning of learning how to write. Just getting comfortable with pencils or crayons will help her be ready for the next level of learning to write.

He not only needs to use crayons and pencils, but he also needs to learn colors and simple shapes. Talk with him about these things so he will be ready when his teacher talks about them. Talk about circles, squares and triangles so he will know what they are. Ask him about the colors of the clothes he puts on in the morning and see if he knows what they are.

Talk about numbers and letters. Count a lot with her when you have a chance. Teach her the letters that are in her name or on a package. Teach her what letters sound like. This takes repeated hints about the letters. Help her learn her phone number and her address.

The importance of talking to your child cannot be overemphasized. Just hearing the words help your child become smarter. You are, without question, your child’s most important teacher. Your being involved in helping him or her learn these kinds of skills can really help your child be ready for the next steps in learning your child will be doing in kindergarten.

These readiness skills will make a difference in how well your child begins school. They take your time and your involvement, but they are very worthwhile. These are skills you help your child learn by playing and being involved with them. This is learning through everyday activities.

You don’t need to sit down and try to make a lesson out of them. Just play together, talk together, and be involved. This will definitely help your child as he or she begins kindergarten.

Cynthia Martin is the founder of the First Teacher program and former executive director of Parenting Matters Foundation, which published newsletters for parents, caregivers and grandparents.