• By
  • Shelly Banjo
Alfred Giancarli for The Wall Street Journal
A child draws shapes during a practice playdate.

In addition to stowing away white shoes and bathing suits, Labor Day weekend marks the beginning of the kindergarten application season for New York private schools.

See related article: Prepping for the Playdate Test

Now that preparing children for kindergarten admissions tests is the norm, parents are trying to gain an edge another way: prepping kids for the playdate or group interview.

While some schools test quirky skills, such as standing on one foot or reciting the alphabet backwards, most admissions directors focus on children’s motor skills, how they interact with other children and adults, language and communication. Academic skills, such as drawing connections between letters of the alphabet and certain words (think: A is for Apple, B is for Banana), are also tested.

For tips on how parents can help their children ace their playdate, Metropolis spoke with Murr LeBey, a private admissions adviser at Blue Tomato in New York. Here’s what she had to say:

Gung-Ho on Grownups: Typically taught not to talk to strangers, children can have a hard time opening up to new adults in such an unnatural environment. But a successful playdate depends on how comfortable a child is talking to the play group’s leader, LeBey says.

Admissions directors and teachers will ask children a host of questions: How many siblings or pets do you have? When is your birthday? Have you ever been on an airplane? The more children can open up and elaborate, the better.

To help children turn from wallflowers to social butterflies, LeBey suggests bringing them to new and different social situations, such as a restaurant, office or family gathering where they can interact with “approved strangers.” Ask children to introduce themselves by making eye contact, shaking hands and answering questions. Encourage children to order their meals at a restaurant or answer the phone.

Motor Skills: Education consultants say a lack of basic motor skills can be an indication of larger learning or emotional challenges. To test for this, admissions teams mark down how a child grips her pencil, copies a series of shapes or builds with blocks. They may also ask kids to walk a certain number of steps (as in, “Simon says take three steps”) or skip across the room.

To help develop this dexterity, parents can ask kids to participate in household activities, such as pouring their own juice, cleaning up toys or putting away dishes.

Puzzles, which test everything from motor and cognitive skills to problem solving, are the holy grail of admissions tests: “Virtually every school uses some sort of puzzle,” LeBey says.

Drawing is also a largely-tested skill. Many schools will ask children to draw basic and not-so-basic shapes, such as squares, rectangles, hearts and even hexagons, as well as personal portraits. “A child who draws herself with eyelashes, fingers and earrings shows a much higher level of development than a child who only draws herself with eyes and a mouth,” says LeBey.

Reading Critically: While most kids are accustomed to listening as parents simply read them a book, group interviews typically involve what education consultants call reading comprehension. During the story, admissions consultants may ask children why characters feel a certain way or what they think will happen next.

“Parents can easily practice these skills during bedtime stories,” LeBey says.

Make It Fun: Rather than drilling kids to death, education experts suggest incorporating skills into daily routines and normal play. Not only is it better for a child’s learning, but it can assuage schools on the lookout for too much test prep.

“Testers will often ask a child why he is so good at something, and if he blurts out ‘I do this game every Tuesday afternoon with a tutor,’ admissions directors get the sense the child’s abilities aren’t skills but rehearsed actions,” LeBey says. “A much more comforting answer is, ‘Mommy and daddy and I do puzzles all the time.”