Help Your Child be Prepared for Kindergarten!
He or she should be able to:
Personal / Social / Emotional Skills
• Separate from parent/spends extended periods of time away from home
• Demonstrate self control, accept “no” (i.e. rarely has physical and verbal outbursts, tantrums)
• Express feelings appropriately
• Show respect to others and property, care for own belongings
• Use good manners (say please & thankyou, wait patiently)
• Demonstrate independence (i.e. toileting, dressing, hygiene, safety)
• Listen to and follow directions
• Focus on a non-electronic activity for a reasonable amount of time (5 minutes or longer)
• Participate in small and large group/play with others, sit in circle time for 15 minutes
• Take turns and share with others
• Give your child experiences outside of the home and talk about them (i.e. parks, zoo, fire station, library)
• Take pride in work and demonstrate good work habits by putting forth best effort
• Speak clearly so any adult can understand
• Say and recognize first name, know parents’ first names
• Understands being a friend (no bullying)
• Name the parts of the body
• Can change easily from one activity to another
• Understand the concept of 911 and what to do
Creative Skills
• Demonstrate desire to learn/curious
Experiences with:
• Music/Dance
• Imaginative play/pretending
• Nature/outside play
• Different textures (i.e. clay, playdough, water, sand, paint, shaving cream)
Large Motor Skills
• Walk/run independently
• Walk up and down stairs
• Move within own space with coordination
Fine Motor Skills
• Can write first name (first letter only capitalized)
• Use scissors, pencils and crayons appropriately
• Manipulate small objects such as legos, beads, buttons, snaps.
*If your child does not know how to tie shoes, please send Velcro close shoes. (keep practicing to tie at home!)
Math Skills
• Identify number 0-10
• Verbally count to 30
• Points to each item as child counts to 10
• Play board games (i.e. Candyland, Uno, Don’t Break the Ice, Chutes and Ladders, Memory, Missing Number 1_3)
• Distinguish between numbers and letters
Begin to understand:
• Shapes/Colors/Numbers
• Counting/Sorting/Patterning/Sequencing/Opposites
• Money
• Time (day/night, now/later)
Reading/Language Skills
• Follow 3-step directions
• Say nursery rhymes / rhyme words
• Recognize and name approximately half the upper case letters of the alphabet
• Recognize and name approximately half the lower case letters of the alphabet
• Show interest in letter sounds
• Make the beginning sounds of a word
• Know the letters in his/her first and last names
• Begin to connect printed words to language
• Tell a story by looking at pictures in a book
• Retell stories
• Interest in new words
• Handle and care for a book properly
(i.e. front and back, right side up)
Approaches to Learning:
• Excited about learning
• Excited about moving body
• Seeks adult approval
• Looks at and stays focused on teacher
• Demonstrate conversation skills
• Calls others by name
• Try to solve problems
• Knows it is OK to be “wrong”
• Understand winning and losing
• Use equipment properly/clean up
• Show respect for environment
• Understand male/female
• Practice healthy choices
• Drink water and eat healthy foods
*Read, Read, Read to your child every day!
Research has shown that children who are read to on a daily basis have greater success in school.*Talk, Talk, Talk to your child about what they are seeing and doing!
*Listen, Listen, Listen to what your child has to say.
We are here to help you answer your questions about School Readiness. Please contact Shannon Krikava, School Readiness Coordinator, (Community Ed) at