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The time has come to sign your child up for kindergarten, and you look at your little one and wonder, are they truly ready for this? What if they do not know enough? Will they be successful? What do they truly have to know before starting? Did you prepare them enough? What don’t you know? What if it is too hard? What can you do?
You are filled with tons of questions and concerns. What can you do to help? How can you help prepare your child?
First off, know that only 19 states require students that are age eligible to attend Kindergarten. There are no “requirements”, other than age to attend Kindergarten. Some states do require Kindergarten before a child can attend 1st grade. Even though it is not always required, it is strongly encouraged. Why? There are many benefits to attending full or half-day kindergarten.
- Staff are trained to help children of varying abilities learn and adapt to school, helping them become proficient and ready for 1st-grade learning
- If a child is a newer English language learner, it will help them to acquire the language more quickly.
- Teachers are trained to look for places/ children that could benefit from early intervention to help them reach their best potential in learning.
- According to research, keeping age-eligible children out of kindergarten does not always have positive results.
- What is learned in Kindergarten, helps to pave the way for the rest of their learning years, it is the foundation for it. For example, children benefit from early reading skills learned in Kindergarten.
- The social/emotional aspect of developing friendships, navigating them, and building more autonomy is also an important learning factor in kindergarten.
According to the NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children), a child needs to have more readiness with their state of mind, rather than just focusing on academic readiness. This means a willing attitude and confidence in the learning process. This should also be coupled with a child beginning to develop a growth mindset in their lives. Entering kindergarten, you want your child to be as autonomous as they can be, so they are ready to learn and do not have the “I can’t” mentality (Surpassing I can’t).
So, what would be helpful for my child to know, and how can I help them succeed? Different people have different thoughts. Here we will try to compile ideas to make it easier for you.
There are some basic skills for your child to know in the areas of language development, reading readiness, mathematics, self-care, fine motor, gross motor, and social-emotional skills. Here we will highlight a real general idea in each area.
- Language development
- Can be understood clearly by others
- Speaks in full sentences
- Can follow simple 2-step directions
- Can express their needs/wants
- Reading readiness
- Enjoys listening to books being read
- Can recite the alphabet and can recognize most of the letters
- Recognizes familiar logos/signs
- Begins to connect letters to their sounds
- Recognizes their name/ can write it
- Can recognize two simple rhyming words
- Mathematics
- Able to count from 1-20 without skipping any numbers
- Recognizes numbers 1-10
- Has number sense, Meaning they can match a number to a group of 5 or fewer items
- Recognizes basic shape
- Can order objects from smallest to biggest
- Knows their basic colors
- Self-care
- Can dress independently (may need help with buttons/zippers)
- Independently uses bathroom and washes
- Knows their full name and age
- Fine motor skills
- Ability to hold writing utensil with some control
- Use a scissors
- Can copy general shapes/lines/letters
- Assigns meaning to the marks they make
- Puts together simple puzzles
- Gross motor skills
- Can run
- Jumps on two feet
- Can hop for short periods on one foot
- Can independently climb stairs
- Bounces a ball and tries to catch one
- Social-emotional development
- Will interact with other children
- Can separate from the parent without being upset
- Will pay attention to adult instruction for at least five minutes
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it is a general overview of what a teacher may be expecting when your child starts kindergarten. It may be helpful for you to check with your school district to see if they have a list for you to look at. Some districts may do kindergarten testing before school begins. This DOES NOT mean your child may not be permitted to go to kindergarten if they do not “pass”. This is simply a way for your child’s teacher to evaluate where each child is at, so they know where to start the year.
If you prefer a checklist and lots more detail, there are many kindergarten checklists you can find online. Here is a checklist that seems pretty thorough and easy to follow. It can be found at the end of the article at this link: https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/child-need-know-kindergarten.html
We hope that this has helped you. If you find yourself with further questions or are looking for other resources, please reach out to us at vkearlylearning.com
