A week from today, I’ll be bringing Shane to his Open House, where we’ll meet his kindergarten teacher- and he starts school the following Monday! We’ve been preparing for that day for a year now, but we still don’t feel ready- at least, not emotionally.
To get us as prepared as we can be, I asked a friend what exactly Shane should know and what he should expect to learn. I know many of you have children going to kindergarten this year or next, so she has broken it down for us all- and there’s even a free printable kindergarten readiness checklist at the bottom! Enjoy!
The word “Kindergarten” might strike fear in the hearts of parents all over the nation, but this next step in your child’s life doesn’t need to be scary.
As parents, it’s hard for us to let go of our children, and Kindergarten is all about our children branching out and learning on their own. If you’re feeling nervous about sending your child to Kindergarten, you can alleviate your fears by better preparing your child for success.
Here are just a few skills your Kindergartener will need to learn throughout the first year of school:
Letter Identification
Letter identification is a basic skill your Kindergartener will need to know, but it is one of the most important. Without being able to identify letters, you child will be unable to progress to sounding out letters or blending those sounds into words. Since these skills are necessary prerequisites to reading, teaching your Kindergartener letter identification should be at the top of your to-do list.
Letter Sounds
Once your child knows how to identify letters, you will want to teach what sound each letter makes. You can then help your Kindergartener blend those sounds into words, successfully giving your child the skills needed to start reading.
Your child should learn this particular skill in school, but since it can be a difficult concept to grasp, practice this skill at home as well. This will help ensure your child has enough time to master the skill before applying it in reading groups.
Number Identification
Another important skill you can teach your Kindergartener is how to identify numbers. Depending where you live, your child’s school could expect Kindergarteners to identify numbers 1-10 on sight. Some schools even expect children to be able to identify numbers up to 20 or higher.
Regardless of what your school’s requirements are, the fact remains that teaching your Kindergartener to identify numbers is a good idea.
Counting
This next skill goes hand-in-hand with number identification. Not only does your child need to be able to name numbers, your Kindergartner will also need to be able to count without skipping numbers.
Although different schools might require students to count up to a different number, a good rule of thumb is to teach your child to count up to 100. Not only will this allow your child to succeed at whatever assessment the school uses, it will also give your Kindergartener a better number sense. This gives your child the foundation needed to progress on to more difficult math concepts.
Shapes & Colors
Although know shapes and colors might not seem like a useful skill, it is very important to Kindergarteners. Shapes are used in math, so knowing the difference between a square and a triangle will help your child have a solid foundation in this subject.
Knowing colors is equally as important since colors allow your child to better explain something, effectively improving your Kindergartener’s communication skills.
Does your Kindergartner have the skills needed to succeed in school? Use this Kindergarten readiness checklist to find out:
Do you have any advice for me as I prepare to send my oldest off to kindergarten?
alicia k (Petite Pilates Pixie) says
these sheets are very helpful!
Lindsey @ Redhead Baby Mama says
we’re well on our way! Red is in Pre-K but he can do most of this! yay!
Stefany says
My daughter started kindergarten this week and this is so important. Thank you for the printables!
Mitch says
Yes, no more playing around with the 3 and 4 year olds. They have to be school ready in a big way!
Marina @ Mommy Snippets says
Great tips! It’s great to know where your child lies developmentally.
Shop with Me Mama (Kim) says
Great list! I also love the printables! They are so helpful! Thank you 🙂
Jessica (Savory Experiments) says
I love checklists! I don’t have kids, but I see the importance of learning these skills before starting school.
Courtney says
This is a great post. My daughter is coming up on school age, and this is a great resource to give her a jump start.
krystal says
Thanks for the printables. I can start using these with my preschooler!
Jeanine @ sixtimemommy.com says
My kinder is going into SK this year, his 2nd year (here we have jk and sk! not sure what its like all over!) thanks so much for the printables, I will be printing!
Theresa says
This is a wonderful checklist. My niece is getting ready to start Kindergarten. I will forward this on to her mom 🙂
Veronica says
What an exciting time for a kid going off to kindergarten. There is so much to learn and these strategies will help
Rosey says
This is such a great list. There’s no fooling around in kindergarten these days like there was when I was a kid. K. is a real grade, meant for learning!
Karen Glatt says
This is a great list to make sure to know for a new kindergartner. Counting and Shapes and colors are so important to know!
Denise Taylor-Dennis says
I am sending my son to TK and my daughter is starting her third year of college. It all goes so fast, take lots of pictures and cherish this time.
April @ Everyday Fitness and Nutrition says
These are all very helpful things for your child to know. My daughter is in her last semester of college now and I still remember walking her into her class the first day of kindergarten. Time goes by so quickly!
Sarah L says
I tend to forget just how much little kids need to learn. That why learning games can be fun and also teach basic skills.
Barbie's Beauty Bits says
What a great blog post. I think these sheets will really come in handy!
Jennifer says
I’m going to have to pin or print this for my daughter. She starts preschool on Monday so next year I want to make sure she is 100% ready for Kindergarten
Kayla says
I have a preschooler, and these will be very helpful. Thanks!
Christie says
My son enters Kindergarten this year. I feel so ahead now!
Beth@FrugalFroggie says
That is a great checklist for kindergarten. I think my son was able to accomplish all of these during his year in kindergarten.
Shasta Walton says
You know what else they need to know? Apparently they need to learn their months because my soon to be sixth grader just informed me last night that he never learned his. how is that even possible. Ugh.
Great list btw 🙂
Tonia says
Great to know. My little one starts Kindergarten in two weeks.
Everyday Living with Chrys says
I wish I had great printables such as these when kiddo was heading in to K!
Shell says
My youngest starts kindergarten this year! My advice: make sure you put names in everything. You’d think they’d recognize their own sweatshirt but they won’t or they’ll forget it and w/o a name, it might never make it back home.
Debbie Denny says
Great info and nice checklist for parents.
Melinda says
another thing they should know is a phone number and always their full name.
Camesha says
I like the printable. I’ll try it with my son. He’s not quit moving into kindergarten yet but he’s been doing really well with his letters and sounds!
kristin says
Great printable. Great tips too for skills they need.
Carly from The Puzzled Palate says
My advice? Bring tissues and try your best to wait until they walk away to start getting emotional! My daughter just started kindergarten 2 weeks ago- and she is doing great!
Rosie says
These are great checklists! Good to start noticing them way before kindergarten, to know the expectations. When I went to kindergarten, it wasn’t so much learning as playing mostly, with a little learning. I recall I was very upset I did not know how to skip, and actually couldn’t skip until 2nd grade!
Marcie W. says
I think this is a great list. Thankfully my children were always right on target and often mastered their skills earlier than they had to. Kindergarten was always a lot of fun.