Clues to Kindergarten Readiness

Even though most of kindergarten readiness is determined by the age of your child, there are certain developmental skills that they should have mastered before starting kindergarten. In addition, in order to succeed academically, there are some certain skills they ought to have mastered. 

Here are the academic things your child needs to be kindergarten ready:First they should be able to identify some, if not all, of the letters of the alphabet by sight. They should be able to name the alphabet, and count to ten. They should be able to identify beginning sounds of some words, and should have a few sight words mastered. You can help them be kindergarten ready by teaching them some words that they can recognize. Words like, “and”, “He”, “the”, etc. 

Besides words and the alphabet, your child should be able to recognize shapes, colors, and sizes. If you have two of the same shapes, and they are different sizes, will your child be able to identify which one is the bigger of the two. You should ask them to identify groups, and be able to sort colors, shapes, etc. 

In addition to this, a child who is kindergarten ready should be able to use scissors, trace shapes, and identify the shapes they trace, even if they are sideways, upside down, etc. Part of this is coordination, and comes with physical development.

In addition to basic academic skills, your child should have certain development skills. 

First, they should have an existing attention span. For example, they should be able to sit through you reading them a book. They should be able to follow tasks you assign them, and when you set rules, they should be able to acknowledge them, and follow them. It is critical that they know who authority figures are, and will follow the rules that they set, if they can’t do this, they will really struggle in kindergarten. 

A child who is kindergarten ready should have the ability to share with others. This is a critical skill for someone who is going to be in a classroom and have to take turns talking, share books, share equipment and toys at recess, etc. 

Your child should know the basic times of the day, and should be able to recognize what the basic tasks are for those times of day. They should be able to control themselves, and not have huge emotional breakdowns. They should be able to be away from a parent for a time without getting upset. 

Your child should also have good communication skills. They should be speaking in longer sentences, and should be able to be understood by the general population.

Last, but certainly not lest, a child who is kindergarten ready has to be able to use the bathroom themselves, from start to finish. That means undoing pants, wiping, flushing, getting your clothes back on, etc. If they have not mastered this skill, they will struggle with the rest of kindergarten.