What A Child Needs To Know Before Kindergarten

Kindergarten is a very important stage in every child’s life. A stage that kids should be allowed to play, explore, and learn.

In this article, you will be introduced to a list of kindergarten readiness skills based upon a preschool inventory given to children at a local Pre-Kindergarten program.

You can use it as a guiding document or a checklist of the things you should be teaching your kids before kindergarten.

PERSONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

LEARNING

• Shows an eagerness to learn and age-appropriate curiosity

• Persists in completing a task and is willing to ask for help if needed

• Exemplifies a pleasant and cooperative personality

SELF-CONTROL

• Follows rules and routines

• Manages transitions (going from one activity to the next)

• Demonstrates normal activity level

INTERACTIONS WITH OTHERS

• Interacts easily with one or more children

• Interacts easily with familiar adults

• Participates in group activities

• Plays well with others

• Takes turns and shares

• Cleans up after play

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

• Seeks adult help when needed to resolve conflicts

• Uses words to resolve conflicts

LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

LISTENING

• Listens attentively to directions and conversations

• Follows one and two-step directions

SPEAKING

• Speaks clearly and can be easily understood without the need for contextual clues

• Can sequence events in an oral conversation

LITERATURE AND READING

• Listens with interest to stories read aloud

• Shows interest in reading-related activities

• Retells information from a story

WRITING

• Uses pictures to communicate ideas

• Scribbles draws shapes or attempt to create letter-like symbols to write words or ideas

ALPHABET KNOWLEDGE

• Recites/sings the alphabet

• Identifies upper-case letters

• Identifies lower-case letters

• Matches upper-case letters to the lower-case letter counterpart

MATHEMATICAL THINKING

PATTERNS AND RELATIONSHIPS

• Sorts by color, shape, and size

• Orders or seriates several objects on the basis of one attribute (i.e. “size”– small, medium, large)

• Recognizes simple patterns and duplicates them (i.e. circle, square, circle, square)

NUMBER CONCEPT AND OPERATIONS

• Rote counts to 20

• Demonstrates one-to-one correspondence when counting 10 objects

• Matches oral numbers to their written numerals

• Identifies numerals 0-10

GEOMETRY AND SPATIAL RELATIONS

• Identifies 4 shapes- circle, square, rectangle, triangle

• Demonstrates concepts of positional/directional concepts (up/down, over/under, in/out, behind/in front of, beside/between, top/bottom, inside/outside, above/below, high/low, right/left, off/on, first/last, far/near, go/stop).

Measurement

• Shows understanding of and uses comparative words (big/little, large/small, short/long, tall/short, slow/fast, few/many, empty/full, less/more).

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

GROSS-MOTOR SKILLS

• Pedals and steers a tricycle

• Jumps in place, landing on two feet

• Jumps consecutively- 7 jumps

• Balances on one foot for 5 seconds

• Hops on one foot 2-3 hops

• Hops on one foot- 6 ft.

• Throws a ball with direction- 5 ft.

• Catches a thrown ball with arms and body

• Climbs a playground ladder

• Skips smoothly for 20 feet

FINE-MOTOR SKILLS

• Stacks 10 small blocks

• Strings large beads

• Completes a seven-piece interlocking puzzle

• Makes a pancake, snake, and ball from playdough

• Grasps pencil correctly

• Copies: vertical line, horizontal line, circle, cross, square, V, triangle

• Prints first name

• Grasps scissors correctly

• Cuts within 1/4″ of a straight line

• Cuts out a small square, triangle, and circle

• Uses a glue stick appropriately

• Uses an appropriate amount of glue for tasks

THE ARTS

CREATIVE ARTS

• Identifies 10 colors: red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, black, white, brown, pink

• Uses a variety of art materials for tactile experience and exploration (paint, crayons, markers, clay, etc)

• Enjoys singing

• Dances like no one is watching

• Makes believe with objects

• Takes on pretend roles and situations

Remember parents, this list is just a guide.

If you’re looking for some practical suggestions on things you can do to help you identify your child’s learning style, then check this out https://www.excellenthomeclasses.com/guide-to-better-grade/

About The Author

Emmanuel Asiedu is a Content Writer and a Home Tuition Analyst at Excellent Home Classes.

He helps connect parents and students to expert tutors all over the country.

You can reach him via email: [email protected] or visit: www.excellenthomeclasses.com