Ready for Kindergarten?

YOU’RE ON YOUR WAY TO K!

The transition to kindergarten is respected as a major milestone not only for the child, but for his or her family as well. The attitude towards school and learning that the child carries with them for life is often determined by this very first experience with school. A smooth transition to kindergarten can help make sure your child is successful in school.

The information  provided below is designed to help you prepare your children for their school experience.

YOU BET, I’M READY FOR K!

Personal Needs Without Help: Can they..

  • put on and take off their coat
  • tie their own shoes
  • wash their hands
  • snap, button, zip & buckle
  • take care of bathroom needs independently

Social Skills: Can they…

  • Listen to an adult & follow simple instructions
  • Cooperate with other children
  • Communicate their wants and needs appropriately
  • Wait their turn
  • Sit for short periods of time
  • Follow simple two step directions

Intellectual Skills: Does your child…

  • Sit and listen to a story
  • Draw a picture and tell about it
  • Hold a book upright and turn the pages
  • Know their first and last name
  • Tell and retell familiar stories
  • Know colors, shapes, and sizes
  • Count 0-20
  • Say the ABC’s
  • Identify most of their upper case letters
  • Hold scissors, crayons, and pencil appropriately
  • Recognize and write their first name (remember to use a capital letter for the first letter in a name. M-a-t-t,  not M-A-T-T)
  • Recognize the letters written in their name

To help with a smooth transition into kindergarten, you can follow these additional helpful ideas:

  • Provide opportunities to play with other children
  • Teach your children social acceptable ways to disagree
  • Encourage social values such as helpfulness, cooperation, sharing, and concern for others

Additional Resources:

  • The Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD is a fun and engaging way to teach children the letters and sounds of the alphabet
  • Starfall.com has several free educational videos and game for teaching children the letters of the alphabet and more!