Starting kindergarten is a big step in a child’s life, and when it comes to kindergarten readiness, there are many things that parents can do to help.
The list below includes some of the early academic indicators of kindergarten readiness. It’s by no means comprehensive, but it will provide you with an understanding of what will be expected of your child as well as offer tips to help you prepare him or her for a successful transition to kindergarten.
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child listens to and understands stories.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Begin to read board books to your child as an infant.
- Read the complete story first, for enjoyment, without interruptions.
- During additional readings, ask questions about the story, and encourage your child to ask questions.
- Let your child turn pages, showing that he or she knows it’s a story.
- Gradually introduce longer books that require more patience and focus.
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child can retell stories that have been read to him or her
or tell original stories.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Have your child reread a familiar book and try to retell it.
- Read nursery rhymes together, and encourage your child retell them.
- Provide puppets or flannel board cutouts that your child can use in retelling the stories.
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child can find matching objects.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Have your child practice matching objects, such as:
- socks from the laundry,
- pencils or pens,
- earrings, and
- food cans in the pantry.
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child can sort objects by their attributes: color, shape,
size, and function, such as things that roll and things he
or she can write with.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Once your child can match objects, encourage him or her to practice sorting them into categories like these:
- Color: Find all the blue shirts, silver coins, and red blocks.
- Size: Put big bath towels in one stack and small face towels in another.
- Shape: Find all the round objects in the room.
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child can identify words that rhyme.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Talk about how some words rhyme: that is, the last part of the words sounds the same.
- Have your child find the rhyming words in nursery rhymes; for example,
- Jill and hill rhyme in Jack and Jill;
- Humpty and Dumpty rhyme in Humpty Dumpty; and
- dock and clock rhyme in Hickory Dickory Dock.
- Play rhyming word games, such as “I know a word that rhymes with house. . . . It is a little animal. . . . It is a . . . mouse!”
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child can identify patterns.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Point out patterns as you go about your day, such as patterns in clothing,
in plants along a street, and in books you read. - Play pattern-guessing games by arranging objects in a pattern
(for example, two red, one blue; two red, one blue), and ask your
child to identify the pattern.
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child can name colors.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Discuss the names of the colors; show how some colors can be made by combining other colors (For example, red and white makes pink.).
- Read books about colors, such as The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown and A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni.
- Use watercolors to paint, and ask your child to mix colors and name them.
- Ask your child to name the colors around him or her, such as in his or her room, on his or her clothes, and in the crayon box.
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child can identify some letters and numbers.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Help your child start to distinguish letters in simple words that he or she often sees written. Begin with the letters in his or her name.
- Point out numbers on everything, such as on money, clocks, signs, phones, and the TV remote.
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child begins to understand that letters stand for the sounds
he or she hears in words.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Talk about sounds for some of the letters in your child’s name, in books, and in other words that he or she often sees during the day.
- Write your child’s name and other simple words on a piece of paper or a dry-erase board to show how letters form words.
- Use magnetic letters on a refrigerator to make real and nonsense words, and sound them out with your child.
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child recognizes some signs.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Ask your child to “read” words seen during his or her daily routine, such as stop on the stop sign, walk at a crosswalk, gas at a gas station, and the names of favorite stores or restaurants.
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child begins to recognize some sight words.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Have your child point out words, such as the, a, an, and, I, me, is, was, are, go, and stop, that he or she sees often as you read books together.
- Write sight words on index cards, and play word games, such as a memory matching game, with your child.
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child begins to “write” by scribbling; drawing; or imitating letters, numbers, forms, or shapes.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Give your child paper and writing tools in a shoebox that he or she can use to begin to write, draw, or create shapes.
- Give your child a paintbrush and a bowl of water to “paint” on the sidewalk or driveway. (Talk about evaporation as his or her creations disappear.)
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child understands how numbers are used.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Show your child how numbers are used in everyday life, such as:
- to count items;
- to keep track of money, distance, weight, and length; and
- to measure amounts used in cooking.
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child can count to 20.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Look for opportunities to count items out loud for and with your child, such as:
- setting the table,
- sorting clothes,
- measuring ingredients, and
- organizing toys.
- Encourage and help your child to count objects he or she sees during the day, such as:
- stairs,
- cups of water, and
- streetlights
Kindergarten-Readiness Indicator:
Your child understands how some words are opposites: up and down, big and little, tall and short, quiet and loud, as well as light and heavy.
WHAT FAMILIES CAN DO
- Point out examples of opposites that you see.
- Play an opposite-guessing game: “The opposite of day is . . . night!”
Remember, while kindergarten-readiness skills are important and will contribute to a strong foundation for future academic success, the activities that lead up to kindergarten readiness should be enjoyable for your child. Make them fun family times and part of your daily routine so that your child begins to view learning as a positive and natural experience.