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Kindergarten Readiness Skills

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Parents of students entering kindergarten often question what a child should know before their first day of school. Parents and families play an integral role as their child's first teacher. Children learn in different ways and at different rates, coming to school with varying skills. 

We encourage our families to begin working with their student(s) at home. To support our families, we have highlighted some of the skills that children need to know to be prepared for kindergarten. Reading aloud 20 minutes a day helps children master these skills.

Social-emotional skills

  • Plays cooperatively with two or more peers
  • Shows kindness and concern for others
  • Has the ability to concentrate on a task for at least five minutes
  • Can clean up after themselves
  • Can go to the bathroom independently
  • Can follow simple directions

Physical

  • Can run, jump and gallop
  • Can throw and catch a large ball
  • Can cut with scissors
  • Can buckle, zip, snap, and button
  • Can hold and use a pencil

Language

  • Can use words to express his or her thoughts and needs
  • Can name and describe familiar items/things in his or her world
  • Can talk about things that happened in the past in detail
  • Speaks clearly and is understood by most people
  • Can speak in 4-6 word sentences
  • Can have a conversation on one topic with another person, and has the ability to take turns talking

Cognitive

  • Can think of more than one way to solve a problem
  • Is curious and wants to find answers 
  • Can group things by color, shape, or size
  • Has the ability to be flexible and creative in play and problem-solving

Math

  • Can count to 10-20 objects, pointing to each object
  • Can count out loud, in order, at least up to 20
  • Matches and sorts simple shapes
  • Uses words to describe things by size, shape, and weight (ex. big, round, heavy)
  • Can put things in order (1st, 2nd, 3rd)

Literacy

  • Knows 5-10 rhymes or children's songs
  • Knows if words start with the same sound (ex. blue, bird)
  • Reads with an adult or listens to a story daily. He or she can talk about and retell a story
  • Can write his or her name and identify letters
  • Can say the alphabet