Demystifying Kindergarten Readiness Skills
A child ready for kindergarten could walk in on the first day of school prepared, confident, and excited! A child ready for kindergarten could also walk in hesitant, nervous, and unsure of themselves. Both, and everything in between, are normal. We promise! Let’s take a closer look at what skills an incoming kindergartner might need to make the transition to school easier, because school is starting in just a few weeks!
Social-Emotional Skills
Kindergarten is a time when some children learn how to interact with peers for the first time. Setting up playdates prior to their first day of school for your child to play and cooperate with other kids their age will greatly benefit them. Sharing, taking turns, and problem solving are all crucial skills for a positive social experience in school. You don’t want kindergarten to be the first time they’ve had to share crayons or wait their turn to talk. Giving your child chances to practice these at home or with family and friends will be invaluable.
Emotionally, not only do kindergartners need lots of opportunities to experience and recognize their emotions, but they also need to see healthy ways to handle them. Part of what you can do to prepare them for kindergarten is to model appropriate emotional regulation. If you’re sad, show them it’s ok to be sad and how you’re dealing with it. If you’re scared, share what you’re doing to address that emotion. If you’re excited, let them feel your joy with you! And when they experience their emotions, help them name the emotion and guide them in positive coping skills. The more they’re familiar with their emotions, the easier it will be to self-regulate when it’s time for them to stay in the kindergarten classroom independently.
Social-Emotional skills are the foundation for academic learning. If a child is struggling emotionally or has difficulty being with other kids, it’s going to be that much harder to write their name or count to 20.
Motor Skills
Kindergartners love to run, jump, and climb! Which is a good thing, because those are important gross motor skills to develop for kindergarten. But even more importantly are the fine motor skills. Holding a pencil, cutting with scissors, zipping their jacket, and opening milk cartons are examples of the things they’ll do every day that involve fine motor. Being able to do those things skillfully on their own is part of the fine motor skill development they’ll need to be ready for school. Slowly having you be less and less of the process of doing those things will help them become more independent in completing them. Maybe you start the zipper and have them do the rest. Or do hand-over-hand when writing letters with a pencil and then let them do some on their own. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect!
Academic Skills
Academic skills are necessary for kindergarten readiness, don’t get us wrong. But the skills we described above at times trump the academics when it comes to being ready for school. Nonetheless, letter recognition, shape identification, and knowing basic colors are all the types of academic skills we think about for kindergarten readiness. We wouldn’t recommend sitting children down and drilling them with flashcards. That’s not the best way for kids to learn. Use their surroundings and familiar environment! Point out letters at the store, find colors at the park, or talk about the shapes you see at a restaurant. Connecting abstract concepts like letters and colors to concrete items they interact with regularly will solidify those skills more strongly as they learn.
Child Care Choices is committed to helping children start kindergarten with the skills they need to thrive. We have several resources available for families and providers. Families can find information about our work to improve Kindergarten Readiness and use our hub for Kindergarten Registration Information, and child care providers can learn how our Kindergarten Readiness Initiative benefits them as well.