Is my child ready for kindergarten?


BASIC LIST OF SKILLS SCHOOLS EXPECT CHILDREN TO HAVE BEFORE ENTERING KINDERGARTEN.

Use this list or a list provided by the kindergarten your children will enter as a guide in preparing them for school.

 

General expectations

 

Most school lists suggest that children should be able to do the following: 

  • Handle all personal needs, such as going to the bathroom or putting on a coat

  • Play harmoniously with other children, share toys and games and respect the property of others

  • Handle conflict situations

  • Make simple choices

  • Speak clearly enough to be understood

  • Express their own needs and wants

  • Follow rules and understand the need for them

  • Know and follow basic safety rules

  • Follow simple directions

  • Be happy away from home

Academic expectations


Children who are well prepared for the academic side of school should be able to accomplish the following tasks most of the time:

  • Tell their right hand from their left

  • Have a basic understanding of how to use crayons paints, paste and clay

  • Draw rather than scribble

  • Speak in complete sentences, avoiding baby talk

  • Name common objects correctly

  • Tell or retell a story

  • Work independently for at least five minutes

  • Listen to a story for five to ten minutes

  • Listen to a rhyme and hear similarities and differences

  • Copy simple shapes

  • Bounce and catch a ball, showing the hand-eye coordination necessary for reading and math

  • Recognize similarities and differences in the sizes, shapes and colors of objects

  • Follow a series of three directions