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