Kindergarten is a very important stage in every child’s life. A stage that kid’s should be allowed to play, explore, and learn.
In this article, you will be introduce to a list of kindergarten readiness skills based upon a preschool inventory given to children at a local Pre-Kindergarten program.
You can use it as a guiding document or a check list of the things you should be teaching your kids before kindergarten.
PERSONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
LEARNING
- Shows an eagerness to learn and age-appropriate curiosity
- Persists in completing a task and is willing to ask for help if needed
- Exemplifies a pleasant and cooperative personality
SELF-CONTROL
- Follows rules and routines
- Manages transitions (going from one activity to the next)
- Demonstrates normal activity level
INTERACTIONS WITH OTHERS
- Interacts easily with one or more children
- Interacts easily with familiar adults
- Participates in group activities
- Plays well with others
- Takes turns and shares
- Cleans up after play
CONFLICT RESOLUTION
- Seeks adult help when needed to resolve conflicts
- Uses words to resolve conflicts
LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
LISTENING
- Listens attentively to directions and conversations
- Follows one and two-step directions
SPEAKING
- Speaks clearly and can be easily understood without the need for contextual clues
- Can sequence events in an oral conversation
LITERATURE AND READING
- Listens with interest to stories read aloud
- Shows interest in reading-related activities
- Retells information from a story
WRITING
- Uses pictures to communicate ideas
- Scribbles, draws shapes, or attempts to create letter-like symbols to write words or ideas
ALPHABET KNOWLEDGE
- Recites/sings alphabet
- Identifies upper-case letters
- Identifies lower-case letters
- Matches upper-case letters to the lower-case letter counterpart
MATHEMATICAL THINKING
PATTERNS AND RELATIONSHIPS
- Sorts by color, shape, and size
- Orders or seriates several objects on the basis of one attribute (i.e. “size”– small, medium, large)
- Recognizes simple patterns and duplicates them (i.e. circle, square, circle, square)
NUMBER CONCEPT AND OPERATIONS
- Rote counts to 20
- Demonstrates one-to-one correspondence when counting 10 objects
- Matches oral numbers to their written numerals
- Identifies numerals 0-10
GEOMETRY AND SPATIAL RELATIONS
- Identifies 4 shapes- circle, square, rectangle, triangle
- Demonstrates concepts of positional/directional concepts (up/down, over/under, in/out, behind/in front of, beside/between, top/bottom, inside/outside, above/below, high/low, right/left, off/on, first/last, far/near, go/stop).
Measurement
- Shows understanding of and uses comparative words (big/little, large/small, short/long, tall/short, slow/fast, few/many, empty/full, less/more).
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
GROSS-MOTOR SKILLS
- Pedals and steers a tricycle
- Jumps in place, landing on two feet
- Jumps consecutively- 7 jumps
- Balances on one foot for 5 seconds
- Hops on one foot 2-3 hops
- Hops on one foot- 6 ft.
- Throws a ball with direction- 5 ft.
- Catches a thrown ball with arms and body
- Climbs a playground ladder
- Skips smoothly for 20 feet
FINE-MOTOR SKILLS
- Stacks 10 small blocks
- Strings large beads
- Completes a seven-piece interlocking puzzle
- Makes a pancake, snake, and ball from playdough
- Grasps pencil correctly
- Copies: vertical line, horizontal line, circle, cross, square, V, triangle
- Prints first name
- Grasps scissors correctly
- Cuts within 1/4″ of a straight line
- Cuts out a small square, triangle, and circle
- Uses a glue stick appropriately
- Uses appropriate amount of glue for tasks
THE ARTS
CREATIVE ARTS
- Identifies 10 colors: red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, black, white, brown, pink
- Uses a variety of art materials for tactile experience and exploration (paint, crayons, markers, clay, etc)
- Enjoys singing
- Dances like no one is watching
- Makes believe with objects
- Takes on pretend roles and situations
Remember parents, this list is just a guide.
If you’re looking for some practical suggestions on things you can do to help you identify your child’s learning style, then check this out https://www.excellenthomeclasses.com/guide-to-better-grade/
About The Author
Emmanuel Asiedu is a Content Writer and a Home Tuition Analyst at Excellent Home Classes.
He helps connect parents and students to expert tutors all over the country.
You can reach him via email: info@excellenthomeclasses.com or visit: www.excellenthomeclasses.com