If you have a preschooler, you may be wondering what skills they need to have in order to be ready for kindergarten. Standards may vary from state to state, but there are some basic skills that all children should work on prior to going into kindergarten to help them be successful. And the most important kindergarten readiness skills might not be what you think! Many kindergarten teachers report that social skills are even more important for kiddos to do well in kindergarten than academic skills. Keep reading for an outline of some basic kindergarten readiness skills you can help your preschooler master so they are ready to soar in kindergarten!

Literacy Skills

If a child goes into kindergarten knowing all of their letter names and sounds, they are already ahead of the game! To be ready for kindergarten, children should know that letters have specific sounds, and be able to identify some upper and lowercase letters (especially the ones in their name). They should be able to identify rhyming words and the first sounds in words. They should be using beginning writing skills to express their own ideas (even if that just looks like scribbles or approximations of letters). They should be able to listen to and respond to a story that an adult reads to them, and speak clearly in complete sentences.

Math Skills

To be ready for kindergarten, children should be able to count to at least 10 correctly, but 30 is even better! They should also be able to count objects with one to one correspondence, meaning counting by touching one object at a time. They should be able to sort by different attributes (size, color, shape, etc.). They should also know their colors and shapes, and that includes being able to draw different shapes.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills is one area where a lot of children struggle going into kindergarten! It is so important to practice these skills at preschool and at home. Ideally, and child going into kindergarten can write his or her own name. They should also know how to hold a pencil with the correct tripod grip, turn pages in a book, and use scissors and glue sticks independently.

Large Motor Skills

A child going into kindergarten should have some strong large motor skills to help them be more independent at school. These include being able to walk, run, hop, and jump. They should be able to throw and kick a ball, and balance on one foot for a few seconds. Providing your child opportunities to develop their large motor skills is easily done by playing outside.

Self-Help Skills

This is where we get into those kindergarten readiness skills that are even more important than academics! To be successful in kindergarten, and child needs to know how to eat independently, including using a cup. They should also be able to use the bathroom by themselves and wash their hands correctly. They need to know how to ask questions if they needs help and clean up after they make a mess. One very important skill that often gets overlooked is knowing how to put on and fasten clothes, especially coats and shoes. Its true that adults can help them at home with this skill easily, but when a kindergarten teacher has 20 or more students in their class, it is so helpful when a child has been taught how to do those things independently!

Social and Emotional Skills

This is another section of skills that should be top priority when assessing if a child is ready for kindergarten. A child should be able to share and take turns in order to be successful in kindergarten. This may not be a hundred percent of the time, but they should have some social knowledge of how to do those things and why it is important. They should be able to play cooperatively with others and show concern for them when they get hurt. They should be able to identify and appropriately express their emotions and the emotions of others. They should also be able to tell an adult their first and last name and the first and last names of their parents.

Conclusion

Whew! We know, that seems like A LOT of skills for a little person to know! The good news is, so many of these skills are things that are learned naturally as a child goes through their toddler and preschool years and are easily taught both at home and at preschool. We’ve condensed everything into a handy kindergarten readiness checklist for you to download below, and be sure to check out our other blog post about kindergarten readiness which will outline some easy and fun ways to teach all of these skills!

Free Download

Click the button below to grab your free kindergarten readiness checklist! This list is not exhaustive, but will give you a good idea of some of the skills to practice with your child to ensure that are ready to move on to kindergarten.

kindergarten readiness checklist