How a Child Approaches Learning:

A child ready for Kindergarten demonstrates many of these skills:

• Shows an eagerness to learn; asks many questions.
• Is interested in new things, likes to explore, and has a curious mind.
• Uses imagination during play and when telling stories.
• Completes tasks and projects after starting them; does not get easily frustrated when encountering a problem.
• Works toward solving problems on his or her own.
• Chooses toys to play with and projects on his or her own.
• Creates art projects using own ideas and imagination.
• Follows simple rules.
• Carries out a set of three instructions without adult guidance.

Language and Early Literacy:

A child ready for Kindergarten demonstrates many of these skills:

• Enjoys listening to stories.
• Retells information in sequence from books read to him or her.
• Holds a book correctly; begins to use reading-like behaviors with books and other printed materials.
• Is beginning to understand reading and writing concepts, such as “top-down” and “left-to-right.”
• Knows the difference between print and picture.
• Draws a picture and is able to tell you about it.
• Uses at least two or more simple sentences in a row.
• Recognizes at least 10 letters of the alphabet, especially those in his own name.
• Understands that letters are combined to create words; can identify familiar words in written form (words such as his or her own name, “Mom,” “Dad,” words on common signs, etc.).
• Recognizes and says simple rhymes (hat/cat, etc.).
• Connects letters with sounds.
• “Writes” his or her name or other meaningful words (neat penmanship does not matter!).

Early Math Skills

A Key Predictor of School Success

A child ready for Kindergarten demonstrates many of these skills:

• Counts to at least 10.
• Counts objects and states how many.
• Counts two small groups of objects and states which one has more.
• Identifies basic shapes (circle, square, rectangle, triangle).
• Sorts objects by color, shape, or size.
• Knows common colors (red, green, blue, yellow, orange, black, white).
• Uses comparison words to describe objects (smaller, larger, more, less, same, different, etc.).
• Understands positional concepts and words (up/down, before/after, under/over, top/bottom, small/smaller/smallest, big/bigger/ biggest, etc.).
• Understands general times of day and days of the week.

Social-Emotional Development

A child ready for Kindergarten demonstrates many of these skills:

•  Expresses his or her own wants and needs; does not rely on an adult to express desires.
• Forms relationships with adults and family members close to him or her.
• Talks about emotions (happy, sad, excited, frustrated, worried, etc.).
• Plays well with other children; makes friends on their own.
• Takes turns and shares without being told to do so.
• Recognizes and responds to the feelings of others.
• Resolves conflicts with other children without harming others.
• Calmly ends one activity and moves to another activity without major disruptions, emotional outbursts, etc.
• Pays attention in group activities for at least 10 minutes.

Health and Wellness

A child ready for Kindergarten demonstrates many of these skills:

• Takes care of basic personal needs on own (dresses, washes hands, uses toilet, cleans up after self, etc.).
• Uses fingers and hands for fine motor tasks – as seen when using blocks, beads, crayons, scissors, etc.
• Holds a pencil correctly with thumb and two fingers.
• Hops, jumps, gallops, kicks, catches, rides a tricycle, and throws a ball.
• Visits a doctor and dentist regularly.
• Sleeps on a regular schedule for at least 10 hours per night.
• Is physically active and exercises every day in his or her play.

Science and Technology

A child ready for Kindergarten demonstrates many of these skills:

• Explores materials and activities using the five senses: hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch.
• Holds a basic understanding of the natural world (rain is wet, sun is hot, snow is cold, humans have an impact on their natural world, etc.).
• Knows the difference between living and non-living things.
• Observes the outside world and can explain simple natural concepts (leaves change colors in the fall, water and sun make plants grow in the summer, snow melts and turns to water, etc.).
• Describes objects by using concepts such as “hot/cold, hard/soft, up/down, wet/dry,” etc.
• Has had exposure to technology as a learning tool; is able to use basic functions of a computer on his or her own.