Getting Ready for Kindergarten!

If you’re a kindergarten teacher or a parent of a kindergartener, getting ready for the first weeks of Kindergarten can feel very overwhelming! Below you’ll find some basic tips on how students can prepare for the first week of Kindergarten and a free flier for teachers to send out to families of registered students as well. 

Kindergarten Readiness can be divided into 3 main pillars: 

Academic Readiness, Independence, and Social Emotional Readiness.

Below you will find all the information you need to make sure your child is ready for kindergarten.

Academic Readiness: This is determined by what most curriculums and standardized tests assume students know. There can be many floating opinions on Kindergarten readiness and ultimately most of these standards and expectations are not decided by teachers but by the powers that created standards, curriculums, and standardized tests. 

1. Students are expected to read and write their first names before Kindergarten: Is this an ABSOLUTE MUST?! 

Short answer-no.

Long answer-its definitely helpful for kids to have practice writing their first names even if it’s not perfect. Just the general knowledge of what letters are in their name and how to put them together can be useful tools for kids to bring into their first full-time school experience. 

2. Know most uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet: is this an ABSOLUTE MUST?! 

Short answer-no. 

Long answer-most curriculums and assessments for the start of kindergarten do expect kids to know most of their letters because they start the year off with a teaching focus of letter sounds and phonics.

3. Count to 10 and identify numbers 1-10: is this an ABSOLUTE MUST?!

Short answer: kinda?

Long answer: Even if they mix up their number identification being able to count to at LEAST 10 is very helpful before starting Kindergarten.

4. Draw and color a picture using different colors: is this an ABSOLUTE MUST?!

Short answer: it definitely helps

Long Answer: there really isn’t one.

Functional Independence: when students can accomplish general functional skills independently it gives them the confidence and mental capacity to focus on their academics

1. Independently Getting Dressed: this helps us in the months when students

need to put their outwear on for recess and dismissal. This is also helpful for bathroom usage as well or if students have bathroom accidents at school and need to get dressed in new clothes at school.Velcro gym shoes are always preferred until students learn how to tie shoes independently at home. PRO TIP: leave an extra set of clothes in your childs backpack incase any accidents ever happen at school. It will ensure that kiddo gets cleaned up ASAP after the accident and they can return right to class without a big disruption in their day. 

2. Independent Bathroom Usage: before starting Kindergarten most teachers do expect students to be able to use the bathroom independently as we cannot help students in the bathroom and it can be a disruption to learning if the student is unable to use the bathroom independently. PRACTICE going potty in public spaces without help. It sounds silly but can make a big difference! Sometime the little one gets too nervous to use the bathroom so they hold it too long. It can sound silly but something like using the bathroom can make a kid pretty nervous at school so if we can get them comfortable in any way possible before coming to school, any bit helps! I’ve also had some parents send kids to school with baby wipes because their kid is more comfortable using baby wipes. Sounds silly to talk about the bathroom this much but it makes a big difference for Kindergarteners!

3. Lunchtime Practice: Let the student practice opening their lunchbox, juice box, or milk carton then set a timer for 20 minutes. This will help students get used to the setup when they have lunchtime in school. Also, if your childs school offers hot lunch options discuss with your child if they are “hot lunch” or “cold lunch.” Many kinders get confused by the new vocabulary! 

Social Emotional Readiness:

1. Exposure to kids their own age in structured and/or unstructured settings can help students prepare for the structure of starting Kindergarten and being in a new environment with a lot of new kids. Settings like daycare, preschool, any kinds of sports or community center activities for kindergarten/preschoolers are all great opportunities for students to get used to other kids and for kids to get familiar with some new adults as well! 

2. Practicing identifying emotions and self-expression of needs and wants. “I feel___” “I don’t like___.” A lot of this helps students to regulate their emotions and it helps students to be able to express themselves to their teacher as well. This is a skill that develops tremendously as kids grow up as well, but the sooner they can get started with it the stronger they will be!

An important thing to note: these are VERY GENERALIZED goals for students to have before starting kindergarten. With full awareness of different abilities and various levels of growth and development, it is impossible for 100% of all Kindergarten students to walk through the door with all of these skills mastered. And it is OK if students are still working on these skills after they start Kindergarten. Every kid is on their own journey of growth and success! This is a VERY basic and generalized outline of some goals kids and families can work towards the summer before starting those first weeks of Kindergarten. All of this is based on what curriculums, standards, and most state testing would expect of our students. While there is a lot of discourse and varying opinions on the workload and expectations that Kinders have to deal with- this is the reality of our education system at this current time and the more aware we are the better we can help our kids. 

I never want any teachers, parents, or students to feel the need to compare themselves to others. We can only compare ourselves to our own starting point, and that’s different for everyone! Everything is a learning curve and ALL students are fully capable of being successful even if they haven’t mastered these skills before the start of Kindergarten.