is my child ready for kindergarten checklist

Compare their family’s rules with those of friends’ families.

Know and sometimes correctly use grammatical endings like “-ed” or “-ing”.

Tell you about something that happened during their day.

Have a spoken vocabulary of 1,000 to 1,500 words and be able to understand around 4,000 words-though we wouldn’t recommend trying to count ❤️.

String up to eight words together into a sentence.

As your child prepares for kindergarten, they may: The more vocabulary they have, the more fun they’ll have with words. Many 4-year-olds can hold longer conversations complete with pauses, sentences, turn-taking, and questions. The Daily Helper Board is a visual tool your child can use to keep track of their household contributions like setting the table or sorting their socks.īy the time your child starts school, you’ll likely have noticed a major improvement in their language skills, especially in social settings.

Provide opportunities for them to play cooperatively with other children in pairs and small groups.

In the book “ Charlie Learns Something New,” a young girl learns what frustration feels like and some ways to manage it.

Teach your child ways to manage big feelings, like stopping to take a couple of deep breaths or go sit in a comfy chair when they’re upset.The Show, Tell & Think Empathy Game, for example, includes charades, impromptu storytelling, and “what ifs” related to emotions and social situations. Books and games are great tools to help your child explore emotions. Help them identify and express their feelings.Ways to support your child’s social-emotional skills development: Go along with the rules of a group during play.Understand the difference between doing things on purpose and by accident.Show an understanding of right and wrong.Pass food and drinks at the table and ask for them to be passed.Be able to share their own possessions-sometimes 🙃.Play with a group of three or more children.Sometimes say “please,” “thank you,” and “I’m sorry” without a prompt.Your child may begin to better identify, name, and talk about their feelings and the feelings of others. In photo: Daily Helper Board Social-emotional skillsĪge 4 is an important year for social-emotional growth-the parts of your child’s brain linked with emotional self-regulation and language skills are growing rapidly. The best way to build your child’s independence is to first do tasks together. Practice mindful breathing with your child a tool like the Calming Circle and Breathing Activities Guide can help.Provide opportunities for your child to practice self self-care, like allowing them to brush their own teeth or pick out and put on their own pajamas.Help your child make sense time and when events are happening with a tool like the Plan Ahead Week Board.Encourage them to follow multi-step directions, like helping with a recipe.Ways to support your child’s executive function development: Correctly use basic time words (yesterday, today, tomorrow).Carry out four simple related tasks in order: hang up their backpack, hang up their coat, come to the rug, and sit down.Remain on task five to 10 minutes in a distracting environment like a classroom.Stay with an engaging task for 10 minutes without supervision.Use self-regulation strategies-with your help-like deep breaths and self-talk.

Beginning around age 4, your child experiences the first of two developmental surges in executive function the second spans adolescence to early adulthood. In photo: Calming Circle Executive functionĮxecutive function is a broad set of skills including working memory, flexible thinking, and impulse control-all of which contribute to your child’s growing independence. Remember that no kindergartener has mastered them all-each child has different strengths, interests, and experiences, making their development path as unique as they are ❤️ Taking deep breaths while manipulating an object can help children manage frustration. To help get them ready for school, try to offer your pre-kindergartener play activities and tools across these six categories of skills:īelow, you’ll find details about the skills that develop between ages 4 and 6 in each of these categories and ideas to help your child practice them. What kinds of skills is your pre-kindergartner developing?Īt ages 4 and 5, your child’s interests play a large role in which skills develop first. The best thing you can do, development experts say, is look for opportunities for your child to practice skills in several key areas. How will you know if your child is ready for kindergarten? There are plenty of checklists, and yet no two are alike 🙃 That’s because there isn’t a universal standard for what children should know before kindergarten-readiness assessments can vary by state or even school district.

Is my child ready for kindergarten checklist