As preschoolers transition into kindergarten, parents are often concerned about what skills or information their child will need to know in order to ensure that their first year of school is a success.
Stacey Kannenberg, co-author of the award winning books Let's Get Ready for Kindergarten! [Cedar Valley Publishing, 2006] and Let's Get Ready For First Grade! [Cedar Valley Publishing, 2006]suggests the following 7 things kindergartners need to know and may be tested on within the first month of kindergarten:
7 Things Kindergartners Need to Know
- The upper case alphabet out of sequence or mixed up. Children will be asked to name the letters listed, such as: B, D, X, K, J, M, O, etc.
- The numbers to 10, out of sequence or mixed up. Children will be asked to name the letters, listed, such as: 2, 5, 9, 8, 1, 3, 4, etc.
- Children will be asked to identify basic colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple
- Your child will be asked to identify basic shapes: circle, diamond, rectangle, triangle, oval and square.
- Children will be asked to identify basic coins: penny, nickel and dime.
- Your child will be asked to count objects to 10
- Kids will be asked how far they can count to 100.
The results of the evaluation are shared with parents at their first parent-teacher conference.
In addition, kindergartners will need to know, out of sequence, both upper and lowercase letters and numbers up to 30 as the year advances. “More colors and shapes will be added including hexagon and octagon and more coins such as quarter and dollar. Children need to know their name, address and phone number and be able to get dressed for outside play and use the bathroom independently, to make that first year a success,” says Kannenberg.
While preschool plays a large part in promoting kindergarten readiness, parents can help encourage kindergarten school skills at home.
According to Kirstin Parsons from Get Set for SchoolTM, a new curriculum focused on helping preschool children prepare for kindergarten, suggests a few activities from the curriculum that parents can do to encourage these skills in preschoolers:
- Read -Reading with your child shows your children the importance of communicating through words.
- Draw - Children who draw often write better. Giving young drawers broken pieces of chalk or crayons to use forces them to hold the small pieces correctly.
- Cook - Make letters out of cookies to familiarize children with letters and to teach the importance of following directions.
- Sing – Sing the alphabet, showing your child letters as you sing. Sing songs that use their fingers, like the “Itsy Bitsy Spider:
- Move – Use and teach spatial words like “under, over, top, middle, and bottom”, along with visual representations. For example, go to the “top” of the slide or put one hand “under” the other.
- Live and Learn – Children can learn while participating in everyday activities. “Explain the concept of waiting in line when you are at the supermarket, re-iterate body parts as a child dresses or undresses; use bath time to count toys in the tub, draw letters on the wall of the tub in shaving cream and learn how to pour water from a pitcher”, says Parsons.
Preparing your child for kindergarten does not have to be stressful or strained. By including simple, fun learning activities in their daily lives your preschooler can enjoy a successful assessment after the first month of kindergarten.
For more information about kindergarten readiness, see Signs of Kindergarten Readiness.
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