When my oldest went to kindergarten, I was certain she was ready. She loved the concept of school and learning new things and making friends. She was born early in the year and could already write her name. It was going to be great!
When my oldest went to kindergarten, I was certain she was ready. She loved the concept of school and learning new things and making friends. She was born early in the year and could already write her name. It was going to be great! What I didn’t know was that socially, she still struggled a little.
The next year, I sent my middle daughter off to kindergarten at just 3-years old. I fretted over everything from her being able to open up her lunch containers to her being exhausted all day long. How was she supposed to learn to read and write on top of all this?
When I look back at it, I think I may have learned almost as much as my kids did after their kindergarten years. Which is why I feel like now, with a little experience under my belt, I can safely say that, yes, there are some things your kids should know—but it’s not all about reading and writing. And they absolutely don’t have to be mastered by day 1 of kindergarten.
So, if you’re worried about sending your weeble off to kindie, here are a few things that are good to know.
What Your Child Should Know:
Letter Recognition – Knowing most of the alphabet, being able to sing it, being able to identify some letters, being able to identify their name. These are all things that will help your child feel more confident about school. My oldest had it down cold. My middle needed more work at it. So if your child can’t recite the entire alphabet backward and forwards, don’t worry too much. Starting with letter recognition is key.
Writing & Fine Motor Skills – This is an area where they don’t have to have it mastered, but you can help them along. Try tracing letters, especially the letters in their name. You can do it with a pencil or marker, but you can also try it with finger painting, shaving cream or sugar in a pan.
Number Recognition and One-to-One Counting – Can they point to items and count them one at a time? (1, 2, 3, 4 cats!) or do they see them and count all in a jumble (123456 cats!)? If they can recognize numbers and do some beginning counting, it will help them along the way.
How to Open Lunch Containers – Ensuring they can open their lunch containers is key. They’ve got little hands, so make sure you practice with easy-to-open containers like the ones mentioned here.
Manners – This might be their first time without you in the big world. They should know how important it is to be polite and respectful to their peers and their teachers. ‘Please’ and ‘thank you’ goes a long way.
How to Use the Washroom Alone – If they’re still mastering buttons and zippers, maybe get them some jogging pants and leggings for the first little while. They should also be able to wipe effectively. Time to get practicing!
How to Say What They’re Feeling – My oldest struggled with this one a little. Instead of using words, she would often cry. I wish I had prepped her for expressing her emotions with her teachers and friends through words. It’s a good idea to let your child know they don’t have to like everything, but they have to follow rules and they have to use words to express their feelings. (My daughter’s an expert at it now at 8-years old!)
How to Put Their Sho