Kindergarten Readiness Skills:
If your child's preschool years are coming to a close and they are preparing their journey to Kindergarten, your thoughts are beginning to focus on topics such as: What skills do Kindergarten teachers expect students to have? How can I support my child's learning at home now to better prepare them? There are equally important readiness skills that set the stage for your child's learning. Raising an eager learner is the goal and it can be achieved easily through play and day to day activities. Below are readiness skills that kindergarten teachers look for and ways to support your child at home now with them:
~Enthusiasm towards learning: Does the child approach learning enthusiastically? Is she/he eager to explore and discover? Does he/she ask questions, take initiative and persist when tasks are difficult? Parents can set aside a time each day to investigate the world with their child and answer those endless questions, pointing out various items in your child's surroundings, demonstrating how they work, or why. The more children notice, the more curious they will become.
~Solid oral language skills: Research shows that one of the best predictors of later reading success is a well developed oral vocabulary in Kindergarten. PreK children are learning vocabulary at the rate of five to six words a day, they will retain them much quicker through recognition of these words in context and conversation.
~The ability to listen and follow directions
~The desire to be independent and self motivated
~The ability to play well with others; social-emotional development
~Strong fine motor skills
~Developing phonics and phonemic awareness skills; recognizing rhyme patters, syllables, letter names and sounds, etc.
1. State Department Site with Early Childhood Education Information:
2. Raising a Reader Site:
If your child's preschool years are coming to a close and they are preparing their journey to Kindergarten, your thoughts are beginning to focus on topics such as: What skills do Kindergarten teachers expect students to have? How can I support my child's learning at home now to better prepare them? There are equally important readiness skills that set the stage for your child's learning. Raising an eager learner is the goal and it can be achieved easily through play and day to day activities. Below are readiness skills that kindergarten teachers look for and ways to support your child at home now with them:
~Enthusiasm towards learning: Does the child approach learning enthusiastically? Is she/he eager to explore and discover? Does he/she ask questions, take initiative and persist when tasks are difficult? Parents can set aside a time each day to investigate the world with their child and answer those endless questions, pointing out various items in your child's surroundings, demonstrating how they work, or why. The more children notice, the more curious they will become.
~Solid oral language skills: Research shows that one of the best predictors of later reading success is a well developed oral vocabulary in Kindergarten. PreK children are learning vocabulary at the rate of five to six words a day, they will retain them much quicker through recognition of these words in context and conversation.
~The ability to listen and follow directions
~The desire to be independent and self motivated
~The ability to play well with others; social-emotional development
~Strong fine motor skills
~Developing phonics and phonemic awareness skills; recognizing rhyme patters, syllables, letter names and sounds, etc.
1. State Department Site with Early Childhood Education Information:
2. Raising a Reader Site: