🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🏫 School Readiness — Activities that practice school-like expectations — sitting at a table, listening to instructions, transitioning between activities — directly prepare children for the structure of a kindergarten day.
• 📚 Pre-Literacy Skills — Letter knowledge, phonological awareness, and print concepts developed before kindergarten are the strongest predictors of first-grade reading success — and every literacy-rich preschool experience compounds this advantage.
• 😌 Emotional Self-Regulation — Learning to handle frustration, excitement, disappointment, and transitions without adult intervention is the kindergarten readiness skill that teachers consistently identify as most important — and hardest to teach quickly.
• 🔢 Early Mathematical Thinking — Hands-on counting, sorting, pattern work, and early number sense build the mathematical foundation that kindergarten math curriculum builds on and that research consistently links to long-term math achievement.

How do I know my preschooler is ready for kindergarten? Many skills are needed for kindergarten. To succeed in school, preschoolers must be prepared with self-help skills, academic skills and motor skills. This article will address skills a typical preschooler will need to be ready for kindergarten. A preschooler's learning occurs at an individual rate. Your preschooler may not have mastered everything on this list, but check back occasionally. As you return to this page, you will see the skills your preschooler acquires in a short period of time.

Self Help Skills

- Separates easily from me for short periods of time
- Follows simple rules
- Handles toilet needs independently
- Washes hands without assistance
- Shows self-control
- Buttons, zips, snaps clothing

Look for opportunities to practice these skills. Allow your preschooler to dress and undress themselves. Leave them with another caregiver for a few hours. Be consistent with rules, so when it is time for school, your preschooler is already practiced at following them.

Cognitive Skills (Reading & Math)

- Knows position concepts, such as over, under, in front of, behind

• Identifies shapes
  
• Identifies colors
  
• Uses 5 to 6 word sentences
  
• Recognizes name and common words
  
• Recognizes and identifies several letters
  
• "Reads" environmental print (i.e. STOP signs)
  
• Knows letters make sounds
  
• Identifies rhyming words
  
• Counts to 10 by memory (rote counting)
  
• Identifies groups of items up to 5
  
• Sorts items of similar size, shape, and colors
  
• Identifies patterns

Make every outing a field trip for your preschooler. A trip to the grocery store is an amazing learning experience. Discuss the packages in the store, name colors, shapes, letters and numbers to build reading and math skills. Make up rhymes while waiting in line. Count the people in line ahead of you. Not only does your preschooler learn, but it also passes the time quickly and keeps your preschooler busy!

Motor Skills

- Holds a pencil with a "tripod" grip

• Bounces a ball
  
• Climbs, jumps, hops, kicks
  
• Pedals a tricycle
  
• Copies lines
  
• Draws a circle
  
• Traces letters and shapes

Provide paper and writing utensils for your preschooler to practice their fine motor skills. Scrap paper and pencils are fine, color books and worksheets are often difficult for a preschooler! Allow plenty of outside time to work on gross motor skills. Outdoor play is a great time to develop healthy habits and build those motor skills.

As your preschooler accomplishes more of these skills, they are becoming more and more prepared for kindergarten. Find many fun ways to help your preschooler realize kindergarten readiness goals at PreschoolRock.com.

Helpful Tips for Parents - Children who can share a story from their day, describe what happened sequentially, and ask and answer questions are linguistically ready for kindergarten. - Children who have been read to consistently for years enter kindergarten with dramatically larger vocabularies than peers who haven't — and vocabulary is the strongest single predictor of reading success. - Fine motor activities — playdough, cutting, drawing, threading beads — should be daily priorities in the months before kindergarten to ensure writing readiness. - The ability to regulate emotions — to calm down from upset without adult intervention — is one of the most important kindergarten readiness skills and one of the hardest to teach in a hurry. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How do I support my child's learning once they start kindergarten? The most evidence-supported home supports during kindergarten: continue daily read-alouds (this remains beneficial through at least 5th grade), ask specific rather than general questions about school ("What made you laugh today?" rather than "How was school?"), maintain a consistent sleep schedule, ensure adequate physical activity after school, and communicate regularly with the teacher. Avoid excessive homework help — children who struggle independently and develop problem-solving strategies benefit more than those whose parents complete the work. ### How do I know if my child is ready for kindergarten? Most states use age (typically 5 by September 1 of the school year) as the primary kindergarten readiness criterion. Developmental readiness across four domains is more meaningful: cognitive (can attend to a task for 10+ minutes, shows curiosity, can follow 2–3 step directions), language (speaks clearly enough for strangers to understand, can retell a simple story), social-emotional (can manage emotions enough to participate in group activities, separates from parents without extended distress), and physical (has basic self-care skills, has developed adequate fine and gross motor skills for classroom activities). Related reading: See also our social skills readiness guide and our writing readiness guide for more ideas on this topic.