Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Kindergarten Readiness



Have you ever wondered what exactly your child needs to know before kindergarten?  

Here is a list based upon a Preschool Inventory given to children at the very end of our local Pre-Kindergarten program.  I was looking through my old student-teaching notebook and came across this list (granted, it is six years old).  It was used as both a guiding document as well as an assessment at the end of the year.  
I did not come up with this list.


Please keep in mind as you look over this list that  kids learn best with hands-on experiences, not memorization or drill practice!  These early years with our children should be about fostering a love to play, explore, and learn!  Also, it is important to note that our children are all different and gifted in unique ways.  Obviously, if your child has special needs, exceptionalities, or is delayed in a particular area, this won’t necessarily be relevant to your child.  This is simply a guide…not something to stress about!  Finally, all areas of development are of equal importance to young children!  Gross motor and social development tasks are just as important as cognitive and pre-reading tasks at this age.

Have fun learning together through games and various experiences while still encouraging your child’s natural creativity!

Personal and Social Development

Approach to learning
Small black square                Shows eagerness and curiosity as a learner
Small black square                Persists in task and seeks help when encountering a problem
Small black square                Is generally pleasant and cooperative

Self-Control
Small black square                Follows rules and routines
Small black square                Manages transitions (going from one activity to the next)
Small black square                Demonstrates normal activity level

Interactions with Others
Small black square                Interacts easily with one or more children
Small black square                Interacts easily with familiar adults
Small black square                Participates in group activities
Small black square                Plays well with others
Small black square                Takes turns and shares
Small black square                Cleans up after play

Conflict Resolution
Small black square                Seeks adult help when needed to resolve conflicts
Small black square                Uses words to resolve conflicts

Language and Literacy

Listening
Small black square                Listens with understanding to directions and conversations
Small black square                Follows one-step directions
Small black square                Follows two-step directions

Speaking
Small black square                Speaks clearly enough to be understood without contextual clues
Small black square                Relates experiences with some understanding of sequences of events

Literature and Reading
Small black square                Listens with interest to stories read aloud
Small black square                Shows interest in reading-related activities
Small black square                Retells information from a story
Small black square                Sequences three pictures to tell a logical story

Writing
Small black square                Uses pictures to communicate ideas
Small black square                Uses scribbles, shapes, and letter-like symbols to write words or ideas

Alphabet Knowledge
Small black square                Recites/sings alphabet
Small black square                Matches upper-case letters
Small black square                Matches lower-case letters
Small black square                Identifies upper-case letters
Small black square                Identifies lower-case letters

Mathematical Thinking

Patterns and Relationships
Small black square                Sorts by color, shape, and size
Small black square                Orders or seriates several objects on the basis of one attribute
Small black square                Recognizes simple patterns and duplicates them

Number concept and operations
Small black square                Rote counts to 20
Small black square                Counts objects with meaning to 10
Small black square                Matches numerals
Small black square                Identifies by naming, numerals 0-10

Geometry and spatial relations
Small black square                Identifies 4 shapes- circle, square, rectangle, triangle
Small black square                Demonstrates concepts of positional/directional concepts (up/down, over/under, in/out, behind/in front of, beside/between, top/bottom, inside/outside, above/below, high/low, right/left, off/on, first/last, far/near, go/stop).

Measurement
Small black square                Shows understanding of and uses comparative words (big/little, large/small, short/long, tall/short, slow/fast, few/many, empty/full, less/more.

Physical Development

Gross-Motor Skills
Small black square                Pedals and steers a tricycle
Small black square                Jumps in place, landing on two feet
Small black square                Jumps consecutively- 7 jumps
Small black square                Balances on one foot for 5 seconds
Small black square                Hops on one foot 2-3 hops
Small black square                Hops on one foot- 6 ft.
Small black square                Throws a ball with direction- 5 ft.
Small black square                Catches a thrown ball with arms and body
Small black square                Climbs a playground ladder
Small black square                Skips smoothly for 20 feet

Fine-Motor Skills
Small black square                Stacks 10, one-inch blocks
Small black square                Strings 4 1/2 beads in two minutes
Small black square                Completes a seven piece interlocking puzzle
Small black square                Makes a pancake, snake, and ball from playdough
Small black square                Grasps pencil correctly
Small black square                Copies:  vertical line, horizontal line, circle, cross, square, V, triangle
Small black square                Copies first name
Small black square                Prints first name without a model
Small black square                Grasps scissors correctly
Small black square                Cuts within 1/4 of a 6 straight line on construction paper
Small black square                Cuts out a 3 square on construction paper
Small black square                Cuts out a 3 triangle on construction paper
Small black square                Cuts out a 3 circle on construction paper
Small black square                Uses a glue stick appropriately
Small black square                Uses appropriate amount of glue for tasks

The Arts

Creative Arts
Small black square                Identifies 10 colors:  red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, black, white, brown, pink
Small black square                Uses a variety of art materials for tactile experience and exploration

Music/Movement
Small black square                Participates in group music experiences
Small black square                Participates in creative movement/dance

Creative Dramatics
Small black square                Makes believe with objects
Small black square                Takes on pretend roles and situations

Parents, if you’re looking for some suggestions on things you can do to prepare your child for Kindergarten, check out 33 Ways to Prepare Your Child for Kindergarten.  You can download and print a list with simple, easy activities that will help to ensure your child is ready!