Checklist for Kindergarten Readiness

Like any parent we are constantly learning new material and information about our child. So you ask when is it the right time for my child to enter a Kindergarten school or preschool program? Believe it or not there is a list that can help in making this decision for your child's educational needs. There is no perfect formula in making such decision but you can use this checklist to assure your child's performance in acquiring the skills below.

• Listen to stories without interrupting
• Recognize rhyming sounds
• Pay attention for short periods of time to adult-directed tasks
• Understand actions have both causes and effects
• Cut with scissors
• Trace basic shapes
• Begin to share with others
• Be able to recognize authority
• Button shirts, pants, coats, and zip up zippers
• Begin to control oneself
• Speak understandably
• Talk in complete sentences of five to six words
• Look at pictures and then tell stories
• Identify rhyming words
• Identify the beginning sound of some words
• Recognize some common sight words like "stop"
• Sort similar objects by color, size, and shape
• Recognize groups of one, two, three, four, and five objects
• Bounce a ball
• Count to ten
• Identify some alphabet letters
• Show understanding of general time of day
• Start to follow rules
• Manage Bathroom needs
• Separate from parents without being upset

Basically if the child has acquire most of these skills from the checklist and they are at least four years of age they should be ready for kindergarten. If your child shows healthy, mature, capable and eagerness to learn it must mean a degree of readiness. Teachers love to see children who are eager to learn and show responsiveness in the classroom environment.

We hope this topic is helpful for all parents and if other parents have other opinions or advice do drop us any comment. We love to hear from you at Garden House Preschool Blog.