Do not fear if your child is not quite ready for Kindergarten. Children advance at different paces and need time to grow in a patient environment. Even if your child has not mastered everything she may still be ready for the big transition to Kindergarten.
Skills Checklist:
You may want to discuss any issues, questions or concerns with your pediatrician or have your child be evaluated by teacher for an individual assessment.
Listening skills
- Follow a two or three part command or directions in sequence without help
- Listen to a story without interrupting
- Ability to recognize authority
Fine-motor skills
- Holds a pencil correctly
- Draws a circle and square without help
- Draws a person with head, body, arms, and legs
- Ability to use a fork and spoon
- Ability to zip and button and unbutton shirts and pants
- Cut with scissors
Large-motor skills
- Hopping
- Skipping (even a little)
- Pedaling a three-wheeler
- Swings by pumping legs
- Turning a somersault
- Walking heel-to-toe
- Throwing a ball
Language and thinking skills
- Ability to speak in sentences of five or more words
- Ability to speak understandably by strangers
- Ability to retell a story just read to
- Ability to tell about events of the day or an experience although not necessarily in the correct order
- Ability to appreciate humor and understand why something is funny
- Ability to look at pictures and tell a story
- Identify letters and numbers
- Identify the beginning sounds of words
- Recognize groups of one, two, three, four, and five objects
- Ability to sort objects by size, shape or color
- Ability to show empathy
- Understanding of time sequence and the ability to use past and future verb tenses correctly
- Ability to identify at least six colors
Self-care skills
- Able to go to the bathroom independently
- Washes and dries hands
- Ability to sit and each lunch on his ow
- Ability to dress himself