1. Language and Communication:
Children should be able to speak in short sentences, have a basic understanding of their name and address, and express wants or needs.
2. Gross Motor Skills:
Being able to walk up stairs with alternating feet and jump over small objects are important skills for kindergarteners to have before entering school.
3. Fine Motor Skills:
Having the dexterity to use scissors properly, hold pencils correctly, and draw circles, lines, and shapes are all essential fine motor skills that children need before starting kindergarten.
4. Cognitive Development:
Knowing how to recognize numbers 1-10, count aloud to 10, and identify primary colors (red, blue, yellow) as well as shapes such as circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles are all important cognitive skills that children should have before entering kindergarten.
5. Social-Emotional Development:
Children should be able to follow simple directions with 2 or 3 steps involved, interact comfortably with peers in a group setting, and appropriately talk about their feelings.
6. Self-Help Skills:
Children need to be self-sufficient when it comes to basic tasks such as using the restroom on their own (with minimal adult assistance). They also need to know how to dress independently as well as put away toys after they’re done playing.
7. Literacy Skills:
Knowing how to recognize their name in print and being able to recognize some letters and letter sounds are essential literacy skills for children to have before entering kindergarten.
8. Science Exploration:
Having a basic understanding of the four seasons, being able to identify simple patterns, and having an awareness of their environment are all important science concepts that children should be familiar with before starting kindergarten.