Kindergartners should know many important skills. What did you learn in kindergarten? What does a child need to know before kindergarten these days?

Kindergarten is no longer playing and nap time. It has become the new first grade. The days of only developing social skills and letter and number recognition are long gone. At the end of the kindergarten year, students are expected to decode words, write numerous sentences and understand place value.

These are skills that were once taught in the first grade. If this is the end result, what should the starting point for students be? Prerequisite skills are now taught in pre-school. Enrollment in Pre-K has dramatically increased in this time.

Pre-K has replaced kindergarten in the development of social and emotional skills. So, what skills then should 5 year old students be equipped with to begin school? The following are what kindergarten students should know before the first day.

Social Skills

• Students need to know how to establish a give and take with others. Children at the age of 5 are able to engage with other students in a proactive manner. They express their feelings and understand that others have feelings, also. Turn taking is very important to developing socially.
• Students should be independent. Separation anxiety is common in kindergarten, but it should go away after the first few days of school. It is a good idea to do a part time pre-school or, at the very least, drop your child off at a play place at the gym. If this is the first time your child is left with someone else, it might not be such a great experience for you or your child.
• Kindergarten students  should know how to dress themselves and go to the bathroom on their own. This is very important. It is also a good idea to teach kindergarten students how to tie their own shoes. This will make your child’s teacher very happy.
• Following directions is imperative for kindergarten. Successful students listen well and can focus for longer than 10 minutes. Flexible seating is very common in kindergarten these days and allows students the opportunity to move around while focusing.
• Understanding simple commands is essential and should be practiced at home before the beginning of the year. Read your child instructions, and have them follow through with completing the task.

Academic Skills

• Kindergarten students should know the letters in their name and be able to say their first and last names. It is very helpful if they are able to write their names. This is probably the first thing that they will be asked to do once they are in school.
• The three pincer grasp is important for kindergarten students to know. This refers to the proper way to hold a pencil with the pencil between the thumb and pointer finger and resting on the middle finger.

This should be modeled by parents to avoid students holding the pencil incorrectly. This becomes a bad habit that is hard to correct.  Students naturally want to grab the pencil with their fists. It is very hard to break a child of this learned grip. I advise my students to pinch the pencil and then rest the pencil on the middle finger. Click here for ideas.

• Rote counting to 10 is a skill that kindergarten students should know. This is easily learned by watching PBS televised shows. Songs are also fun ways for students to memorize rote counting.

Kindergarten teachers often expect students to know how to count to 10. Pointing to objects as you count helps students learn one-to one             correspondence.  Simple modeling of counting and pointing to everyday objects does wonders.

• Concepts of print refer to the knowledge that students have about books. A kindergarten teacher can tell right away if a student has or hasn’t been read to at home.Students mimic pointing to the text in a book from left to read if they have been read to. They know what a title is and that the pictures help tell a story.

Kindergarten teachers are prepared to teach students everything they need to know. The foundation that they have before arriving at school helps to speed along the process.  Students develop socially and academically at a quicker pace if they have these prerequisite skills. Early learning is essential for prolonged academic success. Tips for parents can be found here.