how can i make sure my 5 year old is ready for kindergarten?

Answer 1

Kindergarten has gotten more advanced...I would wait until your child was six. I did both ages. And the six year old did much better then the 5 year old :)

Consider all the new testing ect...Some of the kids where 6 going on 7....

Answer 2

I'm a Kindergarten teacher in Washington state and I'm amazed at how every year some essential skills that Kindergarteners should have are absent more and more from children.

Make sure your 5 year old has plenty of practice with things like crayons and scissors to help develop her fine motor control. It's easy to work with a child who doesn't know their letters or numbers, but it's quite another thing for a child to have no fine motor control and can't hold a pencil.

It would give your child a great start for them to know what sounds each letter makes, but don't push them so hard that they don't want to learn. Sometimes they aren't ready for it.

If they can recognize their numbers to 10 it will make it a whole lot easier on them to catch on to the other numbers and counting to 20 would also help them.

I'll tell you where Kindergarteners need to be at the end of the year at my school so it will give you an idea of how far they need to grow.

They need to know all 26 uppercase and lowercase letters and sounds. They need to be able to read sentences such as this.

I will go to the park to play with my dog. His name is Jack and he loves to roll in the mud.
(This represents some basic sight words and some phonetic words they should be able to sound out.)

They need to write journal entries that have two or more sentences.

They need to count, recognize, and write their numbers to 115. They need to do addition and subtraction facts to 10.
They need to know their money to the dollar, be able to read a simple graph, use a ruler, sort by many attributes, and understand basic problem solving skills.

I hope this helps. The fact that you are asking this question tells me that you are probably already doing everything you need to in helping your child be ready for Kindergarten. Make sure you are reading to your child as much as possible too to develop a love of reading and also get them used to the functions of text such as which way words go, that words are made of letters, etc. You'd be amazed at how many Kindergarteners hold their books upside down and have no clue that words are made of letters.

Answer 3

All the things the K teacher posted above is great.

But if he/she is going to be in full day, you will need to practice lunch skills - opening juice boxes, etc. And make sure you start him/her off the year in pants he can easily get up and down.

You can often find your districts curriculum on line that will outline what they will do, and K teachers at your son's school will be very helpful in answering questions. Just call your school and ask to speak to the K team leader or for her email address.

Also, we got a packet when we registered him for K that had everything they would like them to be able to do.

good luck!

Answer 4

Sing the ABC song with him, point out letters and numbers in everyday life. Count with him. When he gets dressed in the morning, ask him if he if he wants to wear the BLUE shirt or the GREEN shirt. Ask him what color the tables are in McDonald's. Those are the main ones. Have him watch educational stuff. I grew up on Sesame Street. I knew all that stuff before starting school

Answer 5

Potty trained, all their medical info is uptodate and their shots. The town will test them and let you know if they are ready. Make sure you check the paper or your town's cable channel for the testing and sign up dates. You will need proof of birth and your ID.

Answer 6

The only thing they care about is if he is potty trained and he/she has all his shots, oh and they don't bite.