Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?
What is school readiness?
Parents worry about many things. One of these worries is about their child entering Kindergarten. Are they ready? Will they be okay? What should I be doing as a parent to help them?
Many of the things you do everyday are already helping your child “be ready for school”. But what is school readiness, really? School readiness is more about being ready to learn. If your child is not ready to learn then they will have some struggles in their first year (And if this is your child, do not throw the towel in. You can get back on track.) Many children enter Kindergarten without the skills they need to be successful at school.
Numerous parents and even some teachers, believe that being “ready for school” (or entry into Kindergarten) means that a child should possess certain academic skills before they enter school such as knowing the entire alphabet and print their name. But this is NOT being ready for school. A simple check of the information on The Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario website will prove this. School readiness does not happen with flashcards and drilling of knowledge (“what colour is this? And this? And this?”). What ends up happening is the parents focus on getting their child to memorize colours and shapes instead of concentrating on more developmentally appropriate skills. Sadly, this misinformation leads to frustrated kids, parents and teachers.
Being ready for school means the child has certain skills that will allow him/her to be successful while away from you. These skills include:
being able to use the toilet on their own (includes wiping, flushing and washing their hands, all on their own)
able to dress and undress for outdoor play (shoes, boots, jackets, snow-pants, hat and mittens)
eat on their own (including opening their own snack containers)
ask for what they need
follow directions
wait their turn
share
play with others
know their first and last name
recognize their name in print
able to listen quietly to a story
help tidy up toys when done playing
good fine motor skills
certain gross motor skills
self-regulate
It is these skills that lay a solid foundation for lifelong learning. By ensuring that your child has these skills, they can be an engaged and active participant in the classroom community. Kindergarten is also a time for your child to hone these skills and begin to learn academic skills. So, please don’t worry if your child has not mastered ALL the skills listed. Skills take practice and time to master and some skills are more difficult for some children too.
Blossom’s Kindergarten Readiness Checklist is an eleven page, detailed and comprehensive skills checklist that helps you figure out what skills your child is strong in and which skills you will want to work on and provide extra learning opportunities for. Access Blossom’s Kindergarten Readiness Checklist HERE.
All of the parent-child classes at Blossom Early Learning are based on early brain development and are developmentally appropriate for the children, and therefore puts children on the path for true school readiness. In fact, the Chute Bugs class (parachute play class) was specifically developed to help children master key skills such as turn taking, following directions, playing games with simple rules, number awareness, self-regulation and more. Blossom also offers classes that are even more focused on school readiness, such as Bumble Bugs for 2.5 - 4 year olds is a class that supports and builds skills that will nurture your child's readiness for school through fine motor activities, songs, games, dancing, music, turn taking, letter awareness activities and more. There is also Busy Bees, a parent-child preschool program for children 1.5 to 4 years of age. Our holistic approach uses a variety of teaching philosophies including Montessori, High-Scope, Waldorf and Reggio. Busy Bees allows children to have the space to practice key skills that are essential for school entry as well as explore music and art.
Blossom’s online program Virtual Kinder Bugs (VKB) is at at-home play based program for children 2.5 - 5 years old. The VKB program includes purposeful teaching, engaging instruction, developmentally appropriate learning and hands-on activities that supports all areas of development AND includes a box of supplies and learning materials for you to follow along at home.
References:
Allen, K. E., Marotz, L. R. (2009). Developmental profiles: Pre-birth through twelve. Wadsworth Publishing Company
How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s Pedagogy for the Early Years 2014 . https://files.ontario.ca/edu-how-does-learning-happen-en-2021-03-23.pdf
Looksee Checklist by ndds. (n.d). https://www.lookseechecklist.com
Pathways.org. (n.d). https://pathways.org/