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What does it mean to be ready for kindergarten?
Kindergarten readiness is a prerequisite for further school success. Unfortunately, most parents think that if their children can count to 20, know the alphabet, spell their name, etc. they are school-ready. However, these skills are at the top of the pyramid of skills. If the bottom of such a pyramid is not built correctly, the child will have learning problems at school despite their knowledge of numbers and letters.
RELATED: Gross Motor Skills in Babies/Toddlers/Preschoolers: From A to Z.
What skills are needed for kindergarten?
The formation of learning skills starts in infancy when your child tries to hold his head up. Through the early years, gross and fine motor skills, body awareness, body schema, spatial awareness, social-emotional development, independence in self-care improve dramatically. When well-developed, these skills serve as a solid foundation of the pyramid of learning. Only if all the previous stages are fully mastered, the child is ready for academic learning.
To ensure that your child is ready for school, you need to observe and evaluate their skills from the skill pyramid's lower levels. Thus, you will know for sure which area of his or her development needs additional improvement.
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What should a 5-year-old know before kindergarten?
There are three main domains of a child's development that indicate learning readiness. In this article, we refer to the kindergarten readiness of 5-year-old children.
Physical abilities
- integrated primitive reflexes (how to integrate primitive reflexes read in this article)
- gross motor skills (throw and catch a ball, sit upright for more extended periods, stand on one foot for 10 sec, stand on one foot with eyes closed for three seconds). More on gross motor skills development read here
- fine motor skills (cut with scissors, tracing a line, tracing basic shapes)
- independence in self-care (can manage zipper, buttons, toilet hygiene, proper handwashing)
Communication skills
- behavioral competencies (recognizes authorities, can understand teacher-directed tasks, can listen to stories without interruption)
- social and emotional development (able to separate from parents without anxiety, has a certain level of self-control, manages feelings of frustration and anger, identifies emotions in himself and others, follows directions, waits for his turn, understands the cause and effect of his actions, can share with others, can ask for help)
- language development (speaks understandably in complete sentences, able to understand language, tells stories from pictures)
Cognitive development
- general knowledge (times of the day, seasons, colors, terms that describe the everyday world, knows his first and last names, parents' names, phone numbers, home address)
- pre-math skills (sort similar objects by size, shape, counts to 10-20 from every given point, like starting with 7, then counting 8,9,10; counts backward from 10)
- pre-reading (vocabulary size, understands the meaning of words, can hold conversations, has phonological awareness, recognizes and produces rhyming words, identify beginning sounds of words, recognizes alliteration)
- pre-writing skills (identifies and names alphabet letters, recognizes common sight words and names of restaurants, shops)
Does a child need preschool before kindergarten? Is it OK to skip preschool?
If your child is social enough, if you expose him to various social situations outside your family, then perhaps it is good to leave your 3-4-year old at home and skip preschool. On the other hand, social-emotional skills, one of the main domains in kindergarten rediness, are complicated to develop at home. Unfortunately, you cannot provide your child with all that rich communication experience as peers required for the development of social-emotional domain. Moreover, the home environment is often hectic and doesn't give a child enough schedule and day structure.
If your child is shy, it is particularly important to send him to preschool. Very often, children are shy in the presence of the caregiver but behave differently with children in a parent-free environment.
Things to consider when choosing a preschool
There is a huge rising trend of preschools with an academic curriculum. In such schools, a significant emphasis is placed on the development of early literacy skills; children get assignments and are expected to participate in academic learning.
However, early exposure to academic learning kills motivation in young children and puts a high risk on the development of their right brain hemisphere. Such children may exhibit a lack of creativity, critical thinking, and even problem-solving skills later in life.
Children in the preschool age are naturally curious and seek new knowledge and experiences. Nevertheless, they can process new information only in the form of play. When a child engages in play with his peers, he learns a whole new world of emotions, communication, self-control, develops empathy, and assertiveness. Moreover, pretend play promotes abstract thinking that is a prerequisite for the future understanding of math concepts in school.
Considering the above, it is better if children between ages 3-5 should attend preschool. It is essential to choose the facility with a curriculum that respects the natural process of a child's brain development. Play-based preschools still exist, and they should be your first choice.
How do I find the best preschool?
If you cannot find the regular play-based preschool in your area, Waldorf preschools is a great option. Even though Waldorf's academic curriculum is rather weak, their approach to preschool education is perfect. In Waldorf schools, children are provided with lots of opportunities to play, do arts and crafts, develop socially and emotionally. Waldorf preschools boost creativity in young children and are perfect for the age of 3-5 years old.
Another great alternative to academic preschool is Montessori schools. Although there is a widespread belief that Montessori schools do not develop creativity and do not allow children to play, that is not true. Indeed, there are usually 3-h working cycles in Montessori preschools, during which children are supposed to work with Montessori materials that differ from traditional toys. But children have complete freedom in choosing those materials they are interested in at that moment.
Why choose Montessori?
Montessori preschools boost a child's independence, self-control, communication, and problem-solving skills; they teach children to respect other people's boundaries and set limits in communication with peers. In Montessori classes, there is always a corner with art and craft materials, so if a child feels the inspiration, he is welcomed to create there.
When choosing a Montessori preschool, always ask about their day structure. Select only those preschools, where children have at least 1-2 hours of recess outside, where they can play with their peers and all sorts of social situations outside the classroom. Also, many Montessori preschools have their curriculum work cycles in the morning, whereas in the afternoon, they provide childcare with traditional toys, where children can engage in a conventional play. Such a combination is perfect for the harmonious development of a child's personality.
How do I prepare my child for kindergarten?
As you now understand, preschool children learn best through play. Playful learning is the best way to teach them all the necessary skills for future school success. Among the three domains of kindergarten readiness, cognitive development is the easiest one to develop at home. Physical development also can be done at home (read our article on gross motor skills in children). Still, you can facilitate it by engaging your child in various sports and exercises. Communication skills are best developed through play with peers either in play-based preschool or on a playground during many playdates without adult intervention and control.
Pre-k homeschool curriculum
At the age of 4, children can sit still and focus on tasks around 15 to 20 minutes. But all the tasks must be play-based, or you will lose your child's attention almost immediately. Below you will find a list of various board games grouped by the skill they promote. Such learning-through-play strategy is perfect to prepare your child for kindergarten.
Usually, the nest time for these games is in the morning when your child is rested and most aware. By playing with your child the following brain teasers and board games, you will significantly promote his pre-academic skills in an exciting and engaging for a small child manner. Only play-based learning can spark natural interest in a small child and prepare his brain to solve challenging tasks in school.
Spatial thinking
The proper understanding of geometry in middle school forms in early childhood. This happens when a baby or toddler familiarizes themselves with their body and creates a body schema in their brains. Thus, it is crucial to assess your preschooler’s knowledge of his body and spatial relations between objects.
Assessment tasks:
1. Ask your preschooler to show you his left arm, right foot, left eye, brow, the big toe on the left leg, his right elbow, etc. If he is not able to do that, this is the first task you should work on. Knowing and recognizing body parts helps children to orient in space and understand distance.
2. Check whether your preschooler understands spatial relations between objects and their body. Ask him/her to stand behind the table, in front of a couch, left to a chair, under the table, on the chair, next to the chair, etc. If you see problems in performing these tasks, your child must master this skill ASAP.
3. Does he/she knows relations between objects in space? For example, ask your preschooler to put a book on the table, left to the table, behind the table, etc. At the age of 4, he/she is supposed to do these tasks without mistakes. If there are some, spend some time training the skill.
All the above skills are crucial not only for math but also for writing and reading comprehension.
If your child mastered the above basic skills, the following games would deepen his spatial awareness, spatial and visual attention, and significantly promote his pre-math and pre-writing skills.
"Little Red Riding Hood" also significantly promotes spatial thinking in children. This brain teaser is slightly easier than the "GoGetter" due to the bulging paths that a child could perceive with hands.
This sensory information allows the child to understand the task and solve it faster. So if the "GoGetter" is still a bit difficult for your preschooler, start with the "Little Red Riding Hood." After completing this brain teaser, the child will successfully understand and complete more challenging "GoGetter" tasks.
"Katamino" is an absolute must-have for children from 3 years and up. Don't get confused by the age on the packaging; most 3-year-olds can put together three shapes to fill the board. This game develops spatial perception like nothing else and is suitable for the development of the pre-math and especially pre-geometry skills. With 4-year-olds, start with three shapes but then gently move to more challenging tasks with four shapes.
"Tangram" boosts visual perception, orientation, problem-solving skills. This game requires a lot of patience from both you and your child. Nevertheless, tangram is inevitable for the development of spatial awareness, copying, task visualization. Also, tangram helps in the prevention of mirror-writing.
A more challenging type of tangram for 4-year-olds is "Tangoes," where shapes are not designated by color. When first giving Tangoes to your 4- year-old, do not expect him to solve the first task right from the start. Begin with the page of answers instead. Then slowly move to the first challenges. This way, your 4-year-old will not be discouraged from the beginning.
"Color Code" develops pattern recognition, logic, spatial reasoning skills, and many more pre-math and pre-writing skills. This is an engaging brain teaser that can occupy children for quite a while.
"Kanoodle" includes two main types of games: the Tetris-like game with less challenging tasks and the 3d pyramid puzzle. The 3d pyramid might be more difficult for a preschooler, but it significantly improves spatial thinking and orientation.
Strategic thinking
Tic-tac-toe is an easy game for preschoolers, preparing them to master more challenging games like checkers and chess.
"Connect 4" is a slightly more complicated version of tic-tac-toe.
This classic strategy game develops strong memory skills, concentration, and focus and promotes problem-solving, logic, and strategic thinking.
Hand-eye coordination and dexterity
When playing with mosaics, children develop proficient eye-hand coordination, concentration, improve pincer grasp, learn directionality, and patterning that are all prerequisites to good math and writing skills. Always teach your child to start her mosaic from left to right to promote a sense of directionality. Such ability will make her future writing and copying skills come more naturally.
Balance games are perfect for fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, problem-solving.
"GoGo Gelato" improves hand-eye coordination, dexterity and prepares hand for future writing. Moreover, by using both hands, your child develops more interhemispheric connections that increase thinking speed.
Cutting paper is one of the fine motor skills mastership. It refines motor skills like nothing else. Kumon step by step workbook is the easiest way for your child to master scissors cutting.
Brainteasers
"Camelot Jr." has adorable characters that both boys and girls love. This bran teaser promotes spatial thinking, spatial insight, and planning.
"Castle Logix" promotes logical thinking, planning, and spatial reasoning skills.
"Ghost Hunters" brainteaser encourages logical thinking, spatial reasoning, problem-solving. This game would make a great gift to your child on Haloween instead of sugary treats.
"Brain Cheeser" is also a travel-friendly puzzle that significantly promotes spatial skills, problem-solving, focus, and concentration.
"Noah's Ark" promotes attention and spatial planning. This is a relatively easy puzzle that grabs the child's attention and pushes his pre-math skills.
You may have noticed that most brain teasers are intended to develop spatial insight, focus, and planning in a child. These are essential skills for future successful understanding of math, especially geometry, concepts. Even though it seems that all games develop a similar set of skills, they require different approaches in solving challenges and following the rules. That is why we recommend getting at least a couple of different brain teasers to challenge your preschooler's brain with various tasks and solutions.
Reaction speed
Occupational therapists love such games because they develop all kinds of cognitive skills and are excellent brain trainers! They are also perfect as board games for fun family time!
"Cortex" develops all kinds of cognitive skills and attention. The game is a must-have for all children as it improves various cognitive abilities.
"Ghost Blitz" trains the reaction speed, attention, and switching the focus of attention. The game is fast-paced, engaging, and easy to learn. But it is hard to master. Better to play this game with two or more children to turn on their competitive spirit.
Attention span and field of vision
"Spot it!" promotes concentration, attention, and speed of reaction. As usual, start with just a couple of pairs and let your child find similar objects on each pair. When he does it fast enough, you could begin playing for speed.
Puzzles develop patience, concentration, attention, etc. The size of the puzzle is different for different kids. Preschoolers should be able to do a 30-piece puzzle or more depending on their personal traits.
Kumon activity books are fantastic in helping kids prepare hands for writing, learn counting, spatial reasoning, logical skills, and many more depending on the workbook. These books are so efficient because of their structure. The increasing task difficulty leads to a slow but steady skill mastering.
Kindergarten homeschool curriculum. What can I teach my kindergartener at home?
All of the described above games could make a significant part of the homeschool curriculum for kindergartners. Nevertheless, at the age of 5, children are usually ready to play board games with complex rules. At this point, playing with kids stops being boring for parents. Because play is still the primary learning approach for the children at this age, board games are a great tool to develop various cognitive, social-emotional, and volitional skills in children. In board games, children learn to lose, win, compete, and express their feelings in a socially acceptable manner. Board games are especially useful in co-ops, classes with a smaller number of children, and if you homeschool a small party of children of approximately the same age.
Checkers, chess, "Quoridor," and other strategic games are necessary at this age. Below you'll find other highly engaging board games for kindergarteners.
"Monopoly" teaches children to count, add, and subtract faster than all the workbooks fully exploiting the learning-through-play principle.
"6 NIMMT" is a fantastic board game to practice numbers, value, and concepts like more/less, higher/lower. Even though the sign on the box says it is the game 10+, most 5-year-olds will quickly learn the rules and be able to play by rules. Better to teach your child to play "Monopoly" first before heading over to "6 NIMMT".
"Labyrinth" boosts spatial thinking in the most engaging way possible. If your 5-year-old plays "GoGetter," he will understand the rules right from the start. But even if he doesn't, the rules are relatively simple for a typical 5-year-old to understand.
"Pentago" is advanced tic-tac-toe that encourages planning, strategy, and spatial orientation.
"Battleship" is a classic old-school strategy that promotes logic, spatial thinking, visualization, planning.
"Ticket To Ride" is a fairly simple strategy for a 5-year-old. Interesting for all ages and quickly becomes the most beloved game for a family night. Teaches children to follow the rules, take turns, think strategically, and plan the actions. Moreover, the game teaches children geography and map orientation.
