Kindergarten is a crucial year in your child’s education. It is a big transition and children can be overwhelmed at times.
Children often enter kindergarten at the age of 5 but cutoff dates vary by state. High quality kindergartens offer lifelong learning skills that help students feel capable, included and valued in classroom communities.
Literacy
Kindergarten is a time when kids move beyond the playing and craft-making of preschool to more focused reading and writing skills. They learn about the school community and how to interact with peers in the classroom.
Understands the basics of books and print, such as where to hold a book and what the front and back cover look like. Recognizes some letters, particularly those that appear in their own name.
Identifies words that have continuous sounds, such as “sh.” Can also break words into phonemes (the smallest units of sound that make up words).
Starts to write letters and short words using invented or creative spelling.
Math
The math skills kindergartners learn — such as counting objects and recognizing basic shapes — are important predictors of future academic achievement. But researchers say more comprehensive kindergarten math instruction that goes beyond counting could help many more children succeed in math later.
Kindergartners can count objects and recognize numbers, but they also need to understand how things relate to each other. That means learning concepts like adding and subtracting without pencil and paper, such as when Juan adds his 7 toy cars to Ida’s 5 to get 9. They’ll also begin exploring patterns.
Science
Nurturing children’s curiosity and providing opportunities to explore ignites their scientific journey. They learn about the similarities and differences between plants and animals, observe weather changes, and build their knowledge of matter and motion.
Children discover the scientific concepts of water’s different states and observe physical changes, as well as how to make a galaxy jar and a rocket. They also learn how to use tools—like a balance scale and a magnifying glass—to observe and measure. And they develop their ability to predict based on previous observations, such as whether an apple will sink or float.
Social Studies
Cultivating social skills is an important part of kindergarten. A high-quality kindergarten curriculum will support children’s holistic development and foster a strong sense of community within the classroom.
Explore a wide variety of social studies topics in these online lessons, including the United States and its history, cultures, and traditions, and global awareness. These engaging videos are easy to navigate and can be paused or replayed, allowing students to progress at their own pace.
Discover maps, learn about different cultures and celebrations, practice wise spending, and more! These kindergarten social studies activities cultivate curiosity and empathy, fostering an appreciation for the world around them.
Fine Motor Skills
Children develop fine motor skills throughout their early years. While every child progresses at his or her own pace, most pass through specific developmental milestones.
These tiny movements are what allow a child to perform tasks such as pinching, grasping, and cutting. Children are born with an involuntary grasp reflex, which is one of the earliest types of fine motor movement.
Pincer grip, the ability to use the thumb and index finger together, is important for writing. Research shows a strong correlation between fine motor skills and reading development.
Gross Motor Skills
Gross motor skills involve large muscles and movements like running, jumping and hopping. Developing these skills helps improve balance, coordination, and strength while building self-confidence and promoting healthy physical activity.
Children develop these skills at their own pace, but healthcare providers track progress through developmental milestones. These are behaviors that indicate typical stages of growth and development from infancy through early childhood.
Activities that encourage gross motor development include indoor and outdoor obstacle courses, jumping and hopping games, and throwing or catching a ball. They also provide opportunities for kids to build core strength and stability, which supports better concentration, independence, and academic performance.
Social Emotional Skills
A child’s ability to interact with their peers and navigate emotions in a classroom environment is one of the most important predictors of school success. Kids who lack social-emotional skills struggle with following classroom rules, getting along with their teachers and focusing on academics.
Teach students how to communicate their feelings using a feelings poster and role-playing. For example, students could play a game where they hide cards that name feelings and then find the card that matches how they feel.
Many kindergarteners have trouble with relationship skills, such as sharing and taking turns. Read books that feature characters they can relate to and help them practice these skills by role-playing.