Kindergarten is one of the biggest first steps kids will take toward their formal education. It can be a big adjustment for both kids and parents.
Kids develop a variety of skills in kindergarten, from physical development to language and literacy. Learn how these developmental milestones will help your child thrive in the classroom.
Social and emotional development
As children enter kindergarten, they have a lot to learn. They’ll have more independence, be expected to focus for short periods of time, and follow a structured curriculum. They’ll also need to be more able to deal with their emotions than they might have been in preschool, where teachers often have more limited time to discipline impulsive kids and focus attention on teaching them skills.
For many children, this will be their first experience away from home. It can be scary for both parents and kids alike. To help prepare them, parents can talk about school and their expectations of their kids on a regular basis. They can also set a good example by incorporating learning through play into everyday life. They can read together, role play, and make activities that will teach them about expressing themselves in positive ways. Early social emotional skills are important predictors of future mental health and academic performance, so it’s critical that children develop these through their early years.
Cognitive growth
In kindergarten, children learn to understand their relationships with others and how the world works. Teachers help them communicate and cooperate, recognize their own emotions and those of others, and resolve disagreements.
Cognitive development occurs through various activities, including movement, pre-reading and math games, and creative play. It is also an important time for enhancing vocabulary, tracing shapes and patterns, and following directions.
Children move from the preoperational stage to the concrete operational stage, according to Piaget. They develop their language skills, and their egocentrism becomes less pronounced. Their reasoning becomes more logical and they become able to answer “what if?” questions. Between the ages of two and six, they usually learn to count to ten accurately and identify letters. They may even write their names and draw simple pictures. They can also identify the seasons and the days of the week. Moreover, they can describe the similarities and differences between things that are far apart.
Fine motor skills
Fine motor skills allow children to perform important everyday tasks, such as eating and putting on clothes, and they enable them to engage in hobbies, such as playing instruments or video games. These tiny movements start developing from birth and continue to develop as children gain dexterity.
Kindergarteners can balance on one foot for a few seconds, ascend and descend stairs with an alternating step pattern, string 8-10 beads, hold a pencil and write horizontally and vertically, and draw a circle. They also use a pincer grip—holding thumb and index finger together—to grab objects, such as a peg, a block or a paper clip.
In a longitudinal study of kindergarteners, researchers found that EF and fine motor skills predicted achievement on six academic assessments administered in the fall and spring of kindergarten. Compared with control variables, fine motor skill measures were stronger predictors of achievement. In particular, a fine motor task called design copy, which requires spatial organization and manual dexterity, significantly predicted kindergarten entry mathematics performance and fall-spring improvement in Woodcock-Johnson III math subtests.
Self-confidence
Whether they are learning new skills or trying to overcome challenges, kids in kindergarten (TK and K) need confidence to succeed. In fact, their self-esteem and confidence are essential to their mental health.
Children’s confidence level is influenced by many factors, including their genes and cultural background, as well as childhood and life experiences. These can influence how they view themselves and how they respond to their successes and failures.
Teaching young children how to build their own self-esteem is an effective way for them to learn and grow. Activities like the affirmation mirror exercise, where children stand in front of a mirror and name three things they like about themselves, help to promote a positive self-image. Similarly, encouraging children to engage in healthy self-talk by using positive thinking task cards teaches them how to reframe negative thoughts and foster resilience.