District 54 is so excited to partner with you as your child prepares for this important next step in their learning journey! The transition to kindergarten is filled with curiosity, growth and joy. As you count down to the start of the school year, we encourage you to return to this website to help your child develop skills that will set them up for success in kindergarten and beyond. So what can you, as your child’s first teacher, do to help them be successful in kindergarten? There are some basic skills that you can help your child begin to develop at home.
Most importantly, TALK with your child; LISTEN to your child; READ with your child; and RESPOND to your child’s natural curiosity.
Children need to develop socially and emotionally to be successful in the world. To help make your child’s transition to kindergarten successful, provide opportunities for your child to be part of a peer group.
Plan activities for your child to interact with others to learn
Sharing
Taking turns
Listening, including focusing on the speaker
Making eye contact
Following two- and three-step directions
Navigating problems with others, and knowing when to ask an adult for help
Showing respect for others
Using appropriate language
Help your child develop independence
Expressing needs verbally
Learning to trust other adults by spending time without parents/guardians
Following simple directions
Accepting responsibility (doing jobs at school and at home)
In order for children to communicate effectively, they must have many experiences. It is important to listen and talk with your child. Here are some other ways you can foster your child’s speech and language development.
Reading Take time to read with your child every day. In addition to reading fictional children’s books, expose your child to the following types of literature:
nursery rhymes/rhyming books,
fairy tales/poems and
nonfiction/informational books.
Enhance your reading time.
Before starting a book, look at the pictures in the book and ask your child to predict what will happen.
While reading the book, pause to ask questions and discuss what’s happening in the book.
After reading or listening to a story, retell events from the story.
Ask your child to make connections from the book to personal experiences.
Explain any new words you encounter.
Talking/Listening
Model appropriate language and answer questions appropriately.
Use positional words when giving directions (for example above, below, under, next to).
Ask your child about specific activities throughout the day.
Help your child become aware of appropriate voice volume (inside vs. outside voice).
Playing Games
Play games with your child (Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Go Fish, Memory, etc.).
Play outdoors with your child.
Traveling
Take your child to places, such as libraries, zoos, museums, parks and live performances.
As you are your child’s first teacher, we value your partnership. You can encourage learning by being involved.
Help them choose the right clothes for school based on the weather.
Make sure they get enough sleep each night.
Wake them early enough to make it to school on time.
Feed them a well-balanced breakfast before school.
Read to them each night.
Communicate with their teachers.
Check their backpack and folders every day.
Attend PTA meetings and school events.
Kindergarten Readiness Activities
These Kindergarten Readiness Activities are designed to help you support your child’s development through fun, simple experiences at home.
Each activity builds skills that help children feel confident and ready to learn — from practicing independence and following routines, to developing language, early literacy, math and social skills. The best part? Most of these activities fit naturally into your everyday routines like cooking, playing and reading together.
We’re inviting you and your rising kindergartner to join our Kindergarten Readiness Challenge by engaing in fun ways to practice skills and build confidence before the first bell rings.
Choose an Activity
Do it Together
Celebrate every win!
Want some help teaching these skills? Check out our Kindergarten Readiness playlist on the District 54 YouTube channel.
Order your own meal at a restaurant. Be sure to say please and thank you.
3
Visit the library.
4
Practice writing your name! Bonus if you write your last name, too!
5
Build a tower. Count how many blocks you used.
6
Have a picnic! Practice packing and opening your lunch.
7
Pick out your outfit for the day. Practice zipping and buttoning.
8
Practice cutting out some shapes. Build a picture with the shapes.
9
Draw a picture of you and your family. Tell someone about the picture.
10
Read a story as a family. Connect the events to personal experiences.
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Practice skipping, jumping and galloping. Count your moves!
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Draw and label a picture to show your favorite part of your day!
13
Help in the kitchen! Put your plate in the sink, help cook dinner, etc.
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Count how many birds, cars, or flowers you see on a walk.
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Play a game with your family! Remember to take turns.
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Find items with different initial sounds. For example, find something that starts with a /p/ sound.
Other Skills and Activities to Try
Tying shoes can be fun! Practicing how to tie shoes at home helps your child feel confident and ready at school!
It’s also important to have your child practice zipping up their coat.
Washing your hands is an important part of staying healthy at school and at home. Talk to your child about how to properly wash their hands.
A little lunchbox practice goes a long way! Helping your child learn to open their lunchbox and containers at home makes lunchtime easier and more fun at school.
Knowing how to hold a pencil is the first step toward writing. Try this hair tye pencil grip trick.
Write your name with different materials! Try writing in sand, shaving cream, with paint or using chalk!
Ready to turn your driveway or sidewalk into a giant, colorful canvas? Grab that big box of sidewalk chalk and take learning outside! While they jump, encourage your child to say the number or letter they see.
Grab some different letters and sort them in different ways. Think about sorting by uppercase and lowercase, color, match the upper and lowercase letters, make a word, make your name and more!
Playdough is fun…and can help us learn! Use playdough to make the first letter of your name, make a shape, build a number, show a number or make a pattern!
Additional Resources
Need some links to other fun, free resources in our community?
