Preparing your child for kindergarten can be a daunting task, especially if you aren’t aware of the skills your local school requires kids to know already. Your child may seem ready in some areas, but behind their peers in others. Luckily, there are some criteria you can use to assess your child’s kindergarten readiness. Once you know what schools need, you can work with your child to gain these skills.

How to Evaluate Your Child’s Kindergarten Readiness

Academic Skills

When most people worry about their child’s kindergarten readiness, they think about academic skills. Kindergarten teachers generally don’t expect your child to be able to read or do addition—that’s what their class is for. However, if they lack some basic proficiencies, you can help them practice and grow. Some academic skills your child should have before they start kindergarten include:

• Counting to 20
• Singing or saying the alphabet
• Writing their first name
• Identifying rhyming words
• Speaking using complete sentences
• Identifying basic colors from a pack of eight crayons

Practical Skills

Although academic skills are vital, practical competencies might be even more so. These help your child function, socialize, and complete their own work. While a kindergartener might be able to catch up academically, it can be more challenging to deal with a lack of practical aptitude in the classroom. Here are some skills your child needs to begin kindergarten:

• Using the bathroom themselves
• Taking turns, sharing, and waiting in line
• Putting on a backpack and zipping up their coat
• Washing hands thoroughly with soap
• Knowing their full name, address, phone number, and birthday
• Using scissors, glue, paint, and other art materials

Lucky Lane Nursery School in St. Louis, MO, will help increase your child’s kindergarten readiness. Their instructors and caretakers are devoted to shaping children’s minds and teaching them academic, social, and practical skills. They offer a prekindergarten program that teaches kids language arts, math, and science. Visit their website to learn more about the program, or call (314) 434-4462 for more information.