How to Prepare Your Child for Kindergarten
Making the transition from daycare to Kindergarten is easy for some, and a huge challenge for other kids and their parents. As you prepare to send your child to Kindergarten, you need to know how to prepare your child for Kindergarten.
Basic tips like listening, supplies, and respect are a start, but there is so much more that goes into helping your child be prepared to take on Kindergarten.
Things like classroom supplies, school supplies, a backpack, and a lunchbox are the obvious things a child needs to be prepared for Kindergarten. But things like cleaning up after themselves, body safety, and knowing how to apologize are also important things that we sometimes forget about as parents.
I want to share the obvious things a child needs to start Kindergarten, but I also want to give you some ideas of things you may not have even thought about!
You’re a great parent for even checking out these tips. It shows you care and that you want to do your best to help your child have a great first year of school.
*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. I only recommend products I love or would personally use.
What should a child be able to do by Kindergarten?
Use the Restroom Independently
First and foremost, a child going to Kindergarten needs to be able to use the restroom independently. This means being able to wipe for all things, flush the toilet, open and close the bathroom stall door, and wash hands well. If you haven’t already, you need to be practicing this skill every time you are out somewhere.
Get Dressed Without Help
Although you’ll be around when your child is getting ready, being able to get dressed without any help is a great skill for a Kindergartner to learn. They should be able to put on a shirt and a pair of shorts or pants independently. I wouldn’t expect them to be able to button up the back of a dress, but they should be able to button up a shirt.
Skip Nap Time
All of my kids gave up naps really early, but I know plenty of kids who nap well beyond age 3. Unfortunately, there isn’t naptime at most Kindergartens, so now is the time to start working with your child on giving up the nap. You can start by cutting back the amount of time you allow your child to sleep by half an hour. Keep doing that until they can make it through the day without a nap.
Eat Lunch Without Help
Any school I have ever been in will have an adult lunchroom monitor. However, your child shouldn’t be dependent upon them every day. Work with your child on being able to open all the things in their lunchbox. This includes the lunch box itself, containers inside the lunch box, drink containers, as well as any food packages.
Follow 2-Step Directions
What’s a 2-step direction, you may wonder? A 2-step direction is simply following 2 directions sequentially. So, something like put away your Play-Doh and grab your pencil. It doesn’t need to be complicated; they just need to be able to do one thing and remember what to do next.
Tie Their Shoes
I can’t remember if I knew how to do this going into Kindergarten, but I do remember there being a large board shoe with a shoestring on it, and we were allowed to practice tying with it. Now is a great time to start working with your child on how to tie a shoe. If they don’t know how to tie their shoes yet, consider a Velcro shoe option for now.
Hold a Pencil or Crayon
One fine motor skill your child needs to start practicing is holding a pencil. This is something you can do the summer before your child begins Kindergarten. You can practice drawing fun things with them so they don’t even realize they’re working on a skill.
Use the Zipper on a Backpack/Lunch Box
Every Kindergartner will need a backpack, and backpacks have zippers. If your child doesn’t know how to work a zipper, now is the time to teach that skill. They need to be able to work the zipper both ways, so keep that in mind. Oftentimes, lunch boxes also have zippers.
Clean Up After Themselves
One overlooked skill parents can sometimes miss is a child’s ability to clean up after themselves. This is something they need to be able to do after indoor recess, at the lunch table, and when working either independently or with a group of classmates. Teach them how to assess the situation, figure out where things go, identify trash, and place all things where they belong.
Show some love to your child’s teacher this year with one of these awesome back-to-school teacher gifts!
What does a child need for Kindergarten?
Backpack
I still remember how much I LOVED shopping for school supplies each year. And every year, we were allowed to pick out a new backpack. Now is a great time to allow your child to practice some autonomy by letting them choose the backpack they want. This will be the vessel that carries projects, communication, and school projects back and forth between home and school. Be sure you help them choose a backpack that will last.
Lunchbox
A lunch box is great to have, even if you don’t think your child will use it every day. First, they don’t need to be super expensive. Second, packing your child’s lunch every day allows you to have control over what they’re eating. And, it’s nice to have a lunch box that will help keep their food at a safe temperature with an ice pack. Bentgo is a super popular lunch box brand among parents. There are over 20 designs to choose from. They are a little more expensive than a traditional lunch box, but parents love them. The other is a FlowFly standard lunchbox.
Lunchbox Containers
When I was little, I put everything in plastic bags and then put them all in my lunchbox. Now, kids have the option to use one of these lunchbox containers. The first is a Bentgo brand lunch box organizer. They’re great for keeping food organized and compartmentalized. There are over 30 different designs to choose from! I also want to share a stainless steel lunch organizer because I know a lot of people try to avoid plastic.
Water Bottle
I think most kids carry a water bottle to school these days. And, they’ll for sure want it for lunch. This owala stainless steel water bottle is very popular among parents because it’s easy to clean, comes in lots of colors, and keeps drinks cold for a long time. Another great water bottle for kids is the Simple Modern pop-up water bottle for kids. It is also easy to clean, keeps drinks cold, and comes in a large variety of designs.
School Box with School Supplies
The last school supply I will leave you with is a school box filled with the basic school supplies. I know every school provides a supply list, but most ask for a school box. Here are 2 school boxes that I think are worth it more than the traditional plastic school box. The first is a ZIPIT clear top pencil box for kids. I love that they can see inside, and I also love that it has a zipper because it’s more likely to last. It comes in 4 different designs. The second is a Flexi school supply box. I appreciate that it’s flexible because it’s less likely to break.
How do you prepare your child for Kindergarten?
READ
One of the very best ways to prepare your child for Kindergarten is to read to them every day. This helps them build their fluency, as well as their ability to sit and listen. They’ll need to be able to sit and listen in class, so reading to them every day will help develop that skill as well.
Make Writing Fun
When we think of writing as adults, we likely think of writing papers. For a child learning to write, it can be something as simple as tracing lines or letters. We are working to develop their fine motor skills so that eventually they can become proficient with using a pencil to write. For now, find things they enjoy using a pencil for, and let them develop the skill of holding a pencil or crayon properly.
Teach Them to Recognize Letters
Before Kindergarten begins, you can be working with your child to help them recognize all 26 letters. It’s also recommended to make sure their learning all uppercase and lowercase versions of the letters. This is often learned with alphabet flashcards.
Practice Basic Shapes
If your child doesn’t already know them, now is a good time to begin working on identifying basic shapes. This is a great set of flashcards to practice numbers, shapes, colors, and letters.
Practice Counting
I love to practice counting by finding objects around the house and counting them. It gives you the chance to use different things to count, which makes it more interesting for kids.
Practice Using Scissors
As a parent, this wasn’t a “skill” I thought about. I allowed my kids to use blunt scissors, and they just kind of figured it out over time. I showed them how to use them, and then just let them practice until they got it. Strangely enough, nearly all of my kids opened their mouths while they cut. Apparently, that’s something some kids do when they’re learning a new skill. Who knew?
Teach Them How to Flush a Toilet
For me, when I would take my kids out, I just naturally did all the things for them. But when they’re on their own at school, they need to know how to handle their personal hygiene things, like using their foot to flush a toilet. Now is the time to teach them how to do this skill.
Practice Kindness and Social Skills
If your child has been in daycare, they’re likely used to being around a lot of kids. If you don’t spend a lot of time with other kids, now is a great time to begin exposing them to larger groups of kids. As they enter Kindergarten, they’ll spend their days with their peers, and it’s important for them to develop the social skills to interact well with others.
Practice a Routine Before the School Year Begins
There is nothing worse than waking up a grumpy, exhausted child. Before heading into Kindergarten, you could start to work on a morning school routine. Something as simple as wake up, eat breakfast, brush teeth, get dressed, pack lunch, etc. If you start working on a morning school routine before the school year begins, the transition to Kindergarten will be much easier for you and them.
Attend Meet the Teacher Night
Every school hosts some sort of Open House/ Meet the Teacher Night. I highly recommend attending this night. Your child will be able to meet their teacher, explore their classroom, and get a feel for the layout of their new school. It’s also a chance for you to meet your child’s teacher and ask any questions you have before the big day!
Teach Your Child to Ask for Help
I feel like kids are used to just telling us what they need. Sometimes it can be hard for kids to speak those ideas to other adults. Test your child’s ability to ask someone for help by asking an employee where something is in a store, ordering their own food at a restaurant, or asking someone for something at the library. Learning to speak to adults and ask for help is a new skill for a lot of kids.
Talk About Body Safety
It makes my heart so sad that this is even a thing, but it’s reality. It is so, so important that you have a body safety conversation with your child. Remind them of what safe touch is- holding an adult’s hand to walk to the library, having a teacher hold your hand to help cut something, or something that does not allow someone to enter their personal space. Remind them of the body parts no one should EVER touch. Tell them to get to an adult if they don’t feel safe. It’s important that they know there are bad people in this world, and if they end up with one, they need to tell someone.
Teach Them How to Apologize
Even as adults, it can be hard to apologize. And just like everything else on this list, apologizing is a learned skill. But, just as we teach our kids how to apologize, it’s equally as important that we know how to apologize to our kids. They’ll pick up on your demeanor and your body language, and learn to give a sincere apology when they mess up, rather than a forced apology that means nothing.
Speak Positively About School
Going into a new place can be scary. If you speak positively about school, your child will (hopefully) begin to feel better about this new adventure. Speak to them (and others) about how much fun they’re going to have, the awesome activities they’ll get to do, playing at recess, and so much more. The more often they hear you speak positively about Kindergarten, the more likely they are to become excited about it.
Practice Quiet Time
Some of my kids LOVE sitting quietly alone. And then I have other kids who don’t seem to understand what the word quiet even means. Maybe you can relate! There will be expectations at times when every child is able to sit quietly. Playing the quiet game is a great way to help your child learn to sit quietly. This can even be something that earns a reward until it becomes a learned skill.
Practice Writing Their Name
Practice, not perfect. That truly is the name of the game at this age. Hopefully, no teacher expects a child to come to Kindergarten being able to do everything correctly. Maybe a letter is backwards, or they write in all uppercase letters, but ideally, your child can write their name in some form that the teacher knows what it says. Continue to practice, and quickly enough, they’ll know how to write their name.
Make Sure They Know Their First Name, Last Name, and Phone Number
Even if they can’t write it all, now is the time to make sure your child knows their first name, last name, and your phone number. This becomes super important if something were to happen and your child got lost. They need to be able to give this information to an adult so they can safely make their way back to you!
Your child is going to have an amazing Kindergarten year because you’re ahead of the game. By doing as many of these things as you’re able, you are giving your child a great start. Caring is the first part to making great things happen. I hope you and your child have an amazing year!
My Other Thoughts About SCHOOL!
First Day of School Gifts for Teachers
40 Questions to Ask Kids After School
End-of-School Gift Ideas for Teachers
I Took My Kids’ Toys Away- Here’s What Happened
The Best Outdoor Toys for Kids by Age Group
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