Kindergarten readiness activities
7 Activities We Do Every Day to Prepare for Kindergarten
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My oldest son will be in Kindergarten when the new school year starts. We’ve decided to do a dual enrollment, which means he will go to Kindergarten in the morning and then we will homeschool in the afternoon. This summer I’m trying to prepare him for Kindergarten. We aren’t doing anything too extensive, but these activities will keep his skills sharp.
Most days, when my 10 month old and 3 year old goes down for their afternoon naps, we do our “school” time together. He actually looks forward to this time with me. I know he enjoys the time alone with mom!
Here’s what we do in this same order.
1. Write the Alphabet
We start with writing all the letters of the alphabet in order. Right now we are working on uppercase letters, but we’ll eventually work on lowercase letters. I have a poster above his desk to help him if he forgets which letter comes next or how to write a letter. I also have him write with a dry erase marker on a dry erase pocket so it’s reusable. (I got the poster and plastic pocket at the Target dollar section.)
2. Write Numbers
I also have him practice writing numbers. I only have him write 5 numbers since his hand is usually tired of writing.
3. Cutting Practice
Next, we do some cutting practice with kid scissors. Some days I use printables I find on other blogs and other days I draw designs or zig zags on a paper and have him cut them out. It’s just something simple to practice fine motor skills and keep his fingers used to cutting paper.
4. Name Writing
Next, I have him practice writing his name. I know he’ll need to do this a lot in Kindergarten!
5. Read Simple Books
I am teaching him to read simple books this summer. It is amazing to watch him sound out new words to read! We are just reading BOB Books right now and I have other simple readers for him to read next. I also LOVE the Usborne Very First Reading series. The stories are so cute and it’s starts off with shared reading, meaning the parent reads one part and the child reads the other part. These books helped my son tremendously when he was learning to read!
6. Read Aloud
I love to read aloud to my children. Since Troy is 5.5, he is to the age where I can read a book out loud to him and he doesn’t need to see the pictures. Right now, we have been reading Mercy Watson books, which have a few pictures. I’m also going to start reading books off of this read aloud list here.
7. ABC Mouse
Lastly, he completes his lessons on ABCmouse.com. We have used this online program for over 2 years and love it. My oldest and middle children use this program. My oldest is on the Kindergarten level, which has practice for literacy, math, science, and social studies. I’m usually next to him while he does his lessons because he loves to show me what he’s doing, but he can also do this independently.
I’m sure there are more things I could do with him every day, but I also want to make summer fun and relaxing so we do a lot of play activities!
If you’re looking for a great summer program for your almost-kindergartener, then check out 10 Weeks to Kindergarten! Find more information about this program HERE.
Kindergarten Readiness Activities - The Primary Parade
Looking for Kindergarten readiness activities?
Is your five year old ready for kindergarten? What should your kids know before starting kindergarten? Lots of parents wonder if their kids are really ready for kindergarten. Let’s talk about what you can do at home this summer to get your preschoolers ready for kindergarten.
Ultimately, only you can decide if your child is truly ready for kindergarten, but completing kindergarten readiness activities can help you feel a lot more confident. Today, let’s talk about kindergarten preparation and kindergarten readiness assessments.
Keep reading to discover all kinds of fun activities you can do to help prepare your soon to be kindergartners.
What a Kindergartner Should Know
What should a 5 year old know before kindergarten? It might not be what you think. There are all kinds of kindergarten readiness skills your child will need to master for a successful kindergarten year.
Fortunately, kindergarten preparation at home can be easy and lots of fun too. Here are some of the skills teachers want your kindergartner to know:
Early Literacy & Handwriting Skills
- Practice writing letters
- Learn to write their names
- Letter recognition and identification
- Know the sound each letter makes
- Know how to turn book pages
- Be able to identify the first page in a book
- Rhyming skills
- Environmental print
Math Skills for Kindergarten Preparation
- Identify numbers
- Count by rote
- One to one correspondence
- Know colors
- Recognize and identify shapes
- Sorting skills
Gross Motor Skills
- Balance
- Accurately mimic movements
- Jumping
- Kicking
- Crossing the midline
Fine Motor Skills
- Cutting and scissor skills
- Molding playdough
- Buttoning
- Zipping
- Pinching
- Proper pencil grip
Focus and Attention
- Ability to follow 2 and 3 step instructions
- Learn to focus for increasing lengths of time
- Ability to express feelings
- Empathy for others
- Interacts and plays with others in a group
- Sharing and taking turns
Kindergarten Readiness Activities
Kindergarten readiness activities can help you prepare your rising kindergartners for the upcoming year. Check out some of the fun kindergarten readiness activities available here at The Primary Parade to help prepare your kids:
Early Literacy Skills
You won’t need to teach your kids how to read at home, but it’s important to impart important early literacy skills to your rising kindergartners. One of the best ways to help your kids learn important early literacy skills like letter recognition and phonemic awareness is by reading aloud.
There are tons of fun books you can read aloud to help your kids prepare. In each unit study lesson plan here at The Primary Parade, you’ll find 5 relevant book suggestions to help your preschoolers discover rhyming, expand their vocabulary, and learn to recognize letters before kindergarten.
Then, use related kindergarten readiness activities, like my Let’s Go Fishing Beginning Sounds Game to help your kids practice identifying beginning sounds while having fun.
Other fun kindergarten readiness activities for building early literacy skills include Alphabet Tracing Worksheets with tons of early literacy practice on every page.
Handwriting for Kindergarten Readiness
To prepare your kids for kindergarten, help them practice writing the letters of the alphabet, especially the letters in their own name. There are tons of fun kindergarten prep activities to help your preschoolers master writing their own names.
Check out my Editable Tracing Template for name writing practice that’s fun with your early learners this year.
You can practice early writing skills with some fun hands on kindergarten readiness activities too. Try a few of these fun activities:
- Writing letters in shaving cream
- Sand or salt writing tray
Early Numeracy Skills
Kindergarten readiness activities that will help your kids master math at an early age include counting skills, sorting skills, and being able to identify numbers, colors, and shapes. To help your kids master these skills: check out the following kindergarten readiness activities from my shop:
Try this fun Plant Counting Activity to build number recognition, counting skills, and one-to-one correspondence with your rising kindergartners. Then, practice shapes with 8 fun shape activities. Finally, don’t miss this kindergarten readiness activity for learning colors: Color Mixing Science Experiment.
Want more hands-on practice for kinesthetic learners? Try counting steps as you climb them or counting out crackers and fruit at snack time. Play board games like Hasbro’s Candy Land and The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel from Educational Insights for a fun kindergarten prep activity.
Gross Motor Activities for Rising Kindergartners
All children develop gross motor skills at different rates, but you can help your rising kindergartners develop important gross motor skills for healthy physical activity with these fun kindergarten readiness activities:
Play a game of kickball or have a soccer shoot out. Any ball that can be kicked will work for this fun kindergarten prep activity.
Try a game of hopscotch or a sidewalk chalk obstacle course to build gross motor skills like balance, jumping, and skipping with your kids. Games like 4 Square are perfect for building these gross motor skills too.
Dancing and jumping on a trampoline are fantastic ways to help your kindergartners develop important gross motor skills too. Another important skill is learning to ride a bicycle or tricycle. Your kids will learn to balance and master coordination as they learn how to pedal their bike or trike. You can draw a fun sidewalk chalk bike path or obstacle course for even more fun too.
Simply playing on playground equipment like slides, monkey bars, and swings can help your kids develop important gross motor kindergarten readiness skills that will last a lifetime. Plus, it’s a whole lot of fun!
Finally, don’t be afraid to get in on the fun with your kids and help them learn the importance of healthy physical activity with sports and games that will get your rising kindergartners moving indoors and outdoors this school year. The American Heart Association recommends 60 minutes of physical activity every day for a healthy lifestyle. So, get up and get moving to build balance, coordination, kindergarten readiness, and your health.
Fine Motor Activities for Kindergarten Preparation
Before you can master handwriting skills with your rising kindergartners, you’ll need to develop their fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are essential for handwriting as well as many important activities like tying shoes, getting dressed, and manipulating small objects. Check out my article on Fine Motor Skills Activities for all kinds of fun activities you can use with toddlers, preschoolers, and rising kindergartners to help them master these essential skills.
Then, try some of our favorite fine motor skill building kindergarten readiness activities:
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- Crafts (try the dinosaur crafts, alphabet crafts, and zoo crafts available in my shop)
- Learning Resource’s Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set
- Finger paint
- Summer Playdough Mats
- Stringing beads, buttons, or dry pasta
- Melissa and Doug Lacing Beads
An important part of setting your kids up for success in kindergarten includes helping them to develop emotional awareness and build valuable social skills. This knowledge will help your rising kindergartners to manage their emotions, show empathy for others, and establish positive relationships.
Check out these fun kindergarten readiness activities for building social skills and emotional awareness:
- Social-Emotional Learning Playdough Mat
- Read I Like Me! by Nancy Carlson
- Self Portrait Craft
- Practice talking about feelings
- Role-Play Activities to practice social skills
Kindergarten Readiness Activities that Build Focus and Attention
There are all kinds of fun games you can play with your rising kindergartners to help them build focus and attention. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Simon Says
- Mother May I
- Life on Earth Memory and Matching Game
- Shape Scavenger Hunt
- Coloring Pages
Kindergarten Readiness Assessment
How will you know if your child is truly ready for kindergarten? After all, kindergarten is a lot different these days than it was when you and I went! Your preschooler might be the right age to begin kindergarten in the fall, but are they ready?
The good news is that practicing with the kindergarten readiness activities above will help your kids master the skills they need to be prepared for kindergarten. If you’re a checklist person, here’s a helpful kindergarten readiness assessment in the form of a kindergarten checklist you can use to determine if your child is ready:
- Follows simple directions
- Sits and listens to a story
- Uses the restroom independently
- Recognizes letters and numbers
- Recognizes colors and shapes
- Practices gross motor skills
- Practices fine motor skills
- Can share and take turns with peers
- Regulates emotions
The most important kindergarten readiness assessment of all is identifying whether or not your child is interested in learning. Kids have different learning styles and many of them aren’t interested in sitting and listening to long lectures or completing endless worksheets. Don’t be discouraged if your rising kindergartener hasn’t quite mastered sitting still for a story or using scissors.
A child who is interested in learning and eager to try new learning activities and practice these kindergarten readiness activities will succeed in kindergarten. Have fun with the hands-on learning activities, books, games, and kindergarten readiness worksheets above as you prepare your kids for their kindergarten year through graduation.
What kindergarten readiness skills will you focus on this year? Did I forget to mention something important? Tell me all about it in the comment section. Then, share your favorite kindergarten readiness activities in the comments for everyone to try in their own preschool classrooms and at home preschools.
Action plan for the preparation of MBDOU kindergarten No. 79 "Eaglet" in Bryansk for the new academic year | Methodical development on the topic:
Plan of the preparation of a DOW for the new school year
Download:
Preview:
Appendix No. 1 approved:
Order from "___" _____ 2018 No.
Head of MBDOU d/s No. 79
_________/S.P. Solovyova/
Plan
Events for the preparation of MBDOU D/s No. 79 "Eaglet"
by the 2018-2019 academic year
Item No. | Activities (types of work) | Dates | Cost | Financing Source | Contractor | Responsible | |||
9000. 1. engineering communications, roofing, technological equipment of the catering department, | February | April 2018 | Budget | Bucket | |||||
4. | Carrying out planned fire briefing | May 2018. | GUPHOZH | ||||||
5. | Control of evacuation tracks | Constantly | Header | ||||||
6. | Verification of the insulation and grounding of equipment | April 2018. | 8000 | Voluntary donations | Header | 7. | Control and preparation0024 | 29 | Preparation of the institution for the autumn-winter period: - preparation of sand-salt mixture; - purchase of signal tape; - insulation of doors and window units; - installation |
Appendix No. 1 approved: 9Ol000"Eagleus"
by the 2018-2019 academic year
No. p | Measures | Dates | Cost for financing | Inspection and analysis of the material and technical condition of the building, premises, utilities, roofing, technological equipment of the catering unit, laundry | February 2018 | supply manager |
| February 2018 | |||||
2. | Pruning of dry branches, dry garbage collection | May | Hygienic training of employees of MBDOU employees D/s No. 79 | February | Head | |
9000 2. | manager | |||||
13. | Replacement of sand in the sandboxes | 9002 June 8 3 | Replenishment of medical first -aid kits on groups | May | Educators | 19. | Marking for ages in accordance with SanPiN | 9000 September September Sep nurse
Other activities | GUPHOZH | |||||
22. | Technical inspection of the building with the compilation of act | 9000 9000 | ||||
9000.9000 9000 cup on walking grounds with drawing up an act | August | supply manager | ||||
24. | Preparation of acts for conducting classes in the hall in gymnastic shells | August | Glode | |||
9000 25. sand-salt mixture; - purchase of signal tape; - insulation of doors and window units; - installation of reflective screens under the batteries. | September-October | supply manager |
Recommendations for parents on preparing children for kindergarten.
Events WARNING, THIN ICE!!! WORLD OF FASHION. DIY hats. Training evacuation “One of the areas of the fire safety system is the organization and implementation of activities for the practical development of actions among service personnel and kindergarten students, evacuation plans in the event of a fire. It is in our interests to bring the actions of children and kindergarten teachers to automaticity, so that during a fire they do not panic and know how to behave correctly” Healthy nation "Cross-country skiing" Competition of pedagogical skills "Teacher of the year - 2023" Fire safety of children. | Home / For parents / Dear parents, if you are determined to send your baby to our kindergarten, we advise you to prepare for this event long before your first visit! 1. Your child's transition to kindergarten may be difficult. The adaptation of the child's body to new conditions is called adaptation. Very often, the adaptation of children to the conditions of kindergarten is accompanied by physiological and emotional stress: children can cry a lot and for a long time, appetite and sleep are disturbed, blood pressure and temperature rise, vomiting, diarrhea open, fears, isolation, uncertainty, aggression appear. Therefore, in order to reduce the manifestations of the “adaptation syndrome”, it is necessary to approach this problem as responsibly as possible and help the child get used to the new conditions. Start preparing for this this summer!
2. Tell your child what kindergarten is, why children go there, why you want him to go to kindergarten. We offer you the following version of the story: “Kindergarten is such a beautiful home where mothers and fathers bring their children. I want you to meet and make friends with other children and adults. Everything in the garden is adapted for children. There are small tables and chairs, small beds, small wash basins, small cabinets, many interesting toys. You can see it, touch it, play with it. Children play, eat, walk in the garden. I really want to go to work, I'm very interested. And I really want you to go to kindergarten so that you are also interested. I will take you to the garden in the morning and pick you up in the evening. You tell me what was interesting in the garden, I will tell you what was interesting at work. A lot of guys want to go there. You are very lucky, in the autumn I will start taking you there. But we need to prepare for this. Buy all the necessary things, learn the names of the teachers and learn the rules of kindergarten life.
3. Passing by the kindergarten, joyfully remind the child how lucky he is - in the fall he will be able to go here. Tell relatives and friends about this in the presence of the baby, say that you are proud of your child, because he was accepted into kindergarten.
4. Tell your child in detail about the kindergarten routine: what, how and in what sequence he will do. The more detailed your story is, and the more often you repeat it, the calmer and more confident your child will feel when he goes to the garden. Ask him: what will he do in the garden after a walk, where to put his things, who will help him undress, what will he do after dinner? Children are frightened by the unknown, but when they see that the expected event is happening as promised, they feel more confident.
5. Talk to your child about possible difficulties, whom he can turn to for help, how he can do it. For example: “If you are thirsty, go to the teacher and say:“ I am thirsty, ”and the teacher will pour water for you. If you want to use the toilet, say so. But there will be many children in the group and sometimes you will have to wait your turn. For example, the teacher will not be able to dress all the children at once, so wait until it's your turn. Try to play all these situations at home. For example, you are a teacher, and a teddy bear, for whom you also have to speak, asks for a drink. It's good if the child wants to be a bear or a teacher in this game.
6. Over the summer, prepare a “joyful” box with your child by putting various funny items there (small toys, beautiful paper napkins, books, paper boats and airplanes). In the fall, it will be easier for you to send your child to kindergarten: it is more fun to go with a toy and start relationships with other children.
7. Get to know the daily routine in kindergarten in advance. Be sure to follow this routine at home. About a month before your child attends kindergarten, be with him a little less often than before.
8. Increase the role of hardening activities at home. Send your child to kindergarten only if he is healthy.
9. Feel free to ask the head of the preschool educational institution the last name and first name of your teacher, ask to show the site of your group. Then, take his to kindergarten in advance, get to know the children and teachers. We recommend starting with joint summer walks in the kindergarten area (during the day and in the evening), together with parents. Help the child to build relationships with children and teachers, teach the child to address them by name, to play. Show that children are not left in kindergarten, but are taken home. Thus, your baby will gradually begin to get used to those people who will surround his thereafter. |