10 Early Signs of Kindergarten Readiness

Every child learns differently and at their own pace. Little ones who come through the preschool program at Playgarden Prep are sometimes here from age 2 to 4, up until the spring before they start kindergarten. It’s a joy to watch them learn and grow into themselves — personalities and all. One of the most rewarding parts of teaching is noticing the skills they are picking up and retaining, which includes academic and social-emotional skills as part of their whole early childhood education curriculum. 

Just the other day at Playgarden Prep, I was with the 3-4 olds and one of the students bumped his head and got pretty upset, saying he missed his mom. I sat with him and an ice pack while he took a break and about two minutes into sitting down, a couple of other students came up to ask their friend if he was okay. They had heard him saying he missed his mom and one student said “I miss my mom sometimes too, but we always see her after school!” They also asked if they could give him a hug to make him feel better. It warmed my heart to see the love and care these little ones have for their friends, and it also reassured me that they will be ready for kindergarten.

Here’s a list of early signs of kindergarten readiness!

1. Independence Emerging – your little one is comfortable using the bathroom by themselves, picking out clothes and dressing themselves, and practicing self-care in general. 

2. Recognizing their Name when Written – they are recognizing their name and letters that make up their first and last name — this is an important sign of kindergarten readiness. 

3. Plays Well with Others – your little one is sharing toys and taking turns, as well as listening and respecting the boundaries of their peers.

4. Communicates Well – you are noticing your little one is able to ask for what they want or need from parents, teachers, and friends. They are comfortable carrying on conversations and asking questions. 

5. Practice Patience – you notice your little one can sit for an extended period of time and is able listen to early childhood educational instruction with minimal interruption. 

6. Strong Motor Skills – your little one is finding ease with fine motor skill activities, like threading beads on string or puzzles with smaller pieces. They also may be starting to hold writing instruments in a proper grasp, either 4 finger-grip or tripod grip. They may have started writing their first name, names of people in their family, etc.

7. Identifying Colors – your little one is beginning to identify colors with ease and maybe even naming objects that are also that color. For example, they see a firetruck and you ask them what color it is, they respond “red!” and you can ask “what are other things you see that are red?” Maybe they point out other red objects they see or start naming red objects like “strawberries!” 

8. Identifying Letters – just like with their name, a great indication your little one is grasping and retaining their alphabet is when they start pointing out letters in everyday life. For example, you are walking down the street and they point out a STOP sign. Maybe they recognize one letter, maybe they spell and read out the whole word! 

9. Phonemic Awareness – little ones are starting to sound out words, as well as use phonemes to lead them through words that are unfamiliar. Sounding out words that are unfamiliar shows they are applying their early childhood education knowledge and are ready for more challenging words.

10. Excitement for Learning – your little one loves to share what they are learning in school and they may even be teaching their family a thing or two. They gravitate towards books and early childhood education learning activities and have a genuine curiosity about the world around them.

Seeing the signs preschoolers are ready to move forward from early education into kindergarten is bittersweet. Your little one is growing up and getting ready to take on the world in their own way. It’s a good reminder that this time before they enter kindergarten is precious and fleeting, so enjoy every minute of it and celebrate the fact that your little one is kindergarten ready and growing more confident in themselves every day–what a great way to show their kindergarten readiness!