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What is Kindergarten Readiness?

Updated: Aug 1, 2022

The complete guide to kindergarten readiness for early childhood development.


Measuring Kindergarten readiness in childhood development.

What is kindergarten readiness and how can Faith Lutheran Childcare Development Center help your child be ready?


Kindergarten readiness has become a popular term in the US for determining whether a child is ready for kindergarten or not. Readiness, in this sense, is determined by academic standards. At Faith Lutheran we believe that there's more to readiness than knowing your ABC's and your 123's.


We know kids need more than to have memorized letters or numbers. They also need to develop peer strategies, be able to follow directions, and be able to ask an adult for help.


 

Develop Strategies for Conflict


It's easy for adults to swoop in and give ideas and strategies for your kid when they have a disagreement with another child, but what happens when you're not there? Instead of immediately going in to solve the problem, pause and help them brainstorm ideas for how they can resolve the issue.


The first step is to help children identify their emotions. When disagreements happen they usually result in big, intense emotions. Helping them identify how they are feeling allows them to move on so they can resolve the disagreement versus an emotional reaction which can result in hitting, biting, etc.


The next step is to ask questions to help them come up with their own solution. Here are a few tactics to try the next time your child encounters a conflict.

  • If they don't have any ideas help them brainstorm ideas to address the issue.

  • This is a great opportunity for them to use you as a sounding board. Often adults overlook the fact that we have other people in our lives we can talk with about our problems. Kids need someone to listen too.

  • Encourage them to try their different ideas, and suggest others if they’re really stuck.

  • Praise them for what they come up with:

“That sounds like a great first step.”

“I like that tactic! Great problem solving!”

No relationship is perfect. All children need to learn how to resolve a conflict. Remember, that sometimes it might a child might need to apologize to another. Find out more about what ingredients should go into an apology here.


 

Follow Multi Step Instructions


"Take off your coat and backpack, hang them in the cubby, and come join us on the rug for story time."


School, and life for that matter, is full of multi step directions. Remembering what was asked and completing all the steps is a huge step for kids to succeed. So is being able to take directions from another person. In order for anyone to complete directions with more than one step, they need to be able to use their working memory. Verbal reasoning is their ability to understand the words used in the instructions. This is another key factor for their success. By age four most kids have developed the ability to follow 3 step instructions.


So how can you teach these skills? One idea is to turn it into a game. Here are a couple of fun game ideas to try at home.

You can build on this activity by adding in additional steps.

 

Ask An Adult For Help


This can be intimidating for any kiddo, but even more so for shy ones. As a parent, you won't be there during the day and kids need to build confidence speaking to adults that they are not related to or close to. If they are on the playground and something happens they may need to go talk to an aide that they aren't really around. Too much anxiety and they may not say anything. Here are a few ideas to help your child feel more confident speaking to an adult.

  1. Let them tell the waitstaff their order if you go out to eat.

  2. See if they can spark up some small talk with the cashier at checkout.

  3. Maybe they can ask a question when they visit the dentist or doctor or if with a neighbor.

Asking for help when you don't know all the adults can feel intimidating. Help your child practice and gain confidence talking with adults.


As you can see, there is a lot more to Kindergarten readiness than memorizing the ABC's and counting to 20. Helping your child resolve stressors of day to day life and you will see them soar high the entire time they are in school.

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