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8 Life Skills Your Child Needs Before Kindergarten

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Now that I’m a mom, I think about what I need to do to prepare my son’s little body for life. Yes, he’s just barely a year old, but that means I’ve already 1/18th done with him! EEK! There’s a lot to do yet in the 17 years we have left. Add in the fact that I was a teacher for eight years, and my brain is often thinking about ways to make him more successful in his future school “career”.

The other day I was thinking about helping him learn his letter and numbers, starting him on reading, and introducing basic math skills (not yet, but sooner than I realize – that first year went FAST!). Then it hit me – there’s so much more I wish my Kindergarten students would have known! So today I share with you the life skills your child needs BEFORE Kindergarten!

I remember playing in a table filled with corn during my Kindergarten year. We also had rest time and art every Friday. However, Kindergarten has changed. Now students are expected to be readers by the end of the year. Teachers simply don’t have time to teach the life skills they used to, so that is why I consider these eight items to be the things parents and guardians must teach before their child enters Kindergarten.

Here are eight life skills your child needs BEFORE Kindergarten, as told by a former Kindergarten teacher! #2 is pretty obvious, but #8 might surprise you!
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There are loads of articles out there about what academic skills will help your students during their Kindergarten year, but this post is about the life skills your child needs to know before Kindergarten. So let’s get started.

1. Know their name and names of family members.

Yes, this one seems obvious, but it’s not. I taught a little boy who didn’t know his name. Finally, at the end of the second day I asked him why he wasn’t answering me when I talked to him. He said, “Well, at home they call me Booger, so that’s what I thought you’d call me. I don’t know you’re talking to me until you say it two or three times and look right at me.”
Wow! I felt so bad for this poor kid! No one in his family had taken the time to fill out the required paperwork, so I had no idea he had any nicknames. And when I had greeted him the first day he simply smiled and started playing with the other kids right away. Thankfully I figured this out on day two and not in month #2!
Equally important is that your child should know their parent or guardians names. Yes, there is information in the office about your child and the teacher often knows her student’s information, but it’s helpful if the child can help out. Them saying to “call mommy at work” isn’t going to be very helpful. And if you’re someone who switches jobs a lot without keeping the school informed, it can be very hard to track down a parent without a cell phone. Just please help a teacher out.

2. Can use restroom alone.

It’s incredibly helpful if your child can utilize the restroom alone. This means being able to fully unzip, use the toilet, wipe, get all clothing back on appropriately, and wash their hands. Yes, I realize you might have that one pair of pants that are hard to get buttoned, but school may not be the best time to wear them. As teachers, we have no problem helping the students out. But we are there for academics. If all 20+ students need our help with the bathroom once a day, that is a lot of instructional time that your child is missing out on! Please make sure your child is as independent as possible in the bathroom, whether that’s wiping after #2 or just being able to get fully dressed again alone.

3. Does general pick up.

Children who pick up after themselves are a dream come true to teachers! Your child does not need to make the area spotless, but they do need to be able to clean up as best they can. This can be everything from putting away the toys they were playing with to thoroughly washing their hands to not spread germs and disease. If your child knows this life skill before Kindergarten, there’s a good chance they’ll be the teacher’s favorite. 🙂

4. Shows appreciation or gratitude.

While this one may not be absolutely necessary, there’s a lot to be said for students who use some basic manners. I always taught them in my Kindergarten classroom, but I really think if more children came to school familiar with them it would make life easier. And if Kindergarten students can handle this, maybe more adults would. Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a world filled with manners?

5. Follow basic directions.

Please make sure your child can follow basic directions. Teachers, particularly Kindergarten teachers, are used to helping students by repeating directions or breaking them down into smaller chunks. However, it’s helpful if your child understands that they need to follow through on directions given to them to the best of their abilities. You can practice this at home by asking your child to put away their toys. put the silverware on the table for supper, or to get ready to take a bath. Children need practice with this to be successful.

6. Has basic social skills.

You’d be shocked how many children have no idea how to play with one another. It’s a little sad actually. My personal opinion is that too many parents put their children in front of electronics and they don’t get many real chances for interaction. You don’t want to be the parent getting calls from the principal that your child is hitting others. This is often done as attention seeking behavior when children don’t know how to ask another child to play with them. Make sure your child has had enough experience (whether actual or role-playing) to know how to ask others to play, to wait their turn, and other basic necessities that are part of everyday school life.

7. Holds a pencil correctly.

It’s amazing the number of Kindergarten students who come to school holding a pencil with a death-like fist grab, or those who look at a pencil with bewilderment because they haven’t seen one before. Please let your child have some supervised time with a pencil before the first day of school. That will make things so much easier for your child and their teacher!

8. Knows they will be picked up again.

There are many 5 year olds who don’t understand that, yes, they will get picked up again at the end of the school day. It takes a LOT of the teachers time and energy to console the upset child, and this causes lost instructional time for everyone else in the classroom. Make sure your child knows you will be back to get them (or make sure they understand how they will get home). This may mean playdates at a friend’s house where you leave them for an hour or two at a time, an overnight trip to grandma’s house, or preschool. Regardless, make sure your child understands that school is a safe, fun place to be and that you will reunite with them!
There you have it – the eight life skills your child must know before Kindergarten, as told by a former Kindergarten teacher. Please consider these when you begin working on this academic skills that we all know are vitally important!
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Here are eight life skills your child needs BEFORE Kindergarten, as told by a former Kindergarten teacher! #2 is pretty obvious, but #8 might surprise you!
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Are you looking for ways to help your toddler or preschool student get ready for school? This ebook can help! It has great ways to help you prepare your child for Kindergarten. Click through to learn more today!

Comments

  1. Leslie says

    Thanks for sharing. With such tremendous focus being placed on early academics, it’s refreshing to hear voices advocating for life skills and social skills. Our blogging community would be blessed if you shared this at the Literacy Musing Mondays Linkup. #LMMLinkup http://www.foreverjoyful.net/?p=988

  3. Melissa D says

    I’m so glad to read this! My younger daughter is turning 5 in September, and while she’s already reading, I know she’ll be one of the youngest in her Kindergarten class (if we don’t homeschool her). What a relief to check off 7 of these skills already! 🙂 Any tips for pencil grip? We do so many fine-motor skill activities to build hand strength and have LOTS of time with chalk, crayons, markers, etc during the day, but she still grips with her fist. She cries when I try to adjust her hand, so I struggle with the balance between not making writing a traumatic experience and not building a bad habit. I don’t remember going through this with my older daughter!

  4. Amy M says

    Great list! My little guy is 2, and these are things that we have started working on with him in one way or another. We plan to homeschool, but still want to teach him that church nursery, grandma’s house, co-op, etc.. doesn’t mean Mommy isn’t coming back.

  6. Shannon says

    Wonderful ‘suggestion’ list, but not completely realistic. My son started Junior Kindergarten at age 3 as his birthday is not until late October. Somethings like a proper pencil grip and the ability to wipe themselves just isnt realistic.
    It is a great list, just want some parents out there to know, that no matter how hard you try, you can not force a child to learn something before they are capable or ready.

    • Heather says

      I completely agree that this list wouldn’t be appropriate for a 3-year-old. I was writing it with a Kindergarten student in mind, as that is the age I taught and have experience with. In South Dakota, this would mean a child who is at least 5 years of age as of September 1st of that school year. Thanks for your comment!

  7. Veronica Moser says

    Thank you, thank you, thank you!
    As the mom who, a month before school starts, is panicking about whether my kid is ready or not because he doesn’t know all the upper/lower case letters, struggles with phonics {because hello speech delay!}, can’t count to 100 by 5s, and doesn’t consistently write his name {but can tell you he is DEXTER not dex} or address or phone number, this list is a huge relief. We’re able to check them all off with just a little inconsistency with holding a pencil.
    Thank you!

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