The Buzz on Kindergarten Readiness

As a former Kindergarten teacher, I have my own ideas about what readiness looks like. And the more research I have been doing online, following other instagram accounts and hearing from other Kindergarten teachers, I've noticed that "readiness" is SO different depending on the teacher, the school, sometimes people who aren't teachers want to weigh in on it, etc. It seems like everyone has an opinion, so what does it REALLY mean?

Basically, it depends. Are you focused on academics? Worried about what your child needs to know for kindergarten? Or worried about the emotional toll a big transition like this might take? Or maybe you have been thinking of the general skills your child might need. Maybe you haven't thought about any of this yet or at all.

DON'T WORRY. There's a few reasons for this.

1. Children all enter school at different places, and K teachers are masters at meeting kids where they're at. I haven't heard of a single case where students are thrown in and just expected to know everything on day 1. They're 5 after all!

2. You have time. Whether your child is a toddler, preschooler, or rising Kindergartener, you still have time to practice some basics before school starts.

3. They have the whole year to learn and grow and Kindergarten often starts slowwwww. I mean slow. Like this is a pencil and this is how we use it slow.

But there are a few things you can do to prepare, no matter what season you are in right now. I could go on all day about what's important but I'm going to start with 3 big things to know before day 1 to help it go more smoothly for everyone!

The first thing that's important is independence skills. Please please please make sure your child can use the bathroom on their own. They can wash and dry their hands, they know where the bathroom is and are confident in asking to go when they need to. Some other basics are carrying their own backpack, being able to hang it up in a cubby or locker, and put their jacket on and take it off. These are easy to practice at home before school even starts and will help your child be more confident going into the first day.

Next, make sure your child and his or her teacher knows how they are getting home on day 1. If they ride the bus, make sure they know the bus number. If they go to after care or car pickup, same thing. It helps them feel less confused and uncertain about what will happen at the end of the day if they are confident in their "go home" plan.

One that most people don't think of- opening their lunchbox and the food inside their lunchbox! I have unfortunately seen little ones unable to open snacks or bottles and are too nervous to ask for help so they sit there for far too long without asking for help. Practice showing them how to open snack packages, containers, juice boxes, etc. before the start of school. There's always staff available to help, but think of how many 5 year olds will need help opening things those first few weeks!

If you practice these few skills before the start of school, you (and your little one) will be much more confident and hopefully much more calm going into the first day. And remember, they're 5! They won't do all of these things perfectly and may not be able to do it all by day 1. But they'll have support from friends, teachers and staff to help them along the way. Try not to worry too much :)