5 Important Kindergarten Readiness Activities

As your Pre-K child prepares to enter kindergarten there are many activities outside of learning ABCs and 123s that will help him build the skills he needs for a successful kindergarten experience. 

5 important skill areas for kindergarten readiness:

1. Social and emotional development

2. Having general knowledge

3. Using strategies and techniques to help learn

4. Language and literacy skills

5. Physical development and health

Here is a list of 5 activities that address the above areas and that will help prepare your child for kindergarten. What’s great about these activities is that they are free or  inexpensive, they are fun, and they address multiple skills at once.

1. Read books - Kindergarten teachers read their students a lot of books! It will be important for your child to be able to listen to and understand stories. Both fiction and nonfiction books should be read. Reading to your child has so many benefits! Some of them are: provides important enjoyable 1:1 time with your child; expands vocabulary, language and literacy skills; expands general knowledge; increases attention span, and fuels imaginative play. 

2. Build jigsaw puzzles - 12 to 24 piece jigsaw puzzles can present a good challenge level for your rising kindergarten child. Jigsaw puzzles can help with understanding how parts relate to a whole, visual-spatial skills, problem solving, and sustained attention to a challenging task. Building puzzles can also lead to talking about the theme of the puzzle. For example, if building a dinosaur themed puzzle can pair that with a book about dinosaurs and other ways of learning more about dinosaurs. 

3. Play games with others - Playing games with others helps children with social skills, following rules, turn taking, problem solving, managing frustrations at times, and maintaining attention to a task. You can start with short games of chance such as Pop Up Pirate and advance to games that involve more strategy such as Guess Who?.

4. Make crafts - Making crafts helps children follow a sequence of directions, problem solve, develop fine motor skills and express their creativity. Crafts can also  give children a sense of pride in accomplishment. You can find many different craft activities on the internet. 

5. Visit parks and nature centers - There are so many reasons to visit parks and nature centers! This is really an activity that the whole family can enjoy.  Children learn important general knowledge about plants, animals, the environment, etc. that can help them develop an appreciation of nature. As they explore, they develop motor skills and a sense of curiosity. Engaging in outdoor recreational activities also helps build a healthy lifestyle. Information on Nature Centers in Montgomery County, Maryland can be found here: Montgomery County Nature Centers.

If you have any concerns about your child’s development or readiness for kindergarten in areas that a speech-language pathologist or an occupational therapist can help with, please contact the Pediatric Development Center 301-869-7505.