Parent Resources
Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
Is my Five-Year-Old Ready for Kindergarten?
Kindergarten should be an exciting and rewarding experience for both
children and their parents. While there is no perfect checklist to determine
when your child is truly ready for kindergarten, the following list will
give you an idea of the necessary skills a child should have mastered in
order to receive the greatest benefit from their kindergarten experience.
Remember, age is only one factor in determining kindergarten readiness.
Social, emotional, cognitive and physical development should also be taken
into account.
Your kindergarten-ready child should be able to:
Social and Emotional Development
• Use words instead of being physical when angry or frustrated
• Listen to stories without interrupting
• Follow two-step directions
• Ask for help when necessary
• Pay attention for short periods of time to adult-directed tasks
• Stay with an activity to completion
• Initiate and sustain appropriate play with other children
• Begin to share with others and understand taking turns
• Comply with rules, limits, and routines
• Be able to recognize authority
• Interact appropriately with adults
• Respect the rights, property, and feelings of others
• Begin to control themselves
• Dress themselves (button shirts, pants, coats, and zip up zippers)
• Manage bathroom needs independently
• Separate from parents for extended period of time without being upset
• Attempt new tasks knowing it’s okay to make mistakes
Motor Skills
• Hold scissors correctly
• Holds a pencil, crayon or marker properly
• Put together a 10-12 piece puzzle
• Ride a tricycle
• Run, jump, and skip
• Walk backwards
• Try to write, scribble, or draw
Language
• Speak in complete sentences of 5-6 words
• Use descriptive language
• Sing and/or recite nursery rhymes
• Pretend, create, and make-up songs and stories
• Talk about everyday experiences
• Tell or retell stories
• Enjoy having books read to him/her
• Ask questions
• Verbally and appropriately respond to a topic
• Express her/his ideas so others can understand her/him
Academic
• Look at pictures and then tell stories
• Identify some alphabet letters
• Count to 10
• Correctly count at least 3 objects
• Identify own first name in writing
• Attempt to print own first name
• Recognize and identify 5 colors
• Understand concepts such as in/out, under/on, on/off, front/back
• Participate in art and music activities
• Know her/his body parts (head, shoulder, knees, etc.)
• Draw a picture of her/himself including head, body, arms, and legs
• Use words like bigger, smaller or heaviest to show comparison
The following are publications from the National Institute for Literacy and they are AWESOME!
What is the cut off date for children entering Kindergarten?
Your child must be 5 years old by September 30th in the state of TN in order to enter
Kindergarten for that current school year. Therefore, if you feel your child
is ready your child might enter Kindergarten at the age of 4 (turning 5
before September 30th). Just remember that every child is different. Some
children are ready for the structure of school while others need one more
year to mature.
Is school attendance in Kindergarten important?
Your child’s regular and prompt attendance at school is crucial to his/her success. I can’t emphasize this point enough!!! Most Kindergarten learning activities are group oriented and involve interaction with classmates. Therefore, it is next to impossible to make up work at home. Please view school as priority, and see to it that your child attends every day except in cases of illness or emergency.
