Kindergarten Readiness Targets
Educators and other child development experts say that when a child learns the skills listed below before entering school, she is ready for a joyful, successful and satisfying education; he is ready for kindergarten.
READY! Program
FOR PARENTS
- enjoys being read to and can retell a story
- recognizes and names 12-15 alphabet letters and sounds
- repeats beginning and ending sounds in words
- speaks in complete sentences
- prints his or her first name
- counts in order from 1 to 20
- recognizes numbers and quantities to 5
- names and sorts items by color, shape and size
- understands concepts such as more, less, same, over, under, big and small
- settles in to new groups and situations
- can concentrate on a task for 5 minutes
- follows simple directions
- shows kindness and concern for others
READING TO YOUR INFANT, TODDLER, AND PRE-SCHOOL CHILD
Babies love to hear the human voice, especially yours, and they love to hear you read out loud, sing and talk to them! Reading to your little one enhances bonding and trust, and promotes learning to talk and think. Reading aloud also boosts vocabulary, comprehension, attention span and listening skills. It teaches the names and sounds of letters. Infants, toddlers, and young children benefit by talking about the pictures and snuggling close. And, reading aloud promotes imagination, curiosity, and knowledge.
Parents don’t have to be great readers, and they don’t have to read aloud 20 minutes at one stretch, especially if your child is tired or wiggly. It’s fine to break up reading time into smaller increments. And, reading out loud is a fun and easy thing to do, day or night.
It’s never too early – or too late – to start reading to your child.
As the Children’s Reading Foundation and the READY! for Kindergarten program emphasize, reading together really is the most important 20 minutes of your day!
For more information check out the Reading Foundation
SUGGESTED WEBSITES
Further information on the national READY! for Kindergarten program; the Children’s Reading Foundation; and the Lake Pend Oreille School District.
National READY! website: [www.readyforkindergarten.org]
Children’s Reading Foundation website: [www.readingfoundation.org]
Lake Pend Oreille School District website: [www.lposd.org]
A RESEARCH-BASED PROVEN PROGRAM
READY! for Kindergarten in Sandpoint is an early childhood education program that provides free parent workshops and take-home materials and toys. Our mission is to help parents, grandparents and caregivers learn the important pre-literacy, pre-math and social emotional skills their child will need to be successful, happy learners who are prepared for school.
The Panhandle Alliance for Education thanks:
The dedicated and caring adult community members and the Sandpoint Middle School and High School student volunteers who assist with our READY! program.