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Is My Child Ready for Kindergarten?
Emotional Maturity
- Separates from parents without difficulty
- Maintains attention to classroom activities
- Makes eye contact with adults
- Independently chooses activities of interest
- Behavior is easily redirected
- Uses words to express wants and needs versus using actions/aggressive behavior
- Able to use words to tell stories, share ideas and express feelings
Social Maturity
- Plays by him or herself
- Plays next to a peer
- Cooperates when playing in a group
- Takes turns
- Shows concern for friends
- Helps friends when needed
- Adapts easily to change of routine
Cognitive / Literacy Skills
- Recognizes first name when written
- Able to print first name
- Able to print last name
- Recites the ABC’s
- Able to name at least 10 capital letters
- Able to name at least 10 lowercase letters
- Knows letter sounds
- Matches a letter with the beginning sound of a word
- Match “B” to the picture of a “Ball”
- Identifies rhyming words (ie, cat / hat)
- Understands concept of “top”, “bottom”, “big” and “little”
- Recognizes the names of 5 colors (ie, red, blue, yellow, green, black)
- Matches 2 items that are alike
- Categorizes objects by shape, color and size
- Able to group things that go together like a spoon and a fork
- Able to draw a repeated pattern like circle, circle, square - circle, circle, square
- Able to place pictures in sequential order – for example, take a bath, dry off with a towel, put on clothes
- Recites name, address and phone number
- Identifies if he or she is a boy or a girl
- Tells how old he or she is
Math Skills
- Able to count to 10
- Identifies numbers 1-10
- Able to put numbers 1-10 in written order (ie, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc)
- Counts at least 5 objects (ie, 5 blocks)
- When shown a number understands 3 means 3 items (ie, 3 bananas)
- Adds and subtracts items like cookies
- Uses objects to shows understanding of “more” and “less”
- Identifies shapes
- Knows their colors
- Understands concepts of over, under, above, below and through
Science Skills
- Identifies all the parts of the body
- Identifies all 5 senses (sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing)
Gross Motor Skills
3 to 4 Year Olds
- Navigate a set of stairs with alternating pattern
- Catching a large ball with hands only from 5 feet away
- Jumps forward 26 inches
- Throws a ball overhand to hit target 5 feet away
- Hops 3-5x on each foot
4 to 4 1/2 Year Olds
- Gallops 10 feet
- Skips 8 feet
- Rides a 2 wheeled bike with training wheels
- Catches a small ball with hands only from 5 feet away
- Pumps self on swing
- Able to jump over a partner turned rope
- Jumps over 10-inch hurdle
- Imitates 4 positions
5 Year Olds
- Stands on one foot for 10 seconds
- Performs 10 jumping jacks with coordination
- Rides a 2 wheeled bike without training wheels
Fine Motor / Self Help Skills
3 to 4 Year Olds
- Traces around the edges of basic shapes
- Copies a horizontal line and circle
- Makes continuous cuts with child-safe scissors
- Dresses self with help with fasteners
- Can put on/ take off coat
- Puts shoes on correct feet
- Fastens large buttons
- Brushes own teeth
- Draws a person with 3 different body parts
- Cuts a piece of paper in half with scissors
- Uses restroom independently
- Washes own hands
4 to 4 1/2 Year Olds
- Puts socks on correctly
- Traces simple shapes (ie, circle, square, triangle, rectangle)
- Draws simple shapes (ie, circle, square, triangle, rectangle)
- Cuts out simple shapes (ie, circle, square, triangle, rectangle)
- Cuts on a line
- Holds scissors correctly
- Zips most zippers
5 Year Olds
- Prints first name
- Draws a person with 6 or more different parts
- Cuts well with scissors
- Uses pincer grasp with pencil
- Shows hand preference
Language / Social Skills
3 to 4 Year Olds
- Follows simple 3-step related commands ( ie, get your coat off the hook, put it on and get in line)
- Begins to use adjectives for color and size
- Responds to “wh-“ questions (who, what, where, when, why)
- Asks many questions
- Uses most speech sounds correctly
- Will put toys away when asked
- Will follow directions to get own items like pencil, book, coat
5 Year Olds
- Appropriate eye contact
- Pretend plays
- Initiates simple greetings
- Does well with sharing and taking turns
- Asks for permission
- Can carry a plot when telling a story
- Understands time concepts (yesterday, today, first, then, next, last week)
- Initiates and joins in conversations with friends and adults
- Ask questions about how things around him/her work
- Recites or sings familiar nursery rhymes
- Holds a book correctly
- Tells a story from a picture
- Able to retell a simple story
Through steady improvement, your child can attain a boost of confidence.
Help your child find new levels of independence with pediatric therapy in Cincinnati and Dayton, OH.