Kindergarten Readiness
Barb Dopp, Parent Educator

“School readiness depends upon the characteristics that enable children to learn: curiosity, confidence, the capacity to set a goal and work toward its accomplishment, and the ability to communicate and get along with others.”
The MN Thrive Initiative

Is My Child Ready For Kindergarten?
“Do I send them to kindergarten or keep them home (or in preschool) for another year?”  is a big question parents often ask themselves.  In the Star and Tribune  article December 29, 2008*  the author asks  “Are all children ready for kindergarten because it is costing Minnesota tax payers $113 million a year for those children not ready to start school?”

Most parents of five-year-olds think about their child’s readiness for kindergarten. “Will my child be ready by September 1st?”   It seems that the parents of boys are most distressed.  Why?  Research shows that boys are later to develop impulse control, have a lot of energy and need a lot of space to move around.  So does kindergarten fit at age five for most boys? 

From the University of Minnesota Center for Early Education and Development the following developmental skills are suggested for kindergarten readiness:

Social Development

• able to trust other adults and children
• able to play with, not just next to, other children
• able to learn and play in a group

Emotional Development

• some degree of independence and self-direction
• self-control or ability to delay gratification (even briefly)
• reasonably confident and willing to try new things
• interested in school and in learning new things

Language Development

• able to understand directions
• able to express needs
• able to communicate with adults and other children
• can express thoughts in sentences
• reasonably broad vocabulary

Motor Development

• can run and jump (if not handicapped)
• sense of spatial awareness and balance
• shows right or left dominance
• has self-help skills: dressing, eating, and toileting
• able to manipulate small objects
• can copy simple symbols
• can hold a pencil appropriately

Intellectual and Academic Development

• able to focus and concentrate on an activity for 10 to 15 minutes
• understands that letters stand for something
• understands that printed text is spoken language written down
• has had experiences with environment (grocery store, post office, library, department store, etc.)
• can follow simple directions and remember simple routine
• is able to stick with and solve simple problems

This appears to be a long list and does every child need to have all these skills before they walk through the doors of kindergarten? The Center for Early Education and Development states. ”Few children are completely ready or not ready for kindergarten, and most will fall somewhere in between on a continuum of readiness.” Kindergartens are prepared to meet the needs of a broad range of children. So relax and feel confident in your child’s ability to learn at kindergarten.

Additional Resources:

http://cehd.umn.edu/ceed.

*StarTribune article, "Kids Not Ready for Kindergarten Cost Minnesota Schools $113 Million a Year"  December 29, 2008.
http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=36860224

Stipek, D. 2002. "At What Age Should Children Enter Kindergarten?
A Question for Policy Makers and Parents" Social PolicyReport 16 (2): 3–17.