Here is a suggested list (icanteachmychild.com) of things that will help your child be prepared for kindergarten. Work away at them throughout the summer and your child will have a great head start! Have fun!
Personal and Social Development
Independence
Ties own shoelaces
Blows own nose
Zips own coat
Takes care of their own bathroom needs
Approach to learning
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Shows eagerness and curiosity as a learner
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Persists in task and seeks help when encountering a problem
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Is generally pleasant and cooperative
Self-Control
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Follows rules and routines
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Manages transitions (going from one activity to the next)
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Demonstrates normal activity level
Interactions with Others
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Interacts easily with one or more children
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Interacts easily with familiar adults
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Participates in group activities
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Plays well with others
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Takes turns and shares
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Cleans up after play
Conflict Resolution
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Seeks adult help when needed to resolve conflicts
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Uses words to resolve conflicts. Language and Literacy
Listening
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Listens with understanding to directions and conversations
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Follows one-step directions
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Follows two-step directions
Speaking
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Speaks clearly enough to be understood without contextual clues
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Relates experiences with some understanding of sequences of events
Literature and Reading
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Listens with interest to stories read aloud
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Shows interest in reading-related activities
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Retells information from a story
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Sequences three pictures to tell a logical story
Writing
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Uses pictures to communicate ideas
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Uses scribbles, shapes, and letter-like symbols to write words or ideas
Alphabet Knowledge
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Recites/sings alphabet
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Matches upper-case letters
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Matches lower-case letters
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Identifies upper-case letters
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Identifies lower-case letters
Mathematical Thinking
Patterns and Relationships
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Sorts by color, shape, and size
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Orders or seriates several objects on the basis of one attribute
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Recognizes simple patterns and duplicates them
Number concept and operations
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Rote counts to 20
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Counts objects with meaning to 10
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Matches numerals
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Identifies by naming, numerals 0-10
Geometry and spatial relations
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Identifies 4 shapes- circle, square, rectangle, triangle
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Demonstrates concepts of positional/directional concepts (up/down, over/under, in/out, behind/in front of, beside/between, top/bottom, inside/outside, above/below, high/low, right/left, off/on, first/last, far/near, go/stop).
Measurement
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Shows understanding of and uses comparative words (big/little, large/small, short/long, tall/short, slow/fast, few/many, empty/full, less/more.
Physical Development
Gross-Motor Skills
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Pedals and steers a tricycle
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Jumps in place, landing on two feet
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Jumps consecutively- 7 jumps
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Balances on one foot for 5 seconds
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Hops on one foot 2-3 hops
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Hops on one foot- 6 ft.
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Throws a ball with direction- 5 ft.
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Catches a thrown ball with arms and body
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Climbs a playground ladder
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Skips smoothly for 20 feet
Fine-Motor Skills
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Stacks 10, one-inch blocks
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Strings 4 1/2″ beads in two minutes
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Completes a seven piece interlocking puzzle
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Makes a pancake, snake, and ball from play dough
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Grasps pencil correctly
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Copies: vertical line, horizontal line, circle, cross, square, V, triangle
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Copies first name
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Prints first name without a model
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Grasps scissors correctly
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Cuts within 1/4″ of a 6″ straight line on construction paper
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Cuts out a 3″ square on construction paper
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Cuts out a 3″ triangle on construction paper
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Cuts out a 3″ circle on construction paper
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Uses a glue stick appropriately
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Uses appropriate amount of glue for tasks
The Arts
Creative Arts
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Identifies 10 colors: red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple, black, white, brown, pink
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Uses a variety of art materials for tactile experience and exploration
Music/Movement
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Participates in group music experiences
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Participates in creative movement/dance
Creative Dramatics
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Makes believe with objects
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Takes on pretend roles and situations
