Kindergarten Skills for Success

Name

Print first name (capitalize first letter only)

Once first name is mastered, practice printing last name

Have your child practice saying his/her first and last name clearly so others can understand.

Colors

Recognize and identify colors

Numbers

Recognize and identify numbers 0-10

Count aloud to 25

Count groups of objects (up to 10 items in group)

Shapes

Recognize and identify circle, square, rectangle and triangle

Alphabet Recognition

Identify capital letters

Begin to identify lowercase letters

Fine Motor

Help develop your child's fine motor skills by providing them with opportunities to practice the following activities:

Cutting with scissors 

Zippering  

Buttoning

Dressing themselves

Coloring with crayons

Drawing with a pencil (encourage correct pencil grip)

First Sound

Say a word and ask your child to name the first (beginning) sound they hear in the word.  The beginning sound in ball is /b/. 

Example: You say “football.”  Your child should respond with the /f/ sound.

Example: You say “spin.”  Your child should respond with the /s/ sound.

Rhyming

Explain to your child words that rhyme sound the same at the end.  Say, “Fan and ran rhyme because they sound the same at the end.”

Say 2 words and ask if they rhyme ~ (jet/let – yes) (wish/dog – no)

Say 3 words and ask which words rhyme ~ (pig, big, fog) (pig and big rhyme)

Say a word and ask your child to say a word that rhymes with it ~ silly/nonsense words are okay

Example: You say “sit.” Your child could a say “vit.”

Blending

Say the word’s parts.  Ask your child to blend the pieces together to say the word.

 /tr/…/uck/ = truck           /r/…/at/ = rat                  /fl/…/at/ = flat

Segmenting

Say a two syllable word.  Ask your child to say one of the word’s parts.

Example: You say “mailbox.”  Your child could say “mail” or “box.”

Example: You say “kitten.”  Your child could say “kit” or “ten.”