How to Know If Your Child Is Ready for Kindergarden?

Hi Kari,

Here is a good article written by a teacher that might help.

http://www.familytimesinc.com/FT_0109/readyNot.htm

I have never heard that a Kindergartener needs to know how to read before they enter. Keep working at his letters (which even at that he is advanced compared to some that we encountered when my son first entered). Five is the age and he will actually be 5.5 by the time he enters this fall, correct? Don't worry, you are doing a great job keep it up!

I sent my daughter to all day k-4 a couple years back when she had just turned 4 the month before. She only knew a couple letters and hardly ever sat down for more than 5 minutes. School changed all that. By the time she got to all day k-5 she was in the first grade reading book and could sit for long periods of time. I don't think you have anything to worry about. He sounds like a smart kid. He knows his letters and if you send him to school, they will have him reading in no time. I also think it will help him so much with the attention span like it did for my daughter. I think he's ready.

L. (Milwaukee)

I don't know a whole lot about all the different aspects of kindergarten readiness but for sure don't be worried about him not reading yet. My daughter is in kindergarten this year and they're just working on letter recognition and sight word reading (recognizing certain common words like "off" and "stop".)

I think a lot of it has to do with maturity to sit at a table and work, sit in a circle and participate, follow instructions, etc...

Hi Kari. I had the same exact dilemma last fall with my son. He turned 5 in Dec., so he just turned 6 and is in kindergarten. I wasn't sure whether to send him or not. But we ended up sending him. I did, however, send him to a tutor who was great with him. He saw her all summer long for 2 times a week. She was very reasonable in price too. She was a former preschool teacher. Although, he is struggling with his speech, he has made huge improvements. From my experience they don't expect them to read when entering kindergarten, but they are working on the basic concepts now. Hope this helps!

i dont know. most kindergartens dont really expect children to be able to read.
however, age wise, your son will be ready to go to K in the fall.
talk to the teacher at the school. its possible you could be involved in a learning readiness program or something. check with your school ASAP!!!

It sounds like you might be worrying about things that are not necessary. I don't think that any kindergarten teacher expects children to be able to read. There are always some kids that do, but they are the exception to the rule. Why not go to kindergarten round up at your local school, see how your son does, and get the teacher's reactions to him. Also ask them what skills he should have before starting kindergarten. This will probably alleviate most of your fears about his abilities at this point. Sometimes giving boys especially an extra year is the best thing for them. They tend to mature socially a little slower than girls, and follow your gut instinct you know what is best for him. If you don't think he is ready, waiting another year before sending him might be the smartest decision that you make for him educationally.

I had my son in preschool and he started kindergarten when he was 6 and I am glad that we waited. I am not sure that would have been the case had he started earlier.. He likes school. idon't know where you live but it is an unreal expectation to have kids already be reading when they enter kindergarten.

Do not worry!! Your child is ahead of the game if he knows all that he does! My daughter is in Kindergarten and she did NOT know how to read going in and they did not expect it! You are doing a wonderful job and if he knows all of what you say he knows he will be just fine! :)

N.

Hi Kari,
I am a former Kindergarten teacher (now teach middle school) and mother of two teenage girls. I know this can be a tough decision. First of all, being able to read is not a requirement before entering Kindergarten so don't factor that into the equation. Knowing most of his letters at his age is fine.

Your school should have a spring open house where you will meet the teachers and sign him up for fall. At that time, you should ask if they do Kindergarten Readiness testing. If they do, take advange of this service. The results will tell you a great deal, not only accademically, but you will also find out if he is able to sit and take direction from an adult in authority.

His March birthday puts him at the right age to begin Kindergarten in the fall, but every child is different. If he has never been to preschool, look into a summer program at your local library or community schools' program. If he does well there, he is probably ready. If you do all of these things and are still in doubt, you should probably wait. It is better to start a child late than too early.

I used to teach kindergarten at a really nice private school and we did NOT expect children to read at the beginning of kindergarten. We hoped that by the time they finished kindergarten that they would know all the letters and sounds and be able to sound out 3 letter words made up of consonant-vowel-consonant (cat, lip, tug).

I would talk to his preschool teacher if you have any concerns and trust your instincts.

I waited for my children to be 6 when I put them in school because I wanted them to be home longer. They would be older whe they graduate.
You must decide what you and your husband want, and then is your child able to fill your desires. If he is not ready to fill your desires, give him the tools to be better equipped. Get books from the library, work with his sounds and ready skills. Teach him what he needs to know so he can effectively be a part of his world.
Contact the local school and get a list of the prerequisites for knidergarten. I believe there is more to it than the knowing his letters and reading a bit. Math, personal grooming, and listening sckills are also a factor.

And remember this
it is a learning process for him everyday
the things you work with to get ready for school he needs anyway
It will also help him with family situations also. He will be more helpful and confident.
Look at yourself..have you stopped learning because you are not in school? If you can say yes,,do not read another response or ask another question.
We are always learning. What you choose to use from all the responses you get will not only help your son, but you as well, and your relationship with your husband.
Family is a team.
Not a bunch of individuals running around in the same building.
Family is a team, your house is a home.

Is he in preschool? If he is his teacher should be able to help you with some of your questions. They would be able to answer your concerns about the sitting still.

I don't know what K your going to, but Kindergarten does not expect kids to know how to read. Most of the time they don't expect kids to know their letters other then what's in their name. It helps and they will do better if they know their letters and numbers, but they DO NOT need to know how to read. Kindergarten has all kinds of kids in there ones that can read and ones that have had no preschool experience and know almost nothing.

I can relate to your worries. My DS turned 5 this August and we had no idea whether he was ready for K or not. Kirsten's advice is right on and even if he is not perfect in all those areas, he will do fine if he has a school that fits his personality at least a bit and if he has strong support at home.

My son is thriving this year because of 3 big reasons: he was motivated to start K and he has made a lot of friends, his teacher has been fantastic with working with him on areas he struggles (transitions from one activity to another), and I have been very involved (I volunteer at his school once a week which helps me have a more complete understanding of the behavior expectations and discipline techniques they use and has helped the teacher and I have very clear lines of communication). My DH had a horrible time in K (he still has nightmares 50 years later) because noone talked to him about it, no one prepped him socially in any way and then no one supported him emotionally when he had a hard time.

The knowledge range for kids starting K is vast. One or two kids in my son's class were reading some beginner books, 3-4 kids had rarely been read to in their lives and had no knowledge of the alphabet(so the school has given them individual help), and the rest were somewhere in the middle. Beaware that if he knows how to read already when he starts K that a lot of the instruction will seem repetitious and boring to him. With a March birthday he would be a really old K student if you wait a year and would likely be bored.

Good luck with your decision.

Kids do NOT need to read to go to Kindergarten. My daughter is 6 (her birthday is in March) and she is in First grade. She is learning to read now.

Kindergartners do NOT need to "sit still for long periods of time".

Here is a resource: http://www.teachersandfamilies.com/open/parent/kg1.cfm

My gut sayd if you are in doubt, have him wait for another year! It would be setting him up to be a very succesful kindergartener instead of setting him up for potential failure. we sent my son (august birthday) and he is now 12. he struggles every day! i think the extra year could have made a huge difference.

They don't have to be reading when they enter kindergarten! Nationally only one percent of entering kindergartners is actually reading.

Your child knows the letters and can write them -- maybe now you guys could work on learning some sounds that the letters make, but don't worry, it sounds like he's right on track.

During kindergarten, the teacher will teach all the letters and sounds, and help the children learn how to sound out simple words like "cat" and "hat". They will also learn up to twenty sight words like "the" and "said."

I used to teach kindergarten, and now teach pre-kindergarten, so I'm familiar with the skills incoming kindergartners need. Here are some of them:
*be able to sit and listen to a story
*be able to draw a very simple picture
*be able to use scissors and glue
*be able to speak in sentences
*be able to tell a coherent story with beginning, middle, and end (ie. "I was walking to the blocks and I accidentally kicked Suzy in the back. She hit me really hard in the leg. So I called her a stupidhead.")
*be able to count to 30
*be able to count 10 objects accurately
*know the colors and basic shapes
*know how to ask for help
*know how to ask "hey, can I play, too?"

If you're worried about reading, make sure that you are reading to him every day, visiting the library once a week, that you yourself read a lot and he sees you reading, and that you do a lot of wordplay, reading alphabet books, and reading rhyming books.

I think he's probably just fine to go to K this fall.

He's right where he should be. My son will also be 5 in March and does not know all his letters yet either. He is getting better each day, but my oldest was reading by 4 1/2 so I was not sure either. But our preschool said he is doing great and is right on schedule with learning. Just work with him over the summer and read before bed each night and he will get it. I really liked and used the Nora Gaydos Phonics books. My oldest started reading them within 2 weeks of us getting them. I am planning to go out and rebuy them for our 4 year old cause I have no idea where they went.

He'll be 5 in March, so 5 1/2 when school starts in the Fall. He should be ready. As far as I've ever heard they don't have to be reading when they go into Kindergarten! That's a bit unrealistic =) At 5 1/2 he'll be one of the older kids in class (my son's b-day is also in March) so mature-wise he should be ok.

I used to be a Kindergarten teacher and your son will do just fine. He does not need to be reading by the time he enters that is what Kindergarten teaches. If he knows his letters, then he is ready. He will also learn to sit still and in a Kindergarten class the children generally change activities every 10-20 minutes. If your son has no disabilities then there is no reason to hold him back. If you do hold him back you will most likely see behavioral issues in his preschool due to boredom.

My son doesn't sit still and wiggles a lot, too, but when he's in a school setting (ECFE, preschool, even a well-structured daycare) he sits just fine. If he's an eager learner and you think he's excited about kindergarten, send him. If it turns out to be too big of a problem, you can always take him out and try again later. Most kids sit better at school than at home for mom and dad.

They do not need to be reading before kindergarten

Our school didn't require being able to read either. They are currently working on site words. I would say go ahead...there is a lot of time between march and august. Kids change A LOT at this age. I had the same concern with my son as far as the hyperness/being able to sit still. This is common at this age, especially with boys. It is amazing how they change when they get into school! And a lot of times, they don't sit still for you, but act differently at school. As long as there are no concerns at Pre-School, I would say he will fine. GOOD LUCK!

My son is in his 2nd year of preschool, many of the kids are 5 and only two of them are currently reading. I have a friend whose daughter is in Kindergarten, she's 5 1/2 and she's not reading well yet. It sounds like your son is on the right track academically. As for behavior, if you are worried about his ability to sit, perhaps send him to 1/2 day.

Send him to kindergarten. They do not expect even basic reading skills at entry. In fact, in MN, a kindergarten entrance assessment is required and performed free of charge at your district. I can't recall all the detail of my son's assessment but...

*Have to be able to count to 30.
*Have to be able to identify and complete visual patterns.
*Have to able to identify and complete auditory patterns.(the assessors made a rhythmic knock on the table and ask him to fill in what the next 2-3 knocks rhythm)
*Visual identification of all letters (both cases)
*Correctly identify the sound each letter makes.
*Color identifcation.
*Gross motor (rolling and passing a ball back and forth)
*Fine motor (draw me a picture of your puppy)

Have you sent your child to preschool? I guess all schools are different, but most kindergartens do not expect the students to read upon entering. Kindergarten students work on letters, numbers, their name and address, and other basic concepts. If your child isn't in preschool, that may be the place to start.

Dear Kari,
Your son is ready for Kindergarten. I don't know where you heard that they want them to be able to read when they enter Kindergarten but that is absolutely false. Just call your local school district and ask them. Most Kindergartners can't count much past 10 or 20 and lots of them don't recognize all the letters let alone read. That is exactly what they work on that year as well as learning to read.
Good luck,
L.

Kindergarten does not require children know how to read. Site words maybe, but they will learn those as time goes by, not a need to know when entering!

His birthday is in March.... you should start him. He sounds like a normal 4/5yr old to me. My son started Kindergarten last year, he turned 5 in June, and he's now 6yrs old in 1st grade and doing wonderfully. I have no regrets sending him last year, he's doing great, loves school!

Is he in preschool? Talk to his preschool teacher. If there were any concerns she would have already brought them up with you though.

I think he'll be ready, and he will do just fine!

I think just the fact that you're questioning it shows your son is not ready. (Did you know that the compulsory age for starting school in MN isn't even until age 7?? We send our children at 5 & 6 out of tradition, but is it a good one?)

I've never heard of kids being expected to know how to read when entering Kindergarten! Knowing their alphabet, yes, but read, no. Please verify with the school district he'd be entering about their expectations.

And academic readiness is only part of the picture. Is he interested in learning? How is he socially?

IMHO, you can't go wrong by waiting 1 year.

Don't they have something called "pre-school screening" that is testing to see if your child is ready for school. Or isn't there an age requirment for kindergarten?

Kari first of all if someone tells you that your child needs to be reading in Kind. they are crazy. It certainly helps if they can recognize words like the, at,and it, but they are supposed to be learning to read and write in Kindergarten. Does your son go to preschool? If he does maybe the teacher could give you some suggestions as to how to help your son. Can he spell and recognize his name? I have 4 children my older two are in 4th and 2nd grade and # 3 is 2weeks away from being four and in preschool. Our preschool teachers and kind. teachers have often told me that preschool is now more like kind. and they worry that the kids are getting to much info shoved at them .We are doing two years of preschool at three days a week for 2 1/2 hrs just so our daughter can have social interaction with kids her own age. We also read to the kids at bedtime every night we try to get our 3 yr. old to pick out words like it, and ,at,and the easy small words that she can pick out.There are also great phonics books for little ones our favorites are Sam Sheep can't Sleep and Big Pig on a Dig. Our 3 yr old can recognize words in these books and they have a hidden duck on each page that the kids can find and the pictures are fun and help the kids stay interested. Good luck, don't stress and don't sweat the small stuff . I worried about my oldest who is now 10 and now realize that all things come with time and if not there is always someone you can go to for help.

I'll be watching people's responses to this one, because if they want the incoming kindergarteners reading already, that will be news to me. My daughter will be 5 in august and starts kindergarten next year as well. She is at the same level as your son from the sounds of it, as far as recognizing and writing most letters. When I took her in for the 3/4 year old evaluation (through the Appleton School District) they said she was doing great and they had no doubt she'd be ready for kindergarten. I'll be interested to see other responses to this one, thanks for posting it!

I struggled with this decision too. Don't concentrate so much on his academics. Look at his maturity. Can he sit still, listen, follow directions, share, get along with everyone? That's your deal breaker!

I regret sending my dd at age5, she's always the youngest, a year behind everybody. She's doing great academically but no so with her peers.

They donot have to know how to read before kindergarten starts they will learn that in kindergarten. I think by the time my dd got out of kindergarten she had to count to 100, know tons of sight words, and she could read but was no where close to reading when she entered. Then she's competeing with kids who could read before kindergarten some of them were reading chapter books and that stressed her out and made her self conscience.

Kari I would send him. My daughter was at that same stage at that age. Now she's in 1st Grade doing fine. Yes they do come out of Kindergarten reading but they learn so fast at that age. My daughter went in knowing just colors and shapes most of the abc's. But today she sits me down and can read the whole book red fish blue fish. The teachers have a new way of teaching sounds blends now that seems to do great for little ones. Hyper or not the one question you need to ask yourself how is he with other kids. If he's to aggresive may want to try a summer daycamp to get him use to being with groups of kids. But I would say he will do just fine. Kindergarden is not like you remember but the change is for the better. You will be so suprised how much your son grows. I hope this helps!! Good luck!

I know that each school district is different but the school district that we live in has never required any of my three oldest children to read by the time they start school. They usually start working on site words around Nov./ Dec. You call always call the office of your elementary school and ask or if you have Kindergarten orientation ask your questions then. I think that your son sounds like most kids his age.

Good luck!!
D. ~ Mom of 4

Kari,
As a teacher, I think it sounds like your son is right on track for kindergarten next year. I have worked with 1st graders who didn't know all their letters or even how to spell their own names! I noticed you live in Rochester. Rochester Community Ed/PAIIR has a lot of information about preparing students for kindergarten. Here is their web site:
http://www.rochester.k12.mn.us/se3bin/clientgenie.cgi They have an informal checklist of skills kids should have before they start kindergaten. There is also a link to a site called Jumpstart to Kindergaten. I don't know a lot about it but I do remember getting information from them after our daughter was born. I wouldn't worry about him not being able to sit still for long periods of time. In kindergarten they do a lot of moving around and one of the things they learn is how to sit for longer periods of time. I think your son will be ready in September!

I would be horrified if our local school expected incoming kindergarteners to be able to read! I do day care and use a preschool curriculum with the kids and really worked with my oldest on sounding out words, since he knew all his letters and knew their sounds. But he didn't quite get the process of stringing the sounds together to figure out the word. He turned 5 in August and we weren't sure whether we ought to delay a year but he was really excited so we decided to go ahead and pull him out if it simply wasn't working. And it's been just wonderful! He loves going to school, and he's doing just fine in terms of learning the math (counting and simple addition) and reading (letter recognition and sight words) skills they've been working on.

I don't know exactly how to tell when your child is ready. I suppose that sometimes it's very clear cut, that they're chomping at the bit or else they're obviously not there yet. But we decided to take the plunge (and have been very involved, calling or emailing when we have questions, joining PTA) and have been very happy we did.