Kindergarten readiness checklist v0.2.0
A one-page kindergarten readiness checklist in plain words: 30 things many children do as they start kindergarten, in 6 groups (taking care of myself, getting along, talking and listening, books and letters, numbers and shapes, hands and bodies), with a box to tick. A second page has ideas for home. Printed blank; not a test.
Taking care of myself
- Uses the toilet and washes hands with a reminder
- Puts on a coat and shoes, with help for zips and laces
- Opens a lunch box and most packets
- Says when they are hungry, tired or hurt
- Tidies up one thing before starting the next
Getting along with others
- Says goodbye to a grown-up and joins the group
- Takes turns and waits a short time
- Asks a grown-up for help
- Uses words when upset, most of the time
- Plays a game with two or three other children
Talking and listening
- Listens to a story read to a group
- Follows two steps said once ("hang your bag, then sit on the rug")
- Tells what happened in a few sentences
- Asks questions about things they wonder about
- Sings or says a few songs and rhymes
Books and letters
- Holds a book the right way up and turns the pages
- Knows some letters, often the ones in their name
- Finds their own name among others
- Hears words that rhyme
- Draws a picture and says what it shows
Numbers and shapes
- Counts five to ten things, one number for each
- Says which of two groups has more
- Names a circle, a square and a triangle
- Sorts things by color, shape or size
- Copies a simple pattern (red, blue, red, blue)
Hands and bodies
- Holds a crayon or pencil with fingers, not a fist
- Cuts along a line with child scissors
- Builds with blocks and small pieces
- Runs, jumps and climbs on playground equipment
- Catches a big ball with both hands
These are things many children do as they start kindergarten, not a test or a screening. Children grow at their own pace, and schools set their own entry rules: ask your school district. For questions about development, families can ask their child's doctor or their state's early intervention program (Child Find).
- Read a book together every day and talk about the pictures.
- Practice the morning: getting dressed, the coat, the shoes, the bag.
- Count things on the way: stairs, cars, apples in the bag.
- Play games that take turns, and let them lose sometimes.
- Visit the school or its playground before the first day.
Peabody's stories are free to read together at peabody.kids, with no sign-in and no ads.
How to use it
- Tick what the child does on their own most days. Leave the rest blank: that is next, not a problem.
- Hand the home page to families at the spring conference, so the summer has a plan.
- Your school district sets the age and anything it asks for at enrollment; the checklist doesn't.
For a checklist for each age, twos to fours, see the preschool skills checklist, and for notes kept through the year, the observations tool.
This checklist prints blank. Nothing about a child is typed here or sent anywhere. No account, no ads.