Kindergarten Readiness Programs

By the time your child reaches kindergarten age, they have already learned a lot about the world. Kindergarten, however, is the first step into the world of formal classroom learning that will make up a good portion of their future educational and academic life. Kindergarten does require a few prerequisite skills, too. These skills can be acquired by enrollment in a kindergarten readiness program like preschool or the great start readiness program offered in Michigan at ABC Academy Jackson.

Below we will review some of the skills and habits that your child should have a decent grasp on in order to make a smooth transition into the kindergarten classroom.

Learning Enthusiasm

While not a teachable skill, enthusiasm for learning is vital for children entering kindergarten. Kindergarten readiness programs can ignite your child’s curiosity and make learning fun and rewarding. Parents, too, can help their little ones along by asking engaging questions and exploring the world with them. Take a walk with your child and ask them about the trees and point out the differences between animals and birds. Kids are more likely to engage if they implicitly understand that you are interested in what they know. They will want to impress you with their knowledge. Let them make you proud!

Language Skills

While children entering kindergarten don’t need to acquire the language proficiency of a great poet, they should be able to adequately communicate their feelings and thoughts. The way to build this language tree is to expose your child to new things and give them words for those new things and experiences. One of the best places to go for language and vocabulary growth is the zoo. You can show your child the different animals and point out their names and the places they live.

Listening Skills

Closely related to language acquisition, good listening skills ensure that your child will pick up on the concepts in books you read them and places you show them.Engaging kids in reading is a great way to encourage active listening. When reading your child a story, ask them how certain events would make them feel and what they think will happen next in the story. Even better: let them come up with their own ending to the story!

Cognitive Skills

Cognitive and intellectual indicators of kindergarten readiness include the ability to sustain engagement with an activity and a genuine interest in learning. The ability to follow along with the words of a song, form complete sentences most of the time, and has little difficulty with simple puzzles.

For a detailed list of kindergarten readiness indicators, check out this great kindergarten readiness checklist. It will help you track and document your child’s progress towards that first day of school!

Kindergarten Readiness at ABC Academy Jackson

ABC Academy Jackson is dedicated to providing children of all income backgrounds a place where they can learn, grow and prepare for kindergarten. Our three locations serving the Jackson, Michigan area offer pre kindergarten programs facilitated by the State of Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program. The professional and caring staff at ABC Academy Jackson look forward to helping your child prepare for a life of exploration and learning! Visit our programs page contact us today!