What skills should a five year old have before kindergarten?

Question

What skills should a five year old have before kindergarten?

Answer 1

Handle being without parents

Tie own shoes

Fasten own coat

Know colors

Identify ABC's, Write ABC's, Write Name

Know complete name, phone number and address

Answer 2

be able to sit still at one activity for about 20 minutes, know how to write and read his own name, know how to count to 20 and recite, and recognize the alphabet, follow basic rules and directions

Answer 3

They should be able to have an appropriate attention span.  If they go to kindergarten, they should be able to sit still for a reasonable amount of time.

Answer 4

Identify typical colors

Identify numbers 1 through 10

Identify all letters

Be able to write name

If possible, maybe identify all letter sounds

Some kids show up at kindergarten already able to read "cat" but many don't, so don't sweat it if your kid isn't doing this yet.

Google "kindergarten curriculum" for more ideas because different schools emphasize different things in kindergarten.

Answer 5

Well it used to be the parent taught them some alphabet and numbers, then the teacher would do the rest. Now apparently they have to know 3 languages, be able to count to 1000, and not just know 911, but 15 numbers in their parents contact list. J/K, but its pretty ridiculous what goes into kindergarten now.

Answer 6

colors, numbers 1-10 at least, be potty trained, be able to follow simple directions.

Answer 7

He should be able to write his name.  Capitalizing the first letter of his fifrst name.  It would be nice if he can recognize his numbers from 1 to 10.  I think these are the minimums.  Children who go to K from preschool can usually do this, so you don't want your child to start off behind many in the class.

Answer 8

'personal' had a great response! I would like to add potty-trained to this list. (I do have kids that come to school with mom telling me he needs help! I can't do that! who then would teach the class!)  Kids need to know their real full name, not their nickname. Be able to follow two if not three-step directions. Ask questions. Answer questions. carry on a intelligent conversation. (at a 4-5 yr old level). Be able to 'make up' a pretend story. could be just a few sentences. needs just a character, what they did, and a conclusion. simple.  take care of their own clothes. know address and phone number. be able to be away from mommy. (check out library story times this summer. Kindergarten registration should be starting this month, contact your district and they will give you a packet on what skills your district will want your child to know. (and for a handy hint, some school teachers have  a 'shopping list' of what supplies are needed. You can ask for a list. (even last yrs will help.) Look for the back-to-school sales for bargains around end of July and August. . Target/WalMart/Kmart and some office supply stores have huge deals on the name-brand stuff. Like a box of crayola markers for a dollar. Paper for 10cents.  Don't skimp and get dollar store junk. Prang and Crayola are the best, usually 49 cents a box or  less. bargain name crayons don't work as well, and kids get frustrated their picture doesn't look good. Same w/ pencils. Made in China pencils break frequently.)

Answer 9

number one there small motor skills such as grabbing items scribbling clapping and majority of there large such as running walking but not quite there balancing there colors maybe there abc well least  A-G there numbers 1-10 reaching mid way counters  gain more strength putting on shoes and aleast working on tieing them putting on clothes going to the potty that's all for now cause i can go on and on about kids.

Answer 10

To be perfectly honest, kids learn colors, shapes, a little about numbers and letters, and other very basic elements of their education in kindergarten. I wouldn't worry alot about making sure my child had mastered any particular skills - they're going to spend an entire school year learning them anyway. Don't get your child bored with school before they ever even start.

I would be more concerned with the social aspect of school. Sharing and learning to play with others are very important things to teach your child before putting them in an atmosphere with two dozen other youngsters.

Good luck!!

Answer 11

depends on your school district, try contacting the local elementary school and they will be able to tell you what is needed and they usually have a "summer packet" for the soon to be kindergartner to work on.  My son is currently in kindergarten and he needed to know: Upper and Lower ABC's, count from 1-40, tie his shoes, colors, shapes, address and write it, name, first and last and write it and parents names, first and last and write it...although many in his class didn't know many of those things, since my son did his teacher has appointed the ones that did know to help those that didn't...good luck

Answer 12

Well my son is 41/2 and in preschool and knws his address and spelling of his name and count 1-100 and good without us around.But u still need to prepare them for the outside world.

Answer 13

They should know their colors, letters, numbers, be able to count up to 15-20, be able to spell their name and recognize it, and possibly write it.

Answer 14

my grandson just started kindergarten and he knew his alphabet, numbers to 50 ,colors, his name (Upper Case) address ,telephone number and parents name.

Answer 15

A good skill to have would be some form of social skills so the child can relate to others (ie sharing, respect of self and others), recognition of some letters and colours, some independent skills (ability to try new things on his/her own).

Answer 16

I was told they should know how to write their name, know the alphabet and how to count to at least 10. They should know how to tie their shoes.  I believe they should also be taught their address and phone number with area code as well - Have you seen 'My Name is Steven'?  There are a lot of sick people out there that prey on our children. Help them be able to help themselves if anything should happen God forbid... I hope this helps!!

Answer 17

She does not have  to have any skills.  Just teach her the 8 basic colors - red, yellow, greeen, violet, brown, black, orange and white. Teach her the numbers. start from 1-10 until you reach 100. Teach her also the basic shapes such as square, rectangle, oblong, circle and triangle. then you can teach her by playing with words such as " a- apple, a-anchor, a-ant; b-bag. etc... They will eventually learn this in school. But it would be easy for her if she knows some of these. I have taught my three kids before they entered pre-school. It helps a bit. They're all achievers in their class.

Answer 18

know the differnce between, doing no; 1 & 2 in the toilet or the pants!! in short toilet trained!!!

Answer 19

Everything everyone else has been saying.... I stepped it up a bit for my daughter. When she took an interest into schooling when she was 4 1/2 I started her on basic math, in addition to *find the missing letter to the word* game. She can sucessfully add and subtract single digits, and can recognize and read most beginner words. I just want her to be the best that she can. She has taken it upon herself to make sure her 3 year old sister has homework, even though neither of them are in school lol. Most importantly I never forced her to learn... I made sure it was her decision to do the extra's and we worked at her own pace. (Her birthday was too late in the year to attend Kindergarten this year).

Answer 20

Thry should alos be able to read certain sight words, for example, color words (red, blue, green, etc). They should recognize numbers and how to count to 20.

Answer 21

A child entering kindergarten should be able to recognize most of the alphabet and numbers 1-10.  They should be able to identify the basic shapes and colors.  A child who spends all day away from home should know his address and phone number, and his/her parent's names.  It would be helpful if the child could tie his shoes, carry a tray from the lunch counter to his table without spilling it.  Of course, he/she should be potty trained (that sounds trite, but so many 5 and 6 yr olds either still have to be reminded to go to the bathroom, or are afraid to use public bathrooms).  And last, but not least, all children should have been taught some basic social skills so that they can get along with their classmates and teacher.  It's not good to start your educational career with 'time-out'.  

A child's success in high school often is determined by how well he was prepared to start kindergarten.  All this preparation begins at age 'one', and never ends.  

Good luck.

Answer 22

It depends on what school your child will be going to. Basics skills are:

Know their name, phone number, and address

Know how to use potty on own and dress and undress without help

Can sit and listen to Teacher without being disruptive

Can count from 1-10

Know basic colors

Know their ABC's

These are just to name a few