A Family's Guide to Kindergarten Readiness

Use these tips and videos to help you prepare your child for kindergarten.

Reading Readiness

Help your child practice writing their name by using magnetic letters, clay, or shaving cream.
Look for letters and words on real-world objects such as cereal boxes, signs, magazines... Watch video
Sing songs. Songs have different notes for each syllable in a word, so children can hear the different sounds in words.
Say nursery rhymes and make up your own silly, nonsense rhymes.
Play word games such as, “What sounds like ‘ran’?” or “What starts with the same sound as ‘ball’?
Let your child hold the book and turn the pages while you are reading together. Watch video
Read a book that you have read before. Switch what you do—you be the listener and let your child tell you the story. Watch video
Download and print our reading activity sheet; Explore Books Together / Explorar Libros Juntos. Please note this is not an accessible PDF.

Explore outdoors for shapes and colors.
At the grocery store, go on a circle hunt and have your child find all of the circles they can.
Look for numbers on appliances, in stores, or in books. Watch video
Count out-loud with your child while waiting for something to cook or while stopped at a red light.
Count the stairs, shoes, keys and other things you use or see every day. Watch video
Sing songs that rhyme, repeat, or have numbers in them.
Ask your child to find objects around the house or in books that are the same. Watch video
Download and print our math activity sheet; Cube Activities / Actividades Con Cubos. Please note this is not an accessible PDF.
Download and print our science activity sheet; Future Scientist / Futuro Ceintífico. Please note this is not an accessible PDF.

Ask questions that call for more than a “yes” or “no” answer (such as “what do you think?”)
When your child hears a word they don’t know, explain what it means and practice ways to use the word.
While driving or riding on the bus, ask your child to tell you what they hear or see. Watch video
Download and print our writing activity sheet; My Ideas Notebook / Mi Cauderno de Ideas. Please note this is not an accessible PDF.