Kindergarten Readiness
Parents
Is your child ready for kindergarten? What does it mean to be "ready" for kindergarten? What do you do if they're not "ready". As parents, we have so many questions and concerns when thinking about your preschooler entering kindergarten. Learn from the experts what types of characteristics teachers are looking for and what you can do to help prepare your child for school. Resources are available for your child if they have a suspected disability or if you're concerned about how they are learning. Help is available through your public school district. Visit the "Get Connected" tab to learn how you can have your child evaluated if you suspect that they have a disability.
Early Childhood Education is important in our state. As research studies have demonstrated, investing in our children at birth will benefit the entire state of Michigan. “The Office of Great Start has been charged with ensuring that all children birth to age eight, especially those in highest need, have access to high-quality early learning and development programs and enter kindergarten prepared for success. The Governor outlined a single set of early childhood outcomes against which all public investments will be assessed:
- Children born healthy;
- Children healthy, thriving, and developmentally on track from birth to third grade;
- Children developmentally ready to succeed in school at the time of school entry; and
- Children prepared to succeed in fourth grade and beyond by reading proficiently by the end of third grade.
Additional Resources
What is Social and Emotional health and why is it important? Social and emotional skills are important as ABC's and 1,2, 3's. Babies need relationships with loving adults who learn these skills. Loving relationships also helps children grow and develop. When children have a healthy foundation, they are more likely to make friends, follow directions, control emotions, solve problems, and focus on tasks. The social emotional health in early life shapes the architecture of a child's brain and builds the foundation for lifelong learning, good health, and success in the workforce. Learn how you can support your child's social-emotional health so that they can get along with others and manage their feelings.
The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) created resource guides for parents with children who are entering kindergarten. They highlight a variety of questions parents may have when their children are transitioning from a preschool setting and/or entering a school setting for the first time. Guides are offered in English, Spanish, and Arabic.
The Michigan Alliance for Families provides information, support, and education for families who have children (birth through 26 years of age) who receive (or may be eligible to receive) special education services. Parents can connect directly to a mentor from your local area. The Michigan Alliance for Families also offers the Transition to Kindergarten parent guides in a family-friendly format. Click this link for a direct link to the parent guides and additional information about kindergarten readiness.
Free early learning resources are designed to support parents and their young children in the development of early literacy skills in the years before kindergarten. Offered by the National Center for Learning Disabilities.
Articles on Kindergarten Readiness
ARTICLE: Ready for Kindergarten
Is your child ready? Kindergarten teachers offer an insight into the skills they are looking for: enthusiasm toward learning, solid-oral language skills, the ability to listen, the desire to be independent, the ability to play well with others, strong fine-motor skills, and basic letter and number recognition. Hear from the experts directly about each of these skiill sets and how they can be learned easily through play and day-to-day activities.
Learn how a child's behavior can be linked to kindergarten readiness. How does their social-emotional development impact whether or not they are ready to start school and what you can do to help get ready?