Kindergarten Readiness

Art Music Drama

Readiness for Kindergarten – Quick Draw McPumpkin

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Pumpkin by LM, age 3

For some readiness for kindergarten fun, ask your child to draw a pumpkin. Drawing is a kind of language and certainly a kindergarten readiness activity. Some kids love to draw and their talent shows at the age of 3 or 4! For other children (and many adults) drawing can be a struggle. But for all children, making marks on paper is a way to express meaning thru print. At first, kids just experiment with making any kind of marks on paper. As they develop, they begin to attach meaning to these squiggles. Later on, we may be able to recognize the objects in their pictures.  Making pictures is a step before writing and helps reinforce the connection between meaning and print.

In addition, making pictures on paper is good practice for making pictures in the mind or what is called visualizing.This is a key part of communicating. Fine muscle skills are also developing in young children and need lots of experimentation and practice before kids tackle learning to print. Drawing can also help when little ones are learning colors. What are some other things kids learn by drawing?

Infant and Toddler, Social and Emotional

Readiness for Kindergarten – Pumpkin Soup Serves Up Learning

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With cooler weather, it may be time to simmer up some soup this weekend. Pumpkins make good soup and serve up some readiness for kindergarten learning.

  • There’s lots of science if you make some from scratch and your little one may be able to help scoop out the pumpkin.
  • As you read the recipe you model for your child the importance of reading.
  • Ingredients need both counting and measuring, 2 important math skills.

Ready-made soup dishes up learning, too. There are social skills about working together, sharing, and behavior at meal times.
If pumpkin soup doesn’t really appeal in your house, try this book on the menu.
The children’s story, Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper, explores some basic emotions and social skills. Three friends, Duck, Squirrel and Cat make soup together. When a squabble arises, they have to deal with hurt feelings and find a solution. For kids to feel comfortable and eager to learn they need to develop early social skills. New research is showing that social skills, not just academic skills, have an impact on achievement. (Institute for Social Research) Exploring and learning about emotions and interacting positively with others is part of kindergarten readiness.

No matter is your soup is homemade, from a package or a book, would you agree that learning is an ingredient?

Reading and Writing

Readiness for Kindergarten – P is for Pumpkin, Part 3

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As mentioned in parts 1 & 2, some familiarity with the alphabet is an important part of readiness for kindergarten. As adults, we think that kids only have to learn 26 letters to know the alphabet. Watch this math…

There are 26 letter names + 26 letter sounds + 26 letter shapes which make 78. Now, multiply that by 2 because there are both upper and lower case and suddenly the total has grown to 156. Printed letters come in all different sizes, colors and styles making countless variations. Voices can be high, low, loud, soft etc. so letter sounds can have a huge variety, too. As if that’s not enough, number squiggles add interference. Do you understand why the alphabet is such a big learning task and why kids need to have lots and lots and lots of experiences with letter names, sounds and shapes before they figure it all out? Flash cards will not cover the variety and depth needed. Kids need songs, books, stories, pictures, fridge magnets, puzzles, play clay, chalk, paints, crayons, stamps, crafts and more to help them with this monumental chunk of learning.They will need some same old, same old repetition and some different new, different new–and fun–experiences.

An effective strategy to help your little one with this kindergarten readiness activity can be to explore just one letter in many ways. Since pumpkin has two P’s it’s great for the letter P. What does it look like (Part 1) what does it sound like (Part 2) and how do we make it (Part 3). Using a big piece of paper trace out a letter P and let your child draw inside it using lots of different colors: a straight line down and a bump around. Say the letter in a few different ways. Try crayons, markers, or paints. This makes a rainbow inside the letter P. Maybe pumpkins are another sort of learning treasure at the end of the rainbow?

Reading and Writing

Readiness for Kindergarten – P is for Pumpkin, Part 2

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Many children’s books are based on the alphabet and many kindergarten readiness evaluations will ask children about letters. There is no doubt that having some basic knowledge of letter names is beneficial before going off to school. But letters have names and they also have associated sounds. Sometimes, these are the same but sometimes they … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten – P is for Pumpkin, Part 2 →

Physical Development

Kindergarten Readiness – Pumpkin Plasticine, Google & Gumby

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Did you see Google today? And those 5 balls of colored clay? I wonder if Art Clokey played with plasticine as a child and that was the inspiration for Gumby? Gumby is the inspiration for today’s post about kindergarten readiness and fine motor skills. At a recent event I spoke with an Occupational Therapist about … Continue reading Kindergarten Readiness – Pumpkin Plasticine, Google & Gumby →

Reading and Writing

Readiness for Kindergarten – P is for Pumpkin, Part 1

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Kindergarten readiness evaluations may quite likely ask what your child knows about letters and the alphabet. This is to give some idea of the level of basic knowledge. Children all develop at their own rate and in their own way so some may know all the letters and other children only a few. All children … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten – P is for Pumpkin, Part 1 →

Holiday Activities

Kindergarten Readiness – Happy Thanksgiving/Columbus Day Pie

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Happy Thanksgiving – if you are from the northern part of the continent where fall is much shorter. Happy Columbus Day if you are farther south. Pumpkin pie is a tradition for the season no matter your location. Speaking of pie…I just discovered this terrific story called Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by Jill Esbaum. A … Continue reading Kindergarten Readiness – Happy Thanksgiving/Columbus Day Pie →

Science Activities

Readiness for Kindergarten – How Big is This Big Pumpkin?

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Pumpkins can be used for all kinds of readiness for kindergarten learning: colors, shapes, counting, and sizes. Did you know that calling something little or big involves a great deal of thinking?  Not only does a child need to learn some words such as big, little, small, large, etc, but then has to learn how … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten – How Big is This Big Pumpkin? →

Social and Emotional

Readiness for Kindergarten – Once upon a pumpkin…

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Parents and caregivers of young children often forget, or even avoid, traditional fairy tales. After all, these stories are politically incorrect and have stereotypes and violence. As a new ‘enlightened’ teacher, when an older professor suggested using them as a teaching tool, I scoffed at this idea from the Dark Ages. How can fairy tales help … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten – Once upon a pumpkin… →