Get Ready for Kindergarten: How to Help Your Child

One of the questions I am asked most often is, “What can I do to help my child get ready for kindergarten?”  You may not realize it, but you have been preparing your child since he or she was a baby.  Reading and singing, playing games, and teaching your child to use words to communicate are all major accomplishments that put your child on the path to learning success.  In case no one has told you, you are doing a great job!  Suddenly, you blinked and kindergarten is right around the corner.  You want to prepare your child in the best way possible, but you may not be sure where to start.

I wanted to design a resource to help incoming and current kindergarteners and their parents or caregivers.  One thing I wanted to ensure is that this resource provided OPTIONS.  Not all kids enter kindergarten at the same level, so they need differentiated activities.  I decided to create a binder so that pages could be placed into sheet protectors.  This makes them “write and wipe” activities that can be used again and again with dry-erase markers.  Repetition of skills is key for little learners!  Lastly, my goal was to not only create a resource to prepare children but also to support them throughout the entire kindergarten year.  And so, my Kindergarten Readiness Binder was born – a purposeful, reusable tool that will grow with your child.

Here is what is included to help your child Get Ready for Kindergarten…

1.  Kindergarten Readiness Binder Choices

You’ll begin by choosing your cover to create your Kindergarten Readiness Binder.  Print the cover of your choice along with a binder spine label.

2.  Nine Units are Included to Get Your Child Ready for Kindergarten and Beyond.

Simply print out the pages of all nine units above.  Place the pages into sheet protectors and insert the pages in the binder.  Your child can now use a dry-erase marker to write on the pages.  The great thing is that you can customize the binder any way you like!  For example, I included material that your child may not see until he or she begins kindergarten.  Sentence writing, word building, and some of the math activities are more challenging.  You can move these sections to the back of your binder for when your child is ready.

I recommend beginning with the basics to get ready for kindergarten.  The “On the Way to K” unit is a great start along with name writing, fine motor activities that includes cutting and tracing, letter and number recognition, and letter and number formation. As your child is ready, begin to introduce the higher-level activities such as word building, sentence writing, and some of the more challenging math activities.

3.  Over 100 Activity Pages to Get Your Child Ready for Kindergarten

Your Kindergarten Readiness Binder includes over 100 pages of standards-based activity pages.  You can pick a skill or two to work on each day.  Keep your binder handy throughout your child’s kindergarten year to help reinforce what is being taught in the classroom.

4.  Parent Tips to Guide Your Child

Each unit begins with parent tips for supporting your kindergartener with the activities.  I provide ideas for how you can make learning fun and engaging by turning the activity pages and mats into games!

5.  Kindergarten Flash Cards and Supplemental Materials

You’ll also receive printable uppercase and lowercase letter flash cards, sight word flash cards, small letter flash cards for word building, numbers 1 to 20 cards, base ten unit blocks, geometric shapes pintables, as well as money printable cutouts.  These materials may be used with the activity pages.  They are also great for playing games.  I like to print two sets of the letters, numbers, and sight words to create a Memory Game.  Flip both sets face down.  Have your child flip two cards up trying to find matches.  Each time, your child should say the letter, number, or word for practice.  The possibilities are endless.

I hope that this post has given you some ideas on how to get your child ready for kindergarten.  Spending just 15 minutes a day on the activities in your binder will make a huge difference!

You can find this Kindergarten Readiness Binder resource in my TPT Store.  Snag it at intro pricing for a limited time!