The Ultimate

Kindergarten Preparation Checklist

You may be thinking that time flies if your child is about to go into kindergarten. Whether this next step feels exciting or overwhelming, you can tackle the preparation process by focusing on developmental areas such as creativity, independence, cognitive learning and emotions. Help your child have a smooth transition with these few simple and fun activities!

Encourage Creativity & Independence

Building your child’s confidence in themselves can be beneficial during their upcoming adjustment. Try giving your child more personal autonomy by allowing them to pick out their supplies for school or help out with chores around the house. Having consistent tasks for your child helps build a solid routine for them, which is important for any child.

Another way to build a strong sense of self for your child is to facilitate creative expression. Ask your child to tell you made-up stories and pretend play. Also, create opportunities for your child to draw and make crafts.

Stimulate Cognitive Development

Along with being a parent, you are also your child's first and best teacher. While it may feel difficult to juggle these two jobs for your child, there are ways to effortlessly progress your child’s learning by incorporating learning into your everyday routines.

You can familiarize your child with words and numbers by pointing them out during daily life. For instance, ask your child to count how many blue cars they see while driving around. Also, try asking your child what they notice about the surroundings in their environment. Other easy activities include reading with your child before bed, having them practice “writing” and playing guessing games.

Welcome Emotional Expression

Starting kindergarten can seem scary to your child, and that is okay! However, emotions can be hard to verbalize and understand for young children. Therefore, it could be useful to help guide your child through their emotions as they come up.

For example, if your child is seeming happy, sad or angry, try asking them to label their emotions by starting with “I feel.” You can also try talking to your child about how they are feeling in regards to starting kindergarten specifically. Lastly, welcome and gratify excitement your child may feel about this new chapter in their life.

Overall, preparing for kindergarten can be fun, simple and natural. We hope you all have a great first day of kindergarten!

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