The transition from preschool to kindergarten is a critical time in a child's life. Not only are they often stepping into a new educational environment, but they are also embarking on a journey of new experiences and independence.
This phase of life brings about many emotions for families and children. Children worry about attending a new school and making new friends. Their parents and caregivers worry about how to best prepare them for the academic changes they will face. As an early childhood professional, you may feel like the weight of a child's success in kindergarten rests entirely on your shoulders.
The truth is that preparing children for kindergarten is a task that involves collaboration between families and early childhood professionals. As a leader in early childhood education for the last decade, we understand this charge. That is why we offer kindergarten readiness kits, at-home resources, and other solutions that reinforce key concepts and skills children need as they head into kindergarten.
Continue reading to learn about the benefits of using kindergarten readiness kits, how they help with the summer slide, ways to encourage families to use them at home, and a few simple steps to make the transition from preschool to kindergarten more manageable for the children in your care.
What key concepts will a kindergarten readiness kit help children grasp?
To thrive in kindergarten, young children need to acquire specific social/emotional skills and develop foundational knowledge that will contribute to their future success. Children naturally gain skills and knowledge as they play, interact with peers, and engage in educational experiences with parents and teachers. However, there may be times when children need more support with their growth and development.Kindergarten Readiness Kits provide that support by helping children fully develop skills and grasp key concepts such as:
- The ability to clearly communicate needs, wants, thoughts, and feelings to peers and adults
- Emerging literacy skills that help children connect spoken language with written words and symbols
- How to interact with others, wait for a turn, ask for help, and express emotions appropriately
- Early math skills like counting, recognizing shapes, sorting, organizing, etc.
- Science explorations that improve critical-thinking skills through observations, experiments, and predictions
- Using their fine and gross motor skills to hold a pencil, use scissors, jump, run, pinch, pull, etc.
Will kindergarten readiness kits help with the “summer slide”?
Absolutely! If you are not familiar with the term “summer slide,” this simply refers to the tendency of children to forget key concepts or see a regression of skills while they are out of school during the summer months. This may not happen for every child, but it is a major concern for educators, parents, caregivers, and school administrators.
Kindergarten readiness kits can offset this loss when families, caregivers, and educators use them throughout the summer months to continue a child’s education.
The best kindergarten readiness kits for classroom and at-home use:
Items in this kindergarten readiness kit are subject to change due to product availability.
Sorting Backpack Kit with Bilingual Activity Cards
The Sorting Backpack Kindergarten Readiness Kit includes hands-on manipulatives, books, and related activities to help children improve their math, reading, and fine motor skills. Children can use the colorful bowls, buttons, and strings included in the kit to practice lacing and sorting objects by color. The bilingual activity cards make it easy for Spanish-speaking parents and family members to support the education of young children in their homes.
Recommended ages: 3 years and up.
Best for: This kit is best as an at-home support to encourage family involvement.
All Ready For Kindergarten Readiness Kit
A comprehensive collection of fun activities and tools to help prepare children for their transition into kindergarten. The All Ready For Kindergarten Readiness Kit includes materials, lesson plan frameworks, activities, and games that help children learn the basics of counting, adding, subtracting, reading, writing, and more. The included storage box, write-and-wipe activity books, and other classroom essentials provide the perfect kindergarten readiness solutions for any preschool classroom.
Recommended ages: 4 years and up.
Best for: This kit is best for classroom use; however, the accompanying Parent Guide makes this a great at-home kindergarten readiness kit as well.
Alive Studios Kindergarten Readiness Zoo Crew Pack
Prepare children for kindergarten with the help of 3D augmented reality animals and the Alive Studios Kindergarten Readiness Zoo Crew Pack. This kit will introduce children to all 26 letters of the alphabet, numbers 0 through 10, letter formation, creative writing, sight words, and more. The English/Spanish parent guide and activity cards make this a great educational option for home and classroom use. You will need access to a tablet or smartphone to use this kit's 3D augmented reality features.
Recommended ages: 3 years and up.
Best for: This kit is best for classroom use; however, the bilingual Parent Guide makes this a great at-home kindergarten readiness kit as well.
How can you encourage parents and families to support kindergarten readiness at home?
Not all children live in a home with parents or family members who know how to support their education. Kindergarten readiness kits provide parents/guardians with activities, tools, and materials that introduce children to early literacy, math, science, and social and emotional concepts. Most kits include activity cards, some of which are in both English and Spanish, that explain the purpose and steps involved in each activity. These cards make it easy for anyone to support a child's education at home.
What if you do not have a kindergarten readiness kit to send home with children? Having conversations, reading books, and involving children in household tasks like meal preparation are excellent ways to nurture growth and development. Encourage parents and family members to engage in these activities as often as possible.
How can you support children in the classroom as they prepare for kindergarten?
The transition from preschool to kindergarten can be difficult for young children. As they tour schools with their families and attend kindergarten registration events, they may realize that everything they know and love about their educational experiences will change. Their teacher will change, the friends in their classroom may change, and even the building where they attend school could change.
To ease the first-day jitters and make this period of change exciting and fun for children, take time in the weeks leading up to the end of the school year to read books that focus on kindergarten, such as Nancy Carlson's picture book Look Out, Kindergarten, Here I Come! Encourage children to draw pictures or verbally share how they feel about transitioning to a new school and making new friends.
If you need more ideas and practical examples of lessons and activities that promote kindergarten readiness, take a look at these books:
Kick-Start Kindergarten Readiness
Studies show that parent and family involvement with the school is essential to a child's future academic success. The book Kick-Start Kindergarten Readiness will help educators build the home-school connection that supports and prepares children for the transition into kindergarten. It also includes 52 reproducible parent letters and simple activities that families and children can work on together at home.
Seven Skills for School Success
In the book Seven Skills for School Success, Pam Schiller provides information, activities, and experiences that help children become successful learners. As you read through the pages, you will learn how to strengthen the social and emotional foundation children need to appropriately express their feelings and learn how to relate to others.
Help children thrive in the kindergarten classroom!
Transitioning from preschool to kindergarten is an exciting and overwhelming time for children, families, and early childhood professionals. The great news is that preparing children socially, emotionally, physically, and academically is not a task you must take on alone. With the help of parents, caregivers, family members, and kindergarten readiness kits, children will have everything they need to thrive in the kindergarten classroom.