Kindergarten Readiness

Kindergarten is an Exciting Adventure!

Welcome! This page is here to help you and your child enjoy every step of this big milestone. We want parents to have the confidence and tools to help their child grow, learn, and thrive in the months leading up to kindergarten. Whether this is your first time navigating this journey or you’re looking for fresh ideas, we’re here to walk alongside your family, offering tips, encouragement, and support every step of the way.

Kindergarten Readiness Skills

Building Social and Emotional Foundations

Let's Work On: Following Directions

The "Two-Step" Helper: Give your child multi-step tasks during daily routines. For example: "Put your shoes in the closet and bring me your backpack."
"Simon Says": Play this classic game to practice listening for specific cues. To increase the challenge, give two instructions at once, such as: "Simon says touch your toes, then clap your eyes."
Kitchen Assistant: Follow a simple "recipe" together. Give one clear instruction at a time—like pouring cereal then adding milk—to help them practice sequence and order.
Red Light, Green Light: Use this game to build "stop-and-go" skills. It teaches children to listen closely and stop their physical momentum immediately when a command is given.

Let's Work On: Personal Needs

Daily Routines: Create simple, consistent steps for bathing, brushing teeth, and getting ready for bed.
Dress Themselves: Encourage your child to pick out and put on their own clothes. Focus on "recess readiness" by practicing how to pull up zippers, fasten buttons, and snap snaps on jackets and pants.
Shoe Practice: Let your child practice putting their shoes on the correct feet independently.
Hygiene Habits: Teach your child how and when to blow their nose into a tissue and dispose of it. Practice thorough handwashing with soap, especially before eating and after using the restroom or sneezing.
Use Your Words: Practice having your child tell you clearly when they feel sick, hurt, or need help with a task.

Let's Work On: Building Patience

The "One-Minute" Wait: When your child asks for something, use a timer or a song to delay gratification for one minute. Have them engage in a quiet activity—like deep breathing or counting—until the timer goes off.
Turn-Taking Games: Play simple board games or card games that require waiting for a turn.
"I'm Busy" Practice: When you are on the phone or finishing a chore, ask your child to wait until you are done before speaking. Praise them specifically afterward: "Thank you for being patient while I finished that call!"
The Waiting Bag: Keep a small bag of "quiet toys" (like playdough, a fidget, or a book) for use at doctor's offices or grocery lines. Encourage them to use these tools to entertain themselves without immediate adult interaction

Let's Work On: Expressing Feelings

The "Feelings Check-In": Use a simple chart or drawing with faces (happy, sad, frustrated, etc.). Ask your child to point to how they feel at different times of the day to help them connect their physical sensations to a name.
Model the "I-Statement": When you feel a strong emotion, say it out loud: "I feel frustrated because I dropped my keys." This shows your child that even adults have feelings and that naming them is the first step to staying calm.
Read and Label: While reading a bedtime story, ask, "How do you think that character feels right now?" This builds empathy and gives them the vocabulary to describe emotions in themselves and others.
The "Cool-Down" Spot: Create a comfortable space with pillows or stuffed animals. Teach your child that when their feelings are too big to talk about, they can go there to breathe and "reset" before explaining what’s wrong.

Let's Work On: Finger Skills

Dot-to-Dot & Mazes: Provide simple "connect the dots" or maze puzzles. These require precise pencil control and help children practice staying within lines, which is a key precursor to writing letters.
The "Piggy Bank": Have your child pick up coins or buttons one by one and drop them into a narrow slot. This strengthens the "pincer grasp" (thumb and pointer finger) essential for holding a pencil.
Kitchen Tongs: Give your child a pair of kitchen tongs or tweezers and have them move small items (like pom-poms or dry pasta) from one bowl to another to build hand stability.
Clip-It: Use clothespins to clip around the edge of a sturdy piece of cardboard or a paper plate. This resistance builds the hand strength required for using school scissors.

Let's Work On: Movement and Coordination

The "Floor is Lava" Obstacle Course: Use pillows, cushions, and blankets to create a path across the room. Your child will practice balance, crawling, and stepping over objects to reach the "safe zone."
Animal Walks: Call out an animal and have your child move like it. Try "Bear Crawls" (hands and feet), "Frog Jumps" (squatting jumps), or "Flamingo Stands" (balancing on one leg).
Ball Skills: Practice underhand tossing and catching with a soft ball or a rolled-up pair of socks. Start close together and take one step back after every successful catch.
Nature Scavenger Hunt: Head to a local park and encourage "active" finds. Ask them to run to a specific tree, hop like a bunny to a bench, or march like a soldier to the playground.

Exploring Early Literacy

Let's Work On: The Alphabet

Alphabet Scavenger Hunt: Call out a letter and have your child find an object in the house that starts with that letter (e.g., "B" for "Ball").
Sensory Writing: Pour salt, flour, or shaving cream on a cookie sheet. Have your child use their finger to "write" letters.
ABC Movement: Assign a movement to letters (A is for Acting, B is for Bouncing). Sing the alphabet song slowly and perform the action when you hit that letter.
Letter Snacks: Use pretzel sticks, crackers, or cereal to build letter shapes on a plate before eating them.

Let's Work On: Letter Identification

"I Spy" Letters: Play "I Spy" using letter sounds or shapes around the room. For example: "I spy with my little eye something that starts with the letter 'B'" or "something shaped like a 'T'."
Environmental Print: While driving or grocery shopping, point out letters on signs. Ask, "Can you find the 'K' on that Kroger sign?"
Upper & Lower Match: Write uppercase letters on one set of sticky notes and lowercase on another. Have your child "match" the pairs by sticking them together on a wall or door.
Letter Search: Give your child a highlighter and old mail. Ask them to find and circle all the "S" or "m" characters they can find.

Let's Work On: Rhyming Sounds

Rhyming Games: Start with a simple word like "Cat" and take turns saying words that rhyme (Hat, Bat, Sat). See how long you can keep the chain going!
Nursery Rhyme Stop: Read a familiar rhyme or book (like Green Eggs and Ham) and stop before the rhyming word. Let your child "fill in the blank" to complete the rhyme.
Silly Name Swap: Change the first letter of household objects to rhyme with a silly sound. For example, call a "Chair" a "Bair" or a "Table" a "Mable."
Rhyme Picnic: Pretend you are going on a picnic and can only bring things that rhyme with a specific sound. "I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing a Bear, a Pear, and a Chair

Let's Work On: Names

The Name Puzzle: Write your child's name in large letters on a piece of cardboard, then cut the letters apart. Have them practice putting the "puzzle" back in the correct order.
Water Writing: Give your child a cup of water and a paintbrush. Let them "paint" their name on the sidewalk or driveway. Watch it disappear as it dries!
Name Signage: Help your child create a nameplate for their bedroom door. Focus on making the first letter uppercase and the rest lowercase, just like they will at school.
Playdough Names: Have your child roll playdough into "snakes" and use those snakes to form the letters of their name.

Let's Work On: Positional Words

The "Where is it?" Game: Use a stuffed animal to practice words like under, over, behind, next to, and between. Ask, "Can you put the bear under the chair?"
Obstacle Course Directions: Create a mini course where they must go through a tunnel, around a cone, and on top of a cushion.
Hide and Seek Directions: Hide a toy and give clues using positional words: "It is inside a drawer," or "It is behind the sofa."
Picture Search: While looking at a book, ask your child to point to things using locations. "Find the bird that is above the tree."

Discovering Mathematical Thinking

Let's Work On: Recognizing Numbers

Number Hunt: On your next walk or drive, "hunt" for numbers on house addresses or license plates. Ask your child to call them out as they see them.
Sticky Note Match: Write numbers 1–10 on sticky notes and place them around a room. Call out a number and have your child "race" to find it.
Parking Lot Math: While shopping, have your child identify the numbers on the aisle signs or the price tags of their favorite snacks.
Playdough Numbers: Use playdough to mold the shapes of numbers.

Let's Work On: Counting Numbers

Board Game Basics: Play games like Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders. These require your child to count out each space as they move their piece, connecting the number on the spinner to their physical movement.
Toy Tally: During clean-up, ask your child to count 5 specific items into the toy box. "Can you find 5 cars to put away first?"
Table Setup: Ask your child to help set the table by counting out exactly how many forks, plates, or napkins are needed for the family.
One-to-One Snack: Give your child a handful of small snacks (like goldfish or cereal). Have them touch each piece as they count it to ensure they aren't counting faster than their fingers move.

Let's Work On: Colors

Color Sort: After doing laundry, have your child help sort socks or shirts into color piles. Use specific names like "navy blue" or "bright red."
Rainbow Plate: During mealtime, talk about the colors on the plate. See if you can find a "rainbow" of foods to eat throughout the week.
Color I-Spy: Play the game focusing only on colors. "I spy something that is the same color as an orange."
Nature Palette: Go outside and find three different shades of green (a leaf, grass, a pine needle). This helps children see that one color can have many versions.

Let's Work on: Patterns

Snack Patterns: Create a simple pattern with snacks, like Grape - Cracker - Grape - Cracker. Ask your child, "What comes next?"
Clap and Stomp: Create a rhythmic pattern with your body: Clap, Stomp, Clap, Stomp. Have your child repeat it and then try to create their own for you to follow.
Toy Trains: Use colored blocks or toy cars to build a line. Create a "color pattern" (Blue, Red, Blue, Red) and ask your child to finish the line.
Laundry Patterns: While folding clothes, point out patterns on fabrics, like stripes or polka dots. Ask if they can find another item with a similar pattern.

Let's Work On: Shapes

Shape Detective: Give your child a "magnifying glass" (or just their hands) and look for shapes in the kitchen. A clock is a circle; a window is a square or rectangle.
Sidewalk Shape Walk: Draw different shapes on the sidewalk with chalk. Call out a shape name and have your child jump into the corresponding one.
Shape Sandwiches: Cut sandwiches, toast, or cheese into different shapes (triangles or squares). Talk about the "points" (corners) and "straight lines" as they eat.
Build a Shape: Use toothpicks, pretzels, or straws to build shapes. Ask your child how many "sides" they need to make a triangle versus a square.

Let's Work On: Comparison

Snack Comparison: Give yourself 3 crackers and your child 5. Ask, "Who has more?" or "Who has fewer?"
Toy Sorting: Group toys into two piles. Ask your child to guess which pile has more without counting, then count together to see if they were right.
Nature Tally: Collect rocks or leaves on a walk. Create two groups and ask your child to identify which group has "less" (fewer items).

Community Resources for Early Learners

Be Ready by 5: This initiative provides families with a comprehensive checklist and resources to ensure children have the essential social, emotional, and academic skills needed for kindergarten.
Preschool Promise: This organization helps families find and afford high-quality preschool programs in the Dayton area to ensure every child has a strong start before kindergarten.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: Through this program, children from birth to age five can receive a free, high-quality, age-appropriate book mailed to their home every month.
Kettering Recreation Complex (PlayKettering): Families can access various youth programs, camps, and classes designed to build physical coordination and social skills in a fun environment.
YMCA of Greater Dayton: The YMCA provides affordable early childhood education and summer programs that focus on youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.

Ready to Enroll your Kindergartner?

Kindergarten Registration Info

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Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Frequently Asked Questions:

All first-time kindergarten students participate in the state-required Kindergarten Readiness Assessment. This assessment helps teachers get to know your child as a learner. This tool is not designed to compare your child with others or to rank them by ability. It is used simply to see how ready your child is for Ohio’s Learning Standards so we can support their growth from Day One.

What is the KRA-R?
The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment-Revised (KRA-R) is a state-required "snapshot" of your child’s early development. It helps us understand their skills in four key areas: Social Foundations, Language & Literacy, Mathematics, and Physical Well-Being .

What is the KDI-2?
Kettering may also use the Kindergarten Diagnostic Instrument (KDI-2). This tool gives us a deeper look at specific skills like number recognition, letter sounds (phonemic awareness), and motor skills.

When and where does this happen?
Your home elementary school will contact you to schedule a 20–45 minute appointment in August.

How does my child "take" the assessment?
Your child will answer questions, perform simple tasks, or just be observed by the teacher during natural classroom activities and play.

Does my child need to study?
Not at all! There is no studying required, and you don’t need to bring anything to the screening. The best preparation is playing, reading, and talking with your child!

Will I see the results?
Yes. Families will receive a report in the late fall outlining their child’s readiness in each area.

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Kindergarten Readiness

Kindergarten is an Exciting Adventure!