Knowing When to Start: The Parent's Preschool Skills Checklist

Are you worried that your child isn't ready for preschool? If so, you may be wondering when to start the parents preschool skills checklist.

Learning to socialize and play well with others is an important part of preschool, and one that your child may need some help with if they haven't been in school before. Help them ease into their first year of preschool by creating a checklist to build these essential preschool skills.

Then, when it's time for the parents skills check, you can know that your child is ready for school. Read on for more information about this preschool readiness checklist and other ways for children to ease into kindergarten.

Language Skills

In the receptive language domain, parents should look for their child's ability to understand words, directions, and patterns. For expressive language skills, parents should watch for their child's use of correct words, sentence structure, and question-answer sequences.

Parents should also note their child's understanding for emergent literacy skills including alphabet knowledge, letter-sound association, and word identification.

Reading Readiness Skills

These are the skills that give preschoolers the ability to succeed in reading as they move forward in their schooling. Parents should look for a skills checklist that includes reading readiness skills such as being able to identify the sound of each letter, understanding the left to right direction of reading and the recognition of specific sight words when they start preschool.

Additionally, listening comprehension skills play a key role in reading readiness, so it is important to make sure that the skills checklist includes the ability to recognize stories and instructions.

Math Skills

A few items to include on that list might be: recognizing numbers up to 10, understanding basic addition and subtraction, and counting objects up to 20. To facilitate skill development, parents can learn different games and activities to play with their children.

Emphasizing the importance of math in daily life, such as counting out plates at dinner, or recognizing a numerical pattern in their favourite TV show, can help children connect the dots between the numerical world and what they see and experience - and learning more complex skills in the near future.

Gross Motor Skills

Gross motor skills refer to the ability to move the larger, larger body muscles like walking, running, jumping, and swimming. When it comes to preschoolers, parents should consider evaluating their gross motor skills necessary for learning.

Such a preschool skills checklist can include a range of age-appropriate skills, such as  marching in a circle, running through a tunnel, playing with dart boards balancing on one foot, throwing and catching a ball, hopping on one foot, skipping, hopping on both feet, and more.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills are a critical part of preschool development. These skills include holding a pencil or scissors, manipulating puzzles, and stacking blocks. As a parent, it is important to track your child's progress in this area.

A preschool skills checklist should include fine motor activities such as pinching, drawing, grasping, and manipulating smaller objects like toothpicks or cotton swabs. Additionally, it may also include activities to build strength and coordination, such as squeezing small objects, pushing buttons, drawing curved lines, and manipulating clay or putty.

Read more about school readiness to get childhood education started!

Explore These Preschool Skills Checklist

Now that you know when to start the Parents Preschool Skills Checklist, use it wisely to assess your early-learner's progress.

By monitoring their growth, you can provide the necessary support and ensure that they are on track for a successful educational journey ahead.

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