6 Skills kindergarten teachers wish kids knew and how to teach them at home

You have a kindergartener or maybe a child who is about to start and you are wondering what you can do at home to help increase the chances of their kindergarten success.

I have spent years working with teachers and I have the scoop! Teachers have a list of skills they really wish your kindergartener knew before entering their classrooms.

I know the thought of adding one more thing to your parenting list can be exhauting. What I am going to share is not intended to overwhelm. It will not be full of pinterest perfect precision. These are realisitc “tid bits” that you can easily use to teach your child at home. 

1. Following Multi-Step Directions, without a delayed response: 

Have you ever given your child a directive, involving more than 1 step and they freeze with confusion? Teachers witness this often and unfortunately, this response slows down the flow of the class, as the teacher has to focus on breaking down the steps further (waiting in between) or completing the task for the student, in order to save time.

How you can teach them at home:

• Play games like “Simon Says”, “Red Light, Green Light”
• Go on a treasure hunt. This can involve multiple steps (ie. “go to the playroom”, “open the toy chest”, “take out the blue box”).
• Give 3-step directions when getting ready to leave the house: “first, put on your shoes, then, put on your jacket, last, stand at the door”

Pro Tip: Practice makes better. Practice patience here. Little brains need time to process multiple directives. Consistency is your friend. 

2. Self-Help Skills:

Teachers often report students not being able to zip, button, open snack packs, or complete toilet hygiene tasks. Imagine having 20 students to your 1 person and having to help all of them zip their jacket before going outside. There’s 10-15 minutes of recess time gone.

How you can teach them at home:

• Pack a lunch with your child. Have them open and close all containers. Practice with real items.
• Engage in pretend play by pretending to go to school. Have your child zip and unzip a back pack, jacket, or pencil pouch.
• Practice buttoning and unbuttoning.
• Try these dressing boards, for fun, daily practice.

Pro Tip: Consider easy to open containers, slip on pants, and velcro fasteners until those little hands get a lot stronger and more coordinated. 

3. Tying Shoes:

Shoe tying is tricky and often on the bottom of the list of things to introduce to kids. Teachers would love fewer untied, tripped on laces in the hallway and on the playground.

How you can teach them at home:

• Practice with an actual shoe or shoe tying board. 
• Make sure to break the process down into steps. Find out what works for your child, what they understand and work on it daily.
• Approach shoe tying in a fun way: race against the clock or create a shoe tying reward system, making sure to give credit for trying. Shoe tying doesn’t always happen overnight.

Pro Tip: While waiting on mastery, invest in slip ons or velcro (ensuring safety with either).

4. Recognizing and Writing Their Name:

Teachers often have to play detective in trying to figure out whose work has been turned in or who the various water bottles belong to. They report students often come in not posessing the skill of writing their name or how to recognize the written version of their name.

How you can teach them at home: 

• Have your child practice writing their name daily. Get creative and have them write it in shaving cream, paint, play dough, or in soap while in the bathtub. Have them create cards to grandparents and sign their name.
• Label all of their items, such as: water bottle, backpack, lunchbox, jacket.
• Give them a placemat during mealtime, with the alphabet on it and have them find letters of their name, in between bites.
• Place a name plaque on their bedroom door.
• Call attention to the written version of their name. Seeing their name daily helps with visual memory and improves recall.

Pro Tip: Create “name games”, by having your child find the letters in their name, using magnetic letters, alphabet strips, or even while reading a book together. 

5. Sharing and Taking Turns:

This is a skill that we are not automatically born with. This skill requires introduction and nuturing through constant practice. Teachers often wish this was less of a struggle within the kindergarten classroom.

How you can teach them at home: 

• Model sharing in the home. Share the last scoop of ice cream or favorite cookie. Intentionally set up crafts where you have to share 1 pair of scissors, glue stick, or a particular crayon color.
• Play “turn taking” card or board games, such as “Go Fish“, “Candy Land“.
• Use timers: “You get 5 minutes, then it’s my turn”.

Pro Tip: Praise your child when you “catch” them sharing. Praise increases the chances of  a behavior happening again. 

*This reward jar may the motivation your child needs.

6. Fine Motor Skills:

Pencil grip, scissor operation, teachers notice deficits in these skills right away. It can be difficult for children to grip their pencil properly or cut out simple shapes, when fine motor skills are underdeveloped.

How You Can Teach Them At Home:

• Strengthen hands and fingers through the manipulation of play dough, tongs, or clothespins. Tear construction paper into pieces, or have your child complete squeeze ball exercies (ie. squeeze while reciting the ABC’s or while counting to 10).
• Allow your child to use scissors to cut out pictures in old magazines, cut along straight, wavy, and curved lines. Or simply snip paper. Try these blunt tip safety scissors. Check out these spring loaded scissors, which are great for those little fingers that can’t quiet open and close scissors yet.
• Take a look at our FREE “Scissor Skills Worksheets” Bundle. You’ll find different lines (vertical, horizontal, curved) and an introduction to simple shape cutting.
• Let your child trace, color, draw as much as possible. Check out our “Preschool Alphabet Workbook”, full of coloring and tracing activity worksheets. Print and laminate for multiple use.

Pro tip: Ask your current pre-school teacher or future kindergarten teacher what your child may be struggling with and request suggested at-home resources. 

Are you a teacher, parent, caregiver, or therapist that can offer support in this area? What are some ideas that have worked in supporting kindergarten learners success? We would love to hear from you.

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