Kindergarten Admissions: Academic and Social-Emotional Skills
The first step in preparing for the kindergarten admissions process is having a realistic understanding of what the schools expect from your child. As you read our guidance below, keep in mind that at every step of the way, your child will be interacting with skilled and experienced educators who are not searching for a “gotcha” moment. The admissions process is created to ensure that your child will thrive in that school’s environment and so the admissions staff will be watching for moments of student success. No one is expecting them to be perfect!
To help your child have many moments of success and prepare them to be their most confident selves, check out our suggested areas of skill building below!
Social-Emotional Skills Needed
For our youngest learners, demonstrating developmentally appropriate social-emotional skills is key. This can look like:
Separating easily from a caregiver
Interacting appropriately with unfamiliar peers
Building a relationship with an unfamiliar adult
This can be a lot for our little ones, which is why practice makes perfect. Remember, all children have a place in the classroom. A well-balanced class needs more reserved students just as much as they need more talkative students. The most important thing is that your child is able to show themselves for who they truly are shy, outgoing, silly, serious, analytical, creative, etc.
For parents concerned for their more reserved child, remember that there will be an educator leading this playgroup. It is their job to create a warm and comfortable environment for your child to enter into. If they’re not doing a good job of interacting with your child to help them feel safe and comfortable - this school culture may not be the best setting for your child.
How we prepare your child social-emotionally
Having a specialist help your child through the Kindergarten admissions process will ensure that your child is well-prepared, confident, and excited to show what they know!
At times throughout the playgroup/interview, children may be asked to demonstrate their academic skills such as rhyming, counting, and writing their names (more on this below!). For some children, this opportunity is energizing and for others it is overwhelming. During 1:1 sessions we work to ensure that even the most reserved child is well practiced at asking clarifying questions, naming their feelings, and advocating for themself.
So how can we help? An initial assessment and practice playgroups are the best ways to get a glimpse into how your child will perform during the real thing. Want to learn more about how Grow With Beck can help your child with the social-emotional skills needed for the Kindergarten admissions process? Make sure to check out their most recent feature on Evolved Education Company’s podcast on Apple and Spotify’s podcasts.
Academic skills needed
While social-emotional skills are looked at by the school, so are your child’s academic skills. We want to preface this by saying your child DOES NOT need to be reading or doing formal math. For many children, the academic skills assessed are already present from the child’s preschool experience.
The academic skills that are needed throughout the process can be broken down into three categories: pre-literacy skills, pre-numeracy skills, and general readiness. While the list below is not exhaustive, these are some of the most common skills that are assessed.
Pre-literacy Skills
Drawing a self portrait
Rhyming
Letter identification
Sound symbol identification
Writing their name
Pre-numeracy Skills
Patterning
Counting
Block formation
Identifying shapes and colors
General Readiness
Developmentally appropriate receptive/expressive language skills
Your child knowing their full name and birth-date
Engaging in conversation around developmentally appropriate topics (think Frozen, fire trucks, soccer class, etc.)
How Can a Specialist Help with Academic Skills
At Grow With Beck we offer 1:1 sessions to help your child achieve the milestones required for the Kindergarten admissions process. Our job during sessions is to:
Close skill gaps
Ensure your child can consistently demonstrate required skills
Practice empowering academic language that will service them for a lifetime
What You Can Do Today
How can you start preparing your child today? Here’s what you can do:
