It is that time of year again. If you child is already 5 or will be turning 5 on or before Oct. 1 (date depends on your state) then it is time to start thinking about registering your child for kindergarten. However this is also the time that many parents begin worrying about whether or not their child is ready for kindergarten.
First, it is important to note that entry to kindergarten is based primarily on age. In most U.S. states that simply means that if your child is or will be 5 years old on or before Oct. 1 (date may vary in some states) then your child must start kindergarten that school year.
The good news is that most primary programs are designed to take children with a variety of social, emotional, and academic needs and work with them based on their strengths.
However we also know that children who start kindergarten with a good grounding in six skill areas have a head start and a higher success rate than children lacking these basic skills.
The skills that ease transition into kindergarten and help lead to a successful kindergarten year fall into these basic areas: cognitive skills, listening and sequencing, language skills, fine motor...