Kindergarten Ready or Not

Kindergarten ready or not? Episode #140 comes to you live from on the road to Oregon well as Illinois. Kimberly Travaglino, co-founder of Fulltime Families, recaps her roadschool week as she gets ready to head to Oregon. From across the country, Mary Beth Goff, the Road Trip Teacher looks back on their roadschool week in the Land of Lincoln.

Listeners hear a few words from the Season 10 series sponsor, Time4Learning. The comprehensive K-12 online curriculum is a favorite from the Roadschool Moms Approved resources. Both KT and MB use T4L in their own rolling homeschools. The coupon code “roadschooler” is shared for those who want to test drive a trial run of the online resource.

There is not just one indicator of whether your 4, 5 or 6 year old sunshine is ready for official kindergarten or not. And guess what the best test you can give him or her to find out? You guessed it: none. Try not to base the start of your littles entire formal education on one pivotal circumstance. Instead, consider these six areas to evaluate:

Is he eager to explore and discover new things? Does she ask questions and have an enthusiasm for learning? Does he have the drive to keep on a task even when it is difficult? If the answer to those questions are yes, then you probably have a child that is ready for the kindergarten learning adventure.

Does he have the desire to take responsibility for his actions, for his personal belongings? Can she follow a series of two or three directions? If he possesses self-motivation and a persistence to find out answers on his own, you probably have a kindergarten-ready kiddo.

Another good indicator if your little is ready for kindergarten is the level of communication skills. As in, can she communicate her wants and needs? Has she figured out how to express her feelings or at least recognize the difference in how she feels vs. others around her? This is a sign that language skills are growing and guidance is needed here to keep heading in the right direction.

This next one is a hard one because it is about listening. There’s not many 5 year olds that probably don’t interrupt at some point or another. But for the most part, a kindergarten ready kiddo can sit and listen to a story without interrupting. He can follow simple directions because he has honed in on his listening skills and can process that in his little brain.

Now let’s talk about a few easy things to spot in kindergardten readiness (or not!) And that is fine motor skills. If your child is comfortable writing with a pencil, penning their own name, and using scissors independently, then kindergarten activities will be a snap. They are ready for this next step.

The final thing easily identified is awareness for the alphabet and numbers. Littles that are ready for kindergarten can sing the alphabet song, count to 10, and recognize at least numbers 1 through 5 as well as a majority of the alphabet. Sure at this age, b’s and d’s are mixed up. The letter ‘p’ or the number ‘3’ might be backwards, but that’s where kindergarten curriculum can help strengthen these areas and build their confidence. The next step is learning phonics and when it clicks, you’ll have an emerging reader. This is an area that comes together differently for each and every child.

Looking for a roadmap for your next learning adventure? Scroll through the RSM library on iTunes to find more than 130 podcast replays.

Homeschool enrollment is on the rise. More and more families are moving into a home on wheels. As a result, the Roadschool Moms record this broadcast to present resources that meet the challenges of today’s roadschooler. Kimberly Travaglino, co-founder of Fulltime Families, and Mary Beth Goff, the creator of Road Trip Teacher, team up every week to offer listeners a fresh take on homeschooling while traveling full time across America’s backyard.

The Official Sponsor for Season 10 of Roadschool Moms