A Preschool Teacher’s Top Tips to Help Kids Get Ready for Kindergarten
As a Pre-K teacher, one of my top priorities is helping my students get ready for kindergarten. I want them to be as successful as possible from day one of K. While we work on kindergarten readiness skills all year long, I love to enlist the help of parents also!
Summertime is the perfect time to review important preschool math and literacy skills at home so that students are ready for kindergarten when the new year begins!
Most parents aren’t sure where to begin when it comes to kindergarten readiness, however. So I created a comprehensive packet to send home with my own Pre-K students at the end of school.
Parents have raved about this packet, and our whole school has adopted this resource. So I wanted to show other pre-k teachers how to ensure your preschoolers are kindergarten-ready!
Why Summer Review Matters for Kindergarten Readiness
Summertime is mean to be a time of play for little ones, but the “summer slide” often happens when children don’t consistently review the things they’ve learned. For preschool and pre-K students, maintaining progress in math, literacy, and fine motor skills is crucial to ensure they are fully prepared for the structure and challenges of kindergarten.
When children get ready for kindergarten through fun summer review activities, they retain what they’ve learned and start the new school year with confidence. Teachers and parents alike can support this transition by providing structured yet enjoyable kindergarten readiness activities that cover the key skills needed for success.
What Skills Should Children Master Before Kindergarten?
Before heading to kindergarten, preschool and pre-K students should work on mastering a range of skills across different developmental areas. The summer packet I send home with my preschoolers helps them get ready for kindergarten by reviewing the following skills:
Literacy Skills
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- Letter Recognition: Identifying uppercase and lowercase letters (A-Z)
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- Beginning Sounds: Recognizing initial sounds in words
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- Rhyming: Understanding and producing rhyming words
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- Syllable Counting: Clapping and identifying the number of syllables in words
Math Skills
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- Number Recognition: Identifying numbers 1-10
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- Counting with 1:1 Correspondence: Matching numbers to quantities
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- 2D Shapes: Recognizing and naming shapes
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- Patterns: Creating and identifying AB and ABC patterns
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- Simple Addition: Basic understanding of adding numbers
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- Positional Words: Understanding concepts like over, under, and beside
Fine Motor Skills
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- Pre-Writing Strokes: Developing control for writing letters and numbers
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- Biggest/Smallest, Longest/Shortest: Comparing object sizes
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- Cutting and Pasting: Enhancing hand-eye coordination
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- Drawing and Coloring: Improving grip and control
By focusing on these key areas, parents can help their preschoolers thrive in kindergarten when school begins in the Fall.
Why You need a “Get Ready for Kindergarten” Summer review Packet
My Editable Pre-K Literacy and Math Skills Review Packet offers six weeks of structured activities designed to help students get ready for kindergarten.
Each week includes engaging and age-appropriate tasks that reinforce important skills. And each task only takes 3-5 minutes to complete because, let’s be honest, that’s about the attention span of a four or five year old!
Things I Send Home in my Kindergarten Readiness Packet
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- 6 Weekly Summer Homework Calendars: These prepopulated calendars include easy-to-follow daily activities focused on math, literacy, and fine motor skills.
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- Daily Math and Literacy Activities: I include Short tasks to hold children’s attention and boost their kindergarten readiness
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- Printable Alphabet Chart: This reference tool is great for letter recognition and practice.
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- A List of 35 Fine Motor Activities: I love giving parents these easy suggestions for hands-on activities to build motor skills. So many children have used tablets instead of traditional childhood activities like playdough and Legos, so these suggestions are critical for building prewriting skills!
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- List of Online Learning Activities: Additional resources to keep learning fun and interactive. Most families have internet access–even at the library, so I like suggesting truly educational activities children can do online.
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- 100 Book Challenge Form: This challenge encourages reading and helps families track their progress over the summer. Children who read and are read to have expanded vocabularies and are more successful in kindergarten!
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- Editable Assignment Forms: I included a blank calendar template in case you want to create your own differentiated task lists to send home
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- Pre-Filled Assignment Forms: I also included Ready-to-use forms that can be printed and stapled for convenience. These are the exact summer learning tasks I send home with my own Pre-K students to help them get ready for kindergarten!
How This Packet Supports Kindergarten Readiness
Each activity in this summer packet is thoughtfully designed by me, a veteran Pre-K teacher, to build and reinforce the skills children need to get ready for kindergarten. Here are some key ways the packet supports this goal:
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- Consistency: Short, daily practice helps prevent skill regression.
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- Engagement: The activities are fun and interactive, keeping children motivated.
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- Comprehensive Coverage: The activities included address literacy, math, and fine motor skills in one cohesive resource.
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- Flexibility: The Editable forms which are included allow for customization to meet individual students’ needs.
Why Teachers and Parents Love This Packet
Preschool teachers often send home summer packets to ensure students continue to practice essential skills. But those packets often include boring worksheets that frustrate children and parents alike. This packet is different because it includes short, simple, hands-on activities that children will actually BEG to do!
It’s easy to print and send home to families. And because it includes editable forms, teachers can customize the assignments to fit their classroom’s specific curriculum and learning goals.
For parents, this packet provides a structured, yet flexible, way to engage with their child over the summer. Whether parents want to follow the daily activities as outlined or pick and choose based on their child’s interests and needs, this packet ensures they have all the tools necessary to help their little ones get ready for kindergarten!
Tips for Helping Parents Make the Most of the Packet
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- Create a Routine: Set aside 5-10 minutes each day to complete the learning activity and read a book together.
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- Mix It Up: Combine structured activities with hands-on play and outdoor exploration.
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- Celebrate Progress: Use the 100 Book Challenge Form to track and reward reading milestones. Special trips to the library are a fun way to keep things fresh!
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- Get Involved: Parents can join in on the activities, making learning a fun and collaborative experience.
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- Stay Consistent: Regular practice, even in small doses, helps maintain and build skills.
Why to Help Your Child Get Ready for Kindergarten
Helping children get ready for kindergarten doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With my Editable Pre-K Literacy and Math Skills Review Packet, students can continue to build the literacy, math, and fine motor skills they need to thrive in kindergarten.
This resource offers structured, engaging activities that make summer learning fun and effective.
Whether you’re a preschool teacher looking to support your students over the summer or a parent trying to keep your child on track for K, this packet is the perfect tool to ensure kindergarten readiness.
Send it home with students at the end of the school year or purchase it to use with your own child at home.
Either way, it’s a valuable resource that will help children start kindergarten with confidence.
Creating a Boredom Buster jar is another fun way to help the summer fly by! Or, try these online activities to help children stay engaged!
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