One thing I was really trying to get a sense of when I started homeschooling was WHAT I needed to teach my kids. I wanted to make sure they were learning what they should be so they were on track. Here are some basic skills to work on with your Kindergarten Kid, this is by no means a comprehensive list.  This is just a starting point for you.  Remember, some children will know these things already, while others will be able to master them by the time they are done with Kindergarten. That’s ok, work at your child’s pace, let them lead, and teach them skills using themes they love, they are much more likely to pay attention and soak up the knowledge if you use something they are interested in to teach with.

What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know

Do you have a little one obsessed with dinosaurs? Use 10 plastic dinosaurs to teach addition, subtraction, and more than less than.  Does your child have a fascination with flowers? Use silk flowers to teach abab patterns.  Play grocery store with your child’s play food to practice money identification.  Your day should still include a lot of play based learning initially.

One Kindergarten workbook I love to make sure they have mastered these concepts is the Big Kindergarten Workbook.

Math

Identifying numbers 1-20

Counting 1-20 using one to one correspondence

Basic addition and subtraction

More, less, same

Basic shapes- circle, square, rectangle, triangle, oval, star, octagon

Time- o’clock, quarter, half hour

Ordinal numbers- first, second, third, etc,

Recognizing money (working with play money is a big help)

Calendar

Patterning and Sequencing

 

Reading

Identifying uppercase and lowercase letters

Know all the sounds the letters make

Recognize own first and last name

Identifying simple sight words like; I, am, to, at, go,

Sitting quietly and listening to story

Reading comprehension

Learning to identify beginning, middle, and end of story

 

 

Writing – I love Handwriting Without Tears books for handwriting.

Proper pencil grasp

Uppercase and lowercase letters

Writing 1 to 20

Writing First and Last name

 

Science – Magic School Bus Science Kits are the best for this!

Classifying living/nonliving

Weather

Temperature

Seasons

Space- sun, moon, stars, planets

Caring for plants/animals

Nature

Habitats/Environments

 

Social Studies

Their own phone number and address

Learning the Pledge of Allegiance

Name of their city, state, country

Various types of families

Community Workers

Meanings of Federal holidays

Traditions

Other cultures

 

Self Help Skills

Tying shoes

Dressing/undressing self

Proper bathroom habits

Good hygiene habits

Keeping track of their belongings

Keeping a tidy workspace

 

Don’t forget to include a lot of physical activity throughout the day. Kicking a ball outside, swinging at the park, stretching in the morning, or a backyard obstacle course are all great ways to get some exercise.

Also include LOTS of reading. We start the day reading a few books and then have an afternoon reading time as well!