Life Skills A Kindergartner Should Know to Have an Easy Year

Wondering what your child’s Kindergarten year is going to be like? Help them prepare for an easy year with these life skills a Kindergartner should know.

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I’ve got a little one going into Kindergarten this year.

While he’s very bright, taught himself to read in order to make his own birthday list – ha – he’s also still used to being carried around the house.

This kid has lived his best life for about 6 years now. Since he had a late birthday, he’s starting school at 6 and I want to make sure he’s set up for success. Academic issues aside, I want him prepared for school in Life Skills ways.

Kindergartner’s shouldn’t be totally dependent.

But trust me, your child’s Kindergarten teacher will much appreciate a child ready to learn all the things with less life skill complications.

Consider this: your precious child will be 1 of 15-22 children in the care of a kind and loving teacher. We want to set our child up to be the leader, independent, and reliable one.

So, lets look at some things that he/she should know to have an easy year…

Be able to sit still.

I’m not saying to force your child to sit still for hours in preparation for school. Not at all…

But requiring a child to remain sitting and still during appropriate situations is excellent training. Situations like:

• doctors visits
• church
• family dinner
• movie night
• siblings ball games

A helpful hint is to teach appropriate behaviors when you’re tired of sitting. Kid’s can learn to adjust their legs or sitting position to remain comfortable at a desk.

Know how to tie, button, zip, or pull up…

It’s often so much easier to just do-it-for-them. However, with kindergarten around the corner… it may be time to help them learn.

Also, teach them to check their wardrobe themselves for closure and coverage.

If you’re kindergartners struggling at home with a certain item of clothing, don’t send them to school with it on. Spare your child the embarrassment of not being able to button their own pants.

Be comfortable asking for help.

Your child will be entering a classroom full of children. Each one with different needs and personalities. There will be loud children who love to talk with the teacher. There will be quiet children who are afraid to say a word.

A helpful life skill a kindergartner should know is how to ask for help when needed.

Teach them to speak up when needed. Teach them that their opinions and needs are important and should be heard.

Know how to approach other kids.

Although it may be norm with siblings or cousins, running up to pound a new friend on the head probably isn’t a great idea.

On the flip side, never walking up and speaking to another kid will make it difficult to make any friends.

So, model conversations that your future kindergartner will be able to observe and emulate.

Understand positional words is a life skill a Kindergartner should know.

Positional words are mainly dealing with locations of things. For example: “grab the second book on the shelf or “go to the second place in line.”

However, positional words are not always ordinal. Here are some positional words that will help your kindergartner to have an easy year:

• under
• next to
• on top of
• inside
• outside
• beside
• beneath
• right
• left
• near
• in front of
• between
• close to

Have some skills for handling frustrations.

Honestly the first thing that comes to my mind when handling frustrations is the Daniel Tiger Song.

“If you feel so mad that you want to roar, take a deep breath….and count to four.”

I have literally used this as an adult- so I know it works. Find the video for this song here. But seriously, equip kids for kindergarten by teaching them some techniques for calming down.

Kids are going to be challenged with frustrations in school, kindergarten is no different. They are going to have to do things during the day that they may not feel like doing at that time.

Here are a few more calm down tricks:

• Learn to identify the emotion being felt.
• Pause and say nothing.
• Deflect the situation by focusing on an object across the room.
• Have a designated “chill spot.”
• Take some deep breaths.
• Think and list of some things you’re grateful for.

Know how to keep hands to themselves.

Rough play is not for school. Some kids entering kindergarten… especially if they are the youngest child, have only known rough play. They love roughhousing and, to be honest, this is a great activity among siblings to learn a lot of things.

Some kids have to be taught to play “hands off”. This is a skill a kindergartner should know to have an easy year. This is for several reasons…

You don’t want them to get into trouble or cause conflict situations. Also, you want them to make friends at school that will also respect their personal space.

Be able to blow their nose and wipe what needs to be wiped, etc.

Starting the school year usually results in mass spreading of germs and various bugs going around. Personal self-care and hygiene skills can help this effort greatly.

In reality, proper skills in this department do prevent sicknesses… so it is important.

Here’s where to start:

• Teach how to use a tissue properly- how to hold and fold, etc.
• Allow them to keep a tissue in their pocket.
• Teach proper hand washing skills and restroom routines.
• Have hand sanitizer available for after using the bathroom.

Understand how to follow two-step directions.

Following two-step directions is an important listening skill. It requires both the working memory and auditory processing skills to be in play.

Here are some examples of tasks you can use to assess your child’s two-step direction skills:

• Sit down and close your eyes
• Stand next to dad and hold onto his hand.
• Hop on one foot and smile
• Stand up and pretend to be frozen
• Reach your hands over your head and clap your hands
• Place your toy on the floor and then sit down

Following two-step directions well is a life skill that will help your kindergartner to have an easy year. This is because he/she will often have to follow directions independently.

Know how to pack and unpack their backpack independently.

Again, some things are so much faster when you-just-do-it. However, it’s really going to help them to know how to organize, pack, and unpack their own bag.

Not only will this make your teacher’s job less hectic at the end of every school day, but it will allow your child to be a leader amongst his/her peers.