School Skills: Kindergarten Milestones
Are your kids starting kindergarten this year? It is the first of many big changes in their educational journey. It can sometimes be hard to know what to expect or what they ‘should’ know after their kinder year at around 5-6 years of age.* By the end of kindergarten, your child should be able to do the following tasks in each area.
Listening:
Follow 1–2 simple directions in a row.
Listen to and understand stories.
Follow a simple conversation.
Speaking:
Speak clearly enough so most people can understand them.
Answer simple yes/no questions.
Answer questions like, "What did you do today?”
Retell a story or talk about something they did.
Take turns talking and keep a conversation going.
Show interest in and start conversations.
Reading:
Understand how a book works, like reading from left to right and top to bottom in English.
Know that sounds make up words.
Pick out words that rhyme, like cat and hat.
Tell the first sound in words, like mmmm for milk.
Say the sounds for some letters, like ‘buh’ for ‘b’.
Identify upper- and lower-case letters.
Recognize some words by sight.
"Read" a few picture books from memory.
Pretend to read by talking about pictures in a book.
Writing:
Print their first name.
Draw a picture that tells a story and write about it. They may use a letter or word to stand for a whole sentence or idea.
Write upper- and lowercase letters, even if they are not clear or neat.
Write or type letters in no set order, like ujK iLo
Grammar & Punctuation:
Can use present, past, and future tense.
Uses "and" to link words together (e.g., "A cat and a dog").
Sometimes uses "have" correctly (e.g., "I have a new toy").
Can identify some indefinite pronouns like any, every, both, few, many, each, and others.
Starting to use irregular plurals (mouse -> mice)
Uses possessives and negatives consistently.
Uses all pronouns correctly.
Can use superlative "-est" (e.g., "smartest").
Starting to use adverbs.
Social Skills:
Understands humour and surprise.
Can recognize and rephrase a socially offensive message when prompted.
Starting to understand formal titles (e.g., Mr., Mrs.).
Can tell the difference between polite and impolite speech 80% of the time.
Uses expressions like "thank you" and "I'm sorry."
Often asks for permission to use things that belong to others.
Joins in conversations with adults.
Suggestions for Parents:
Talk to your child often
Read different types of books (fiction and non-fiction)
Read every day, and talk with your child about the story. Ask them to tell you about the pictures or their favourite parts.
Help your child learn the sound-letter patterns of words. You can play rhyming games and point out letters as you read.
Have your child retell stories and talk about their day.
Talk with your child about what you do during the day.
Give them directions to follow around the house.
Talk about how things are the same and different. Play games of ‘odd one out’.
Give your child chances to write whenever you can. Letters to Grandma or to Santa can be great places to start.
*As the age at which children can start or end certain grades varies wildly from country to country, this guide is written with general achievements in mind, so has tried to use as broad age ranges as possible. Please check with your kindergarten or school for more detailed local information and guidelines.
Please note the above information is general in nature and is not intended as professional medical advice. Please seek an appointment with a registered speech-language pathologist if you are at all worried about your child's development.
References:
ASHA (2009). Your Child’s Communication: Kindergarten. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/kindergarten/
Paul, R., Norbury, C., & Gosse, C. (2018). Language Disorders from Infancy through Adolescence: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Communicating (5th ed.). Elsevier.
Roseberry-McKibbin, C., Hegde, M. N., & Tellis, G. M. (2024). An Advanced Review of Speech-language Pathology.
Suggested Resources
FREEBIE Hickory Dickory Dock: Auditory Comprehension
A classic nursery rhyme auditory comprehension and WH question activity for early learners. Includes audio for students to sing along.
FREEBIE The Gingerbread Man: Reading Comprehension
A classic fairy tale reading comprehension and sequencing activity for early readers.
FREEBIE Classroom Concepts: Before & After
Helps students to practice important concepts for the school environment, like before and after, which can improve their retelling and ordering skills.
FREEBIE The Write Sounds: Basics 1 a, i, m, s, t
A game show-themed activity set for students to practice their early phonics and spelling skills. Practice important abilities like blending, segmenting, and picking sound with audio.
FREEBIE Investigator Ivan: Recognising Emotions
Follow the adventures of Ivan as he navigates the world of social skills. Help students practice recognising different emotions and how others may be feeling.