School Readiness What to Expect at Your Child's Kindergarten Screening By Amanda Rock Amanda Rock LinkedIn Twitter Amanda Rock, mom of three, has spent more than a decade of her professional career writing and editing for parents and children. Learn about our editorial process Updated on July 01, 2021 Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr LinkedIn Twitter Rich Scherr is a seasoned journalist who has covered technology, finance, sports, and lifestyle. Learn about our editorial process Print Table of Contents View All Table of Contents First Steps Purpose of Screening Readiness Skills If Your Child Isn't Ready Before your preschooler transforms into a kindergartner, there are a few things you'll need to take care of first. In addition to helping your child be emotionally and socially ready for kindergarten and teaching them some basic academics, you'll need to register them for kindergarten and bring them for a kindergarten screening. First Steps To register your child for kindergarten, call your local school district or private school to find out the process. You will likely need to provide documentation to prove your child's age, such as a birth certificate or passport, and residency, typically your driver's license and a utility bill in the parent's name. Most schools also require vaccination and immunization records, along with a physical prior to starting school. The school should provide forms for your pediatrician to fill out when you register or when you bring your child to the kindergarten screening. Illustration by Brianna Gilmartin, Verywell Purpose of Screening Kindergarten screenings are not always required in a school district, but it is a fairly common practice. The purpose of a kindergarten screening is to ensure a child is developmentally ready to start kindergarten and to determine whether any additional classroom supports may be needed. Kindergarten screenings are also a great way to familiarize your child with her new school and gives the school an opportunity to meet your child. Screenings will vary from school to school. In general, the school will evaluate a range of developmental tasks including self-care skills, language development, cognitive skills, gross motor skills, and fine motor skills. Readiness Skills A prospective kindergartner will typically meet with a teacher alone or in a group for about 20 to 30 minutes and will be assessed for basic kindergarten readiness skills. Some schools may look for more kindergarten readiness skills than those listed, and some may look for less. Self-Care Skills Many everyday tasks need to be taught and practiced. Some of the self-care skills your child may be assessed for include: Can wash hands on their ownIs fully potty trainedCan dress after using the restroom, including fastening and unfastening buttons, snaps, and zippersCan put on own shoesCan eat lunch or a snack without assistance, such as putting a straw in a juice box and opening a lunch boxCan put on a jacket and zip or button it closed Language Skills At the kindergarten screening, your child's ability to communicate, comprehend, and follow instructions will be assessed. For example, the teachers will check to see if your child can: Be understood by an adult who does not talk with the child every daySpeak in complete sentences of at least five wordsFollow directions that have at least two different steps, such as "Find your coat and put it on"Answer basic questions, such as name and ageRhyme simple words What Kindergarten Teachers Wish Parents Knew Cognitive Skills Cognitive skills refer to a child's ability to gain meaning and knowledge from experience and information. In kindergartners, these skills include the ability to: Classify and identify objects by different variables, such as shape, color, size, etc.Hold a book the right way (reading preparedness); may pretend to "read"Put together a small (less than 10 pieces) puzzleRecognize a pattern and identify the next items in the sequenceCorrectly identify four colorsRecognize their own name in writingIdentify some letter soundsCount up to five objectsName at least five body parts What Is the Typical Kindergarten Curriculum? Gross Motor Skills Gross motor skills are actions that use the body's gross muscles, such as those in the arms, legs, and core. They are sometimes referred to as large motor skills. The school may look at whether a child can: RunStand and hop on one foot on each footSkipWalk backwardThrow and catch a large ballKick a ball in a straight lineWalk up and down stairs using alternating feet (not stepping with one foot, then the other onto the same step) Fine Motor Skills Fine motor skills refer to the coordination between small muscles, like those of the hands and fingers, with the eyes. These skills include: Cutting with safety scissors, holding them the right wayFitting pieces into a puzzleHolding and using a pencil the correct wayDrawing a straight line, a cross, a square, and a circleDrawing a person who has five body partsPossibly writing some letters and numbers, perhaps their nameTracing a variety of shapes, letters, and numbers If Your Child Doesn't Seem Ready If you have any concerns about your child's development or are worried they aren't meeting milestones on time, talk with your child's preschool teacher or pediatrician. Even though these are kindergarten readiness skills, there is an age range for anything having to do with child development. Depending on where their birthday falls, some children that enter kindergarten may be nearing age 6, while others may still be age 4. Some parents choose to hold their child back and delay starting kindergarten for a year, especially if children are young for their class or do not seem ready to start school. 4 Ways to Get Your Child Ready for Kindergarten 1 Source Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Slutzky C, DeBruin‐Parecki A. State‐level perspectives on kindergarten readiness. ETS Res Report. 2019;1:1-40. doi:10.1002/ets2.12242 By Amanda Rock Amanda Rock, mom of three, has spent more than a decade of her professional career writing and editing for parents and children. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit