Last Summer Before School: Learning Resources and Tips for Kindergarten Readiness

The summer before a child enters kindergarten, many parents often wonder how to prepare their future student for this major milestone of transitioning from home into the classroom. In this article, we’ll talk about key competences that are good to have before entering Kindergarten. 

Every child learns at their own pace, however, there are some main skills and concepts that can help ease into the start of school and create a strong confident foundation for a year full of fun, learning and growing.

Below, we’ll explore tips  and resources to help families focus on skills that make the transition into school easier.  

Foundations: High Need Skills 

To establish a strong kindergarten readiness, focus on foundational skills that will support a smooth start to school routines, both academically and socially.

1. Literacy Readiness

Children entering kindergarten aren’t expected to be fully reading. But they should:

• Recognize and name most uppercase and lowercase letters
• Identify some letter sounds
• How to handle a book correctly
• Recognize their own name in print

Practice These Skills By:

• Reading together daily and talk about the stories (helps with book orientation and comprehension);
• Playing rhyming and letter sound games ( helps with letter and sound identification);
• Using phonics worksheets and videos to reinforce letter recognition and story comprehension.

Resources: 

• ABC Phonics Worksheets  from Kids Academy
• Phonics and read aloud videos from Kids Academy 
• Read Aloud stories from Storyline Online  

2. Early Math Skills

Basic number sense and pattern recognition can create a strong base for more complex math skills.  Early math also helps children grow logical thinking and problem solving skills that support learning across subjects. By the start of kindergarten, children should ideally be able to:

• Count to 20 
• Recognize numbers 1–10
• Understand simple patterns and shapes
• Sort and group objects by size, color, or type

Practice These Skills By:

• Counting objects around the house or during play;
• Use snack time for sorting and patterning;
• Play math games;
• Use number sense worksheets;
• Watch counting and number recognition videos.

Resources: 

• Counting to 5 and Counting to 10 games from Kids Academy 
• Extending Patterns Lesson from Kids Academy
• Early Math videos from Kids Academy 

tap the preview to open the interactive lesson

3. Fine Motor Skills

Sturdy hands help children with tasks like writing, cutting, and opening lunch items. Developing fine motor skills also supports independence in everyday school routines.

Skills to practice:

• Holding a pencil or crayon properly
• Cutting with child safe scissors
• Drawing basic shapes and lines

tap the worksheet to open it

Practice these skills by:

• Using  playdough, building blocks, and lacing cards
• Practice writing their name
• Try handwriting practice sheets

Resources: 

• Line Tracing Worksheets from Kids Academy 
• Shape Tracing Worksheets from Kids Academy 

4. Following Directions & Focus

In kindergarten, a typical struggle that a child has when adapting to the classroom,  is transitioning from activity to activity. Children will need to listen,  follow multiple step directions, and work with others. 

Practice these skills by:

• Giving simple directions in two or three steps (“Get your paper, put your name on it, and turn it into the tray.”),
• Playing Simon Says or other listening games,
• Encouraging independent play for short periods to build attention span,
• Discussing how to work with classmates,
• Setting a timer and practicing moving from one activity to the next when the timer goes off.

Great to Have but not a Must

Some skills are great to have, but won’t impact a child negatively in kindergarten if they do not have them at the start. The main focus is readiness, not mastery. While nice to have before entering school, these skills are typically developed through the progression of kindergarten with targeted instruction and might be too challenging for many kids to learn at this stage. 

• Reading full books independently- critical reading instruction happens throughout the year in kindergarten that would help develop this skill. Students are introduced to phonics, sight words, phonemic awareness and simple sentence decoding which builds up to the development of reading full books independently.  If your child has not previously received this instruction (in preschool or at home), don’t pressure them to master this skill in one summer. 
  
  
• Writing full sentences- children are still developing their fine motor skills and, unless they have already made this progress, expecting full sentences too early could create unnecessary frustration for both child and parent.
  
  
• Knowing how to use a tablet or computer- while most kindergarten classes today spend a large amount of their learning time on a tablet or laptop they will learn/reinforce tech skills at the beginning of the year.

Embracing the Big Change: Building Excitement and Confidence

The  tone you set around starting school can make a lasting impression. Help your child feel excited, and capable with these ideas:

1. Follow advice on building emotional readiness for school froma children's psychologists.

2. Read Books About School

• Froggy Goes to School  by Jonathan London
• Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate
• First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg
• The Night Before Kindergarten by Natasha Wing

3. Play Pretend School

Let your child act out school routines, taking attendance, lining up, reading a story

4. Visit the School

A walk around the campus or meeting the teacher can reduce  stress and build familiarity. Attend Meet the Teacher, Open House, Back to School Night.

5. Watch this video about teachers to help you kids understand how cool a teacher’s job is:

Free and Fun Resources from Kids Academy

Kids Academy offers a variety of free and affordable resources for families looking to prepare for kindergarten in a fun, low-pressure way. Here are a few highlights:

• Learning Videos and Songs to reinforce early literacy and math skills: Watch Videos
• Interactive Worksheets to support phonics, handwriting, and counting: Explore Worksheets
• Learning Drills to make perfect through repeated practice: Try Drills
• Fun Quizzes to consolidate knowledge: Open Quizzes

When you are proactive about introducing these skills to your child, it can build  their confidence in their  capabilities from the very first day. Creating  this sense of  preparedness will not only reduce anxiety and stress but, also create a positive attitude towards learning and starting school. 

At the end of the summer a child does not have to have these skills mastered all the way, they just need a foundation of basic skills, confidence gained through encouragement, and curiosity in learning new things. Include a few fun learning activities into your summer, and you’ll help create a sense of  confidence and excitement to start this new chapter of their lives.