School Readiness: 7 Skills We Build Before Kindergarten
Parents often ask us: "Will my child be ready for kindergarten?" It's the right question — and the answer involves much more than reciting the alphabet. Here are the seven skills our Nursery and Pre-K programs build deliberately, every single day.
1. Listening and following directions
Kindergarten teachers consistently rank this first. We practice it gently through routines: two-step directions during art, clean-up songs, and games like Simon Says that make listening fun.
2. Early literacy
Recognizing their own name, knowing letter sounds, holding a book right-side up, retelling a story — these pre-reading skills grow through daily read-alouds, storytelling, and phonics play for our older preschoolers.
3. Number sense
Before worksheets come real things: counting snack crackers, sorting blocks by shape and size, spotting patterns. Children who touch math concepts first understand them faster later.
4. Fine motor control
Cutting with scissors, squeezing playdough, threading beads, and coloring all strengthen the small hand muscles a child needs for writing.
5. Self-help skills
Zipping a jacket, opening a lunch container, washing hands, managing bathroom trips — independence in these small things gives children huge confidence on day one of school.
6. Sharing feelings — and sharing toys
Social-emotional readiness predicts school success better than academics. We coach children to name their feelings, take turns, and solve small conflicts with words.
7. Curiosity that keeps going
Most of all, we protect the "why?" stage. Children who learn that questions lead to discoveries walk into kindergarten expecting to love learning — and that expectation tends to come true.
Want to see these skills being built? Visit a Pre-K classroom in action — book a tour Mon–Fri.
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The best way to know if a school is right for your family is to visit it.