What Does My Child Need to Know to Be Ready for Kindergarten Math?

Let’s get your kiddo ready for kindergarten math! As a teacher, there were so many times I had parents tell me they just wished someone had told them their child needed to be able to do (insert item here!) before they started kindergarten. Well, I am going to try to do just that. Here is my list of 5 things to practice to help your child be ready for kindergarten.

1. Practice Being a Problem Solver

This is going to be on every list I make for every grade level because it is so important. Kids need to be able to solve problems on their own and not be afraid to try and fail. I cannot say this enough. I am so guilty of trying to protect my own children and working to make sure they experience success that they think something is wrong if they don’t get the answer right the first time. How many times in real life do we get the answer right the first time? Yes, we want kids to feel successful but we also want them to know what it is like to mess up and try again. To think about why something didn’t work and try something new. So first and foremost, practice being a problem solver!

2. Practice Counting Aloud

Kids love to count, and we love to hear them count. They can count their steps, their toys, their chicken nuggets, anything and everything. The more they count, the better. You can even encourage them to count back, but maybe leave off the blastoff after zero. Counting back will help them with subtraction situations later.

3. Practice Counting Up to 20 Objects

It is one thing to be able to rote count and another to keep up with the number of objects you have counted. Many of us don’t remember learning how to count, but someone had to teach us that one number word went with one object. When you are playing with your child, make sure they are practicing 1-to-1 counting, meaning they touch an item and say one number.

4. Talk About Shapes

There are shapes all around us, and it is great to point this out to kids. I love looking at shape books, but you can also do this with shapes in the real world. I would stick to the basics like circles, triangles, and rectangles, but if your kiddo starts to recognize more, don’t hold them back. It is important to see that there is math in our everyday world.

5. Practice Using Positional Words

Words like under, over, next to, behind, before, and after seem like little things, but kids can get these confused at times. This really comes into play in kindergarten when we ask which number comes before __ or after ___.

These are a few things to practice to get your child ready for kindergarten. By working on these skills over the summer, you’ll help your child start school with confidence and a solid foundation in math.

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