Pre-Kindergarten

This page is for students preparing to enter Kindergarten in August.

Print Knowledge:

Recite the alphabet and identify all letters

Letter PlayEncourage your child to play with magnetic letters on the refrigerator or on a table. Playing with the letters allows children to learn more about how they look.
Letter Match Using Magnetic Letters or Letter CardsInvite your child to find other letters that look exactly the same as a letter in their name. (For example: place an m on the refrigerator and have the child find all the letters that look like it.)

Phonics HopscotchMake a hopscotch game with chalk using letters. Have your child read the letters as they hop.

Matchbox Cars ParkingAttach lowercase letters to Matchbox cars. Draw lines for parking spaces on the sidewalk or on a piece of paper. Write uppercase letters on the parking spots. Have your child match lowercase and uppercase letters by parking the cars.
Alphabet Bubble PopBlow bubbles and have your child run around popping the bubbles while singing the alphabet song. Pop a bubble for every letter.
Alphabet TrainHave your child put the lowercase magnetic letters (or cut up squares with letters written on them) in the order of the alphabet. Then they can point to them and say each letter name. Have them repeat the process with uppercase letters.

Feature SortHave your child sort letters in a variety of ways. Sort letters with long sticks and letters with short sticks, letters with circles and letters with no circles, letters with tunnels and letters with dots, letters with slanted sticks and letters with straight sticks. Ask your child to give each pile of letters a name when you are done.
Letter ChainsMake a five-letter chain with magnetic letters or letter cards. (Example: pfrmo). Have your child find the same letters and make the same chain below your model. Then allow your child to make a chain that you copy.

Sidewalk ChalkPractice writing letters, words, or sentences using sidewalk chalk outside.

Print all 26 letters in the alphabet

Use Poster Paper, Cookie Trays, Bath Tub, or Sand Box for Letter Practice (THINK BIG!!!)Keep in mind that your child may not have the fine motor skills to write using lined paper. Encourage them to practice writing using unlined paper and other large mediums. The more tactile—the better!

Letter FormationPractice making letters using playdough, clay, pipe cleaners, blocks, cotton balls, beads. Matchbox cars, or toys.
Magazine MatchLook through a magazine or newspaper with your child and cut out some large-print letters. Glue them on a sheet of paper with plenty of space below each. Have your child print each letter below.

Messy Letter WritingPractice writing letters using chalk, sand, soap, chocolate syrup, shaving cream, finger paint, flour, salt, or rice. The messier it is—the more fun your child will have while learning.

Handy Letter Practice Have your child trace his/her hand and then write a particular letter as many times as possible inside the hand.
Tic Tac ToeMake a Tic Tac Toe board. Each player is assigned a letter and has to write that letter in the space each turn. The first person to get three in a row is the winner.

Writing LettersHave your child select ten different magnetic letters from a container and write each letter on a piece of paper.
Letter Writing and DrawingHave your child write a letter and then draw a picture of something that starts with that sound. Example: Write the letter “d” and draw a dog.
Paint to MusicHave your child paint the letters of the alphabet while listening to he/her favorite songs.

Recognize the sounds of letters

Letter/Sound Fly Swatter GameDraw circles on a large piece of paper. Print a letter in each circle. Say the sounds of different letters and have your child tap the corresponding letter with the fly swatter.
Letter/Sound SurpriseHave your child spread out a bunch of magnetic letters (or cut up squares with letters written on them). They can close their eyes and point to a letter with a pointing finger, magic wand, or something fun. When they open their eyes, they can say the sound of the letter they are pointing to.
Name that Sound GamePut a bunch of letters in a bag. Take turns pulling out a letter and saying the sound. Keep score to see who can get the most sounds correct. Make it a competition.

Messy Letter SoundsPractice writing letters using chalk, sand, soap, chocolate syrup, shaving cream, finger paint, or rice. Say they sound of the letter while writing it. The messier it is—the more fun your child will have while learning.
Editable Letter/SoundsHave your child make the letters of the alphabet with Cheerios, M&Ms, or another snack and allow them to eat it if they say the sound correctly.
Mystery LetterWrite the letters of the alphabet on an index card. Only write one letter on each card. Hold the card to your forehead without looking at it. Have your child say the sound as a clue for you to guess the letter.

Letter/Sound Matching GameWrite letters on index cards. Put one letter on each card, but make two of each letter. Take turns turning over two cards at a time. Say the sounds when you turn them over. If the sounds match, take the cards into your pile. The player with the most matches at the end wins

Letter/Sound HuntGive your child 2 letters (magnetic letters or letter cards) and have your child find something in the house that begins with each of those sounds.

Mud and Stick Letter SoundsOn a raining day have your child draw letters in the dirt with a stick and say the letter sounds.

Rhyming:

One of the best things you can do for your preschooler’s reading development is to have him/her recite and listen to nursery rhymes as often as possible. Your child will benefit from singling along, memorizing the lyrics and hearing the rhythmic patterns in music.

Nursery Rhyme Play List Make a play list of classic nursery rhymes and play it over and over when you drive around with your child or while they are playing. Rhyming Books Read books and poems that rhyme and use alliteration over and over to your child. Dr. Seuss books are an excellent resource. Play Find the Mistake Say a favorite nursery rhyme, but change one word. Have your child tell you the wrong word. Example: “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great ball….”

Matching Memory GamePlay a matching game using picture cards of words that rhyme. This game can also be played with pictures of words that start with the same sound. Feel free to draw your own pictures or print them from the Internet.

Draw Rhyming Sentences

At Home RhymingGive your child a word or item. Next have them find something around the house that rhymes with the given word or item.

Ball TossToss a ball back and forth. Each time a player catches the ball they have to say a word that rhymes. This game can also be played with words that start with a particular beginning, middle, and ending sound. I SpyPlay I spy game with the sounds in words. I spy something in the room that rhymes with “ouch. ”I spy something in the room that starts with the “m” sound. I spy something in the room that has two syllables --”table.”

Rhyming Books
Find books that have a strong focus on rhyming words as found in the link.You can either read the books or find them online as an audio book.

Recite nursery rhymes as often as possible.

Nursery Rhymes

Additional Nursery Rhymes

Print first name with only the first letter capitalized

Write your child’s name on a piece of paper and cut up the letters into individual squares. Have your child put together the squares to build his/her name.
Using magnetic letters help your child build their name. Have them make it multiple times and check it by comparing it with their name written on a card.
Have your child build their name using Legos, blocks, or other toys and objects around the house.
Have your child practice tracing or writing their name using something fun like a highlighter, scented pen, paint or glitter glue
Encourage your child to rainbow write their name using a different colored marker or crayon for each letter.

Practice writing their name in a tactile way using sand, playdough, rice, paint, shaving cream, salt, soap, or chocolate syrup.

Allow your child to build his/her name using Cheerios, Froot Loops, or noodles. If appropriate, eat the name when done.

Ipad Whiteboard or ChalkboardDownload a free whiteboard or chalkboard app on an iPad and have your child practice writing their name using it.
Have your child practice writing his/her name using the format below.

Retell a story

MemoryPlay memory games with your child. The first person says “I went to the zoo and saw a ____.” The second person repeats what the first person says and adds an item. The game continues as each player adds to the list.
Retell A StoryRead a book over and over until your child is familiar with it. Good stories to practice are classics like The Gingerbread Man, Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Mitten, The Napping House and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
Ask them to draw a picture of something they remember from the story
Have them tell you about the story and write the words at the bottom of the illustration.
Talk about Beginning, middle, and end of the story. Also talk about the characters, the setting, and the main idea.

Beach Ball Questions
Write the following comprehension questions on a beach ball or any type of ball with a Sharpie marker.
What is the title? Who are the characters? What happened in the beginning of the story? What happened in the middle of the story?How did the story end?What is your favorite part?
As you and your child are reading a story, pause periodically and toss the ball. Read the question that is under their right hand. You can even ask them where the answer can be found in the story and turn back to that page and reread it.

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