How to Prepare for Kindergarten!

Posted on by Missy

Are you getting ready for Kindergarten? Us too! What an exciting time for your little learner! But, there can also be some anxiety surrounding the first day (for kids and parents!). What will the teacher be like? Do you have all of the correct supplies? Will your sweetie remember to go to the bathroom when needed? What if they can’t open that cheese stick at lunch? 8 hours is a loooong time!

As a former Kindergarten teacher and a mama to a Kindergartener, I’m here to put your mind at ease and help make sure you are both ready to go on the first day!

*This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.

Related: Check out this NO PREP Program to make sure your sweetie is all set for the first day!

What Should I Do BEFORE The First Day?

Believe it or not, there are some important things that need to be done before your kiddo even enters the school to help the year run more smoothly. You’ll need to directly contact your child’s school for all of the specifics, but here are some of the basics:

Register!

Registering your child for the start of school is the first and, arguably, most important thing that needs to get done. If you haven’t already taken care of this, get in contact with your school district, or the school directly, to figure out how to get started.

You will most likely need to provide proof of residence, some form of identification, your child’s birth certificate and some other basic documents to prove that you live within the school zone district.

You’ll want to take care of this step as early as possible so the school has your child’s name on their roster for the upcoming year. That allows the school to place your child in a class and then the teacher is able to prepare for your cutie before the first day!

When I was teaching Kindergarten, we had a lot of kiddos trickle in after the school year started and it created so much more work for me as the teacher. Each time I got a new little (as cute as they are!), I had to redo all of my classroom lists and rosters to add their name, reconfigure the seating chart, create a whole bunch of labels and name tags for them, add them to all of my assessment sheets, create a new supply cubby for them, etc. etc. etc. Needless to say, it was a lot of extra work for me and typically required a late night in the classroom to get everything reorganized. So, do your teacher a favor and get registered BEFORE the school year begins!

Immunizations and Vision/Hearing

Once registered, you’ll need to provide some proof that your child has been checked over by a doctor and is ready to go! This usually entails providing immunization records for required vaccinations or filling out a waiver if vaccinations interfere with your religion/beliefs/child’s medical condition.

You will also need to complete a vision and hearing screening with your child before the first day. Sometimes this can be done through your pediatrician and other times they want to do it through the school district.

This screening alerts you and the teacher to any issue your child may have seeing or hearing during the school day. If your sweetie can’t see the board, chances are learning the alphabet is going to be difficult! And, if they are having trouble hearing, it may be overlooked as poor behavior. So, get that screening done to help your little be successful this year!

Supply List

Once your child is fully registered, you should receive a supply list from the teacher or school. These are the things that the teacher has requested for you to purchase for your child. You may be able to get away with not providing them if financially unable. However, I can tell you from experience, that if you don’t provide them your teacher is going out and buying them for your child. And, trust me, they will spend enough money on their classroom and your child this year! If you are really strapped for money, visit the Dollar Store and stock up there. It’s much more affordable and your child won’t know the difference!

Although your school may have some brand preferences, these are some of the basics that you might need to provide:

Some schools ask you to provide all of the basic supplies your child will need, while others may simply ask for a dollar amount and then purchase the supplies themselves. Our school asked for a small list of supplies and then $25 for the teacher to purchase the rest of what is needed. Check with your child’s school to get the supply list before you start buying!

Not all school supplies are created equal! When it comes to school supplies, go with the top brand and not necessarily the cute design when possible. There may be some super cute Frozen markers or Paw Patrol crayons, but if they aren’t made by a well-known brand (think, Crayola here) chances are they won’t work super well and you may be buying a new set a month into the school year! Also, a lot of time the supplies you buy will end up serving the entire classroom and not necessarily stay in a supply bin for your child only. Buying off brands or character focused supplies can make it more difficult to share them classroom-wide.

Other Necessary Items

The Backpack

Beyond the basic supply list mentioned above, your child will need to bring a few very important things everyday to school. The most obvious being, a backpack! Your child’s backpack will serve as the carrying and communication hub for you, the teacher, and your child. When choosing a backpack there are a couple things to consider:

  • How big is it?
  • How will my child carry it?
  • Can it hold all of the necessary items?
  • Will my child recognize it?

This is where you get to have a bit more fun on the personalization front. Choose a backpack that your child loves and will recognize when it’s hanging in a row with 20 other backpacks. But take into consideration what your child will be carrying everyday. It’s safe to say it will need to hold a folder (so at least 9×12 there), probably a lunch box and most likely a water bottle. Is your child bringing anything else on a daily basis? A school assigned tablet? An extra snack for after school? Shoes for a sport at the end of the day? A sweatshirt or change of clothes, just in case?

These are questions that only you can answer, so be sure that the backpack you choose is an appropriate size for what your little needs to carry.

Although there are many styles of backpack out there, most teachers will prefer the double strap, traditional kind. A side hanging backpack that you sling over one shoulder might seem practical, but it will be much easier for your little to carry with a strap over each shoulder.

The Lunch Box

Your child will also need to bring a lunch box, unless they are buying school lunch everyday. There are a couple things to consider when picking out a lunch box. Like, will you be putting everything in containers and ziplocs or would you like to just throw everything in there unpackaged?

If you are thinking about the environment, or you simply want the ease of throwing everything in there, you are going to want to go with a bento style lunch box. This type of lunch box has multiple compartments in one large container so the food stays separate while being unwrapped. Personally, I am a huge fan of these. They are super popular now so there are a lot of options when it comes to the bento!

However, there is definitely nothing wrong with the traditional 1 section lunch box. Using one of those, you could pre-package sandwiches, fruit and snacks for an entire week in the fridge. That means, the morning of all you have to do is throw them in the bag!

The Water Bottle

Let’s not forget about the water bottle! When I was teaching Kindergarten, water bottles were not allowed in the classroom. But, in the current Covid environment, it is rare for your child to use the water fountain at school. So, invest in a good quality water bottle!

I try to avoid the plastic ones when possible. Not only can there be a concern about chemicals, but all of the brands that I have ever bought leak after a while. The last thing you want is a leaky bottle in the bottom of a backpack!

Another thing to consider is the top. I prefer some sort of straw or sippy mouth piece so my little can just flip it open and take a quick sip. You don’t want to send your child with something that has to be unscrewed and tipped to drink out of. That takes too much time and has the potential for major spills!

Label EVERYTHING!

Your Kindergarten teacher will have around 20-25 other children that will be bringing supplies in on the first day. Chances are, one of those kiddos will have the same backpack, lunch box, or supply box as your kiddo. The last thing you want is for those items to get mixed up. So, label, label, LABEL!

However, be sure to check with the teacher before labeling all of the classroom supplies (crayons, markers, etc). She may want some left unlabeled so they can be shared classroom-wide!

Pro tip: There are some adorable backpacks with the option to embroider your child’s name on the front. As cute as it is, I would highly recommend not putting your child’s name on the front of the backpack for safety reasons. 5 year olds tend to be very trusting. If someone reads the name on their backpack and can convince them that Mommy or Daddy sent them to pick the child up…you know where I’m going with this. A parent’s worst nightmare! Instead, put your child’s name on the back of the backpack where it isn’t visible when being worn.

Teacher Gift

Think ahead about getting a small start of school gift for your child’s teacher. It is definitely not mandatory, but your child’s teacher has spent weeks in her classroom preparing for the first day. Sometimes it’s nice to gift a small surprise to say ‘Thank You’ in advance. I’ve never met a teacher who wouldn’t love that!

Here are a few ideas if you choose to spoil your teacher early:

  • Starbucks gift card – although I am not a coffee drinker, everyone can find something at Starbucks!
  • Target gift card – I spent so much money here as a teacher! Who am I kidding, I still do!
  • Personalized water cup – every teacher carries around a water bottle, why not gift a cute one?!
  • Teacher supply bin – grab a bin from Target and fill it with the most used teacher supplies – Sharpie markers, Post it notes, card stock, dry erase markers, notes pad, Alphabet cards (You can print as many times as you want, so keep a set at home and laminate one for the teacher!).
  • Picture or hand written note from your child

No matter what you choose to do, your teacher will feel special just knowing that you thought about her on the first day!

What Should Your Child Know Going Into Kindergarten?

There are some misconceptions about what your child should know going into Kindergarten that I’d like to clear up for you.

1. My kid doesn’t need any prior knowledge, the teacher will teach everything!

For Kindergarten teachers everywhere, please please please do not assume the teacher will do everything. If you send your child to school without being able to recognize their name and with no alphabet knowledge, prepare to have a stressful year.

While the teacher will teach the alphabet and show your child how to write his name, you have to do a little work before school begins.

Kindergarten has changed drastically from when we were children. I distinctly remember learning colors, letters, numbers, identifying my name and singing many songs.

Although there is still a lot of that, my Kindergarteners were writing animal research papers by the end of the year…and I am absolutely serious! They chose an animal, used tablets to research their animals, filled out a notes sheet with basic information about that animal, wrote a rough draft using their notes sheet, sat down with me to edit the draft, and then wrote a final draft. It took about 2 weeks, but my 5 and 6 year olds did all of that! So, for those kiddos that come into the year having no alphabet and word knowledge, they will struggle.

To avoid your little falling behind before the year even begins, here are some skills to start practicing at home:

  • Identify and write your name
  • Recognize most capital and lowercase letters in the alphabet
  • Count to 20
  • Identify all colors
  • Color within the lines
  • Appropriately use scissors
  • I can think of so many more, but if you start with these you’ll be in a good place.
Start here to have your child walk into that classroom with confidence on the first day!

2. The teacher will help my child with everything.

Although the teacher is definitely there to help, there are some things that she legally cannot do and others that she won’t have time to help with.

Even if your teacher has her own children, she legally cannot help your child in the bathroom. One of my kiddos had an accident during a fire drill in Preschool and I got a phone call to come to the school with a change of clothes and clean him up. His teacher was fabulous, but she was not allowed to help him, for her protection.

And if you send your sweetie to school with shoe laces, he better know how to tie them! As awesome as your teacher may be, she just doesn’t have time to tie 20 sets of shoe laces during the day. So be sure that your child can successfully maneuver whatever he is wearing without help from the teacher.

Here are some basic self care skills your child will need, since the teacher can’t help with everything:

  • Go to the bathroom independently
  • Wash hands independently
  • Put all clothes on independently. This includes; pants, shoes, jacket and gloves.
  • Use buttons, zippers and ties

3. Kindergarten isn’t that important, the real work begins in first grade.

Oh, how I wish I could squash this misconception. Kindergarten just isn’t what it used to be. There is still a lot of fun involved, but so much learning too! When I was teaching, my colleagues and I liked to say that Kindergarten is the foundation for other grades to build upon.

If you are building a house and the foundation isn’t solid, what is going to happen when you build the rest of it? It’s going to crack and crumble! It’s the same thing with your child’s education.

If your child doesn’t learn the basics in Kindergarten, he is always going to be behind! This is the year for your child to master those basics. If he doesn’t consistently know all letters (capital and lowercase) by the end of the year, don’t brush it off and assume he will pick the rest up in first grade.

When he walks into first grade there may be a little review time, but that teacher is going to expect him to be reading and writing sentences already.

This is the year to master those basics and set your child up for success. So take it seriously and don’t be afraid to ask the teacher about what you can do at home to support!

What can I do at home to support my child?

Believe it or not, even without a teaching degree, there is a lot that you can do at home to support your little learner!

1. Read, read, read

Read! This is truly the best tip that I can give you. The more a child is read to, the more interested in learning they will become and the more familiar with letters and words they will be. If you don’t have a lot of time during the day, make it a habit to read a few books before bed every night.

Let your little pick them out so he is excited to listen and get him involved with the story when possible. For example, if you are reading a book that rhymes, say an entire sentence but leave off the last word. After your sweetie has heard the book a few times, chances are he will pick up on the rhyme and be able to finish the sentence. And rhyming is a super important skill to master in Kindergarten. So, the more you work on it, the better!

Here are some great books to help your child get in the school mindset:

2. Take 10 minutes a day

Schedule in 10 minutes every day to work with your kindergartener. It could be as simple as writing their name, doing a letter puzzle, counting out goldfish during snack time. The possibilities are endless! The most important part is that you are fully present and 100% focused on your little. This will help you start to see where they are strong and where they may struggle. You can always ask the teacher for suggestions on activities or skills to work on too.

3. Make it fun!

Learning should be fun! I am not an advocate of sitting a 5 year old down in front of a workbook or packet and having them go from page to page to complete it. Play a game that involves dice to practice counting. Hide post it note letters around the room and ask your little to find and identify them. Draw silly pictures together to focus on fine motor control. There is always a way to make learning fun! Here are a few suggestions from us:

4. Enrich what you already do

This is the absolute easiest way to integrate learning into your day. At mealtimes, have your little count pieces of their food. While playing during the day, ask your child to give you the first sound of the toy he is playing with (ex. if playing with a fire truck the first sound is /f/ or the letter Ff). When brushing teeth have your sweetie count to 30. While washing hands, sing the alphabet song. There are so many simple and effective ways to integrate learning into your day, you just need to see what works for your family.

What to expect on the first day

So, you’ve submitted all the paperwork, bought the school supplies and started preparing your child for Kindergarten. It’s the morning of the first day, what should you expect?!

Being in the current Covid environment, the first day probably looks a little different than it used to. There might be masks, hand sanitizer, and 6ft. markers on the ground, but it’s still the first day and that is something to celebrate!

More than likely, there will be a designated drop off location and you probably won’t be able to accompany your child into the school. So be prepared to say goodbye at the door or car (make sure to prepare your little one too!). Once your sweetie enters school, he should acclimate pretty quickly, even if there were tears on the way in.

You can expect that the first day for your little will involve a lot of directions with a heavy focus on rules. Generally, Kindergarten teachers spend the first few weeks almost solely focusing on rules and routine. Remember, for some of these littles, it is their first experience in a school setting. If the kiddos aren’t able to follow directions, there is no way that the teacher will be able to teach 25 little ones. It is only after a solid foundation of rules and routine is established that the real learning can begin!

Don’t worry, the teachers and aides will give a lot of extra help to these new learners in the first few weeks of school. As long as they have those basic self care skills (toileting, dressing, hand washing), the teachers will help with the rest.

You can expect your kiddo to be exhausted by the end of the day. Don’t be surprised if he falls asleep on the ride home, no matter how close you live! He will also probably be starving! Chances are that not much lunch got eaten because your cutie was too busy making friends. These are both things that your little will adjust to, in time.

Get Ready!

No matter how you prepare for the first day, there will probably be some big emotions (on both sides!). Know that your child will settle in and, eventually, love being in school. So, check off your checklist and enjoy this special time with your child! I hope that you have a wonderful start to a fabulous school year!

As always, thank you for reading sweet friend! You can find us over on Pinterest and see what we are up to on Instagram. Give us a follow to see all of the latest tips and activities!

Looking for some at home learning activities? Check out our Easy at Home Learning Activities with Blocks!

back to school Best Supplies kindergarten school prep Supply List