Is Your Child Ready for Preschool?

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At Parkland Preschool Preschool and Kindergarten, we believe that every child is unique and capable of reaching their full potential. We provide a nurturing environment that fosters creativity, curiosity, and lifelong learning.

• Recognizes other people’s emotions
• Takes turns and is able to share toys
  

• Listens to simple instructions
• Sits still during story time
• Can separate himself from you for a few hours
• Enjoys doing things herself sometimes, such as getting dressed on her own
  

• Recognizes some shapes and colors
• Recites the alphabet and recognize some letters
• Expresses thoughts and needs verbally
• Recites his full name
• Counts to five
• Draws with crayons or pencil
  

• Initiates and maintains independent play (for example, plays alone in the sandbox, or role-plays independently)
• Enjoys doing things on their own sometimes, such as reading, crafts or getting dressed
• Can separate from you for several hours, such as an afternoon at a friend’s house or a sleepover at Grandma’s
• Appears interested in going to a “big-kid” school, learning new things, and/or meeting new friends
• Enjoys participating in group activities
• Can express emotions, needs and requests
• Responds well to consistent routines, such as quiet time or naptime following lunch
• Anticipates what comes next during the day (for example, knows that naptime follows lunch)

• Increases proficiency in gross motor skills, strength and balance, such as jumping in place, standing on one foot, running and kicking
• Develops gross motor coordination, such as to navigate around obstacles
• Rides tricycles
• Runs to kick a stationary ball
• Improves hand-eye coordination when playing with building blocks and simple puzzles
• Begins to improve pencil control by using fingers rather than the whole fist to grasp pencil and stylus
• Begins to show left/right-handedness

• Matches like objects, mainly identical objects, or matches objects by shape and color
• Develops object permanence and understands that objects continue to exist even when out of sight
• Shows interests in tinkering with objects by taking things apart and putting them back together
• Explores with elements of nature, such as sand and water
• Remembers short sequences of events of 2 to 3 steps

• Uses language to communicate with others for a variety of purposes (for example, describing something, making requests, greeting someone, etc.)
• Speaks clearly to be understood by others
• Uses accepted language and communication styles (for example, using polite manners, using appropriate volume and tone)
• Tells simple stories
• Uses accepted nouns, verbs and adjectives in familiar contexts
• Understands words for common categories (for example, toys, food, clothes)
• Uses sentences with two phrases or concepts

• Holds a book properly and turns pages
• Understands that words convey the message in a story
• Recognizes the first letter of their own name
• Knows some letter names
• Knows the main characters in familiar stories
• Enjoys reading books with others

• Holds a writing tool with a fist or finger grasp
• Draws with a variety of tools (crayons, pens, pencils)
• Scribble-writes in a linear fashion
• Makes marks and refer to them as “my name”

• Identifies some shapes such as circle, square and triangle
• Understands and explores empty containers and full containers
• Recognizes and matches small quantities to the number words 1, 2 and 3
• Shows interest in numbers and recites some number words
• Can count along with help, although might make mistakes
• Distinguishes between "some" and "all," and parts of a whole
• Uses some size words, such as "many"
• Uses words such as "same as" to make comparisons
• Shows interests in patterns and sequences
• Classifies or sorts objects into simple groups (such as by colors and size)
• Understands the order of the day, and begins to use some time words such as "morning" and "night"

• Asks questions about objects, events and animals observed in their environment
• Considers and offers explanations of how things might work
• Shows interest in different animals and the sounds they make
• Uses descriptive terms such as "fast" and "slow," "hot" and "cold"

• Begins to use a variety of art tools such as crayon, construction paper and colored pencils
• Knows a few color words
• Drawings have basic resemblance to objects and people
• Articulates what he/she is drawing
• Likes to imitate sounds and rhythm; might have a favorite song
• Uses realistic toys in pretend play or to imitate household routines
• Engages in dramatic play with others to act out simple play scripts, such as playing house

• Recognizes common features of the home and neighborhood, such as trees, houses and streets
• Shows interests in familiar people such as siblings, family members and friends
• Shows interests in common jobs and professions such as firefighter, doctor and nurse