Pencil Pocket

Kindergarten milestones (age 5)

Kindergarten is the year the alphabet turns into reading. The single biggest predictor of how the year goes is whether letter sounds become automatic.

Most children do most of these by the end of the year. Being behind on a few is common and usually resolves. Nothing here is an assessment.

Written by Chaitanya Somavajhala — parent of two, and the person who writes everything here.

Reviewed by a qualified teacher: not yet. We would rather tell you that than imply otherwise. If you teach this year group, we would like your name on this page.

Reading

  • Knows most letter names and their main sounds
  • Blends three sounds into a word — c-a-t makes cat
  • Recognises roughly 20 to 50 common words on sight
  • Hears rhyme and can tell you the first sound in a word

Maths

  • Can count all the way to 100, and count in tens
  • Adds and subtracts within 5 using objects
  • Compares two numbers under 10 as bigger or smaller
  • Names circles, squares, triangles and rectangles

Writing

  • Writes their first name without being asked
  • Writes most upper and lower case letters
  • Uses letters to stand in for sounds when writing
  • Leaves gaps between words, at least sometimes

When it's worth asking someone. Worth a conversation if letter sounds have not begun to stick after a full year of teaching, or if rhyme still makes no sense to them.

← PreK Grade 1 →

Practice

Worksheets for Kindergarten

Free to make and print, as many as you like.