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Kindergarten Readiness With These Free Resources
So, you’ve just registered your child for kindergarten, or maybe you’re wondering whether to take that step or wait another year. Either way, if you’re asking yourself, “Is my child ready for kindergarten?”—this post is for you!!
Our team of educators—many of who have taught kindergarten in various states across the country, with a combined experience of over 50 years—have come together to provide the ultimate resource, our Digital Backpack Kindergarten Readiness Bundle, to help both parents and kids approach this transition with confidence! After years of guiding families through the kindergarten registration process, we understand that starting school can bring a range of emotions, and that’s completely normal! Our goal is to make sure both parents and children are better prepared for the year ahead. This means parents will receive free, developmentally appropriate resources that align directly with what kindergarteners will benefit from exposure to, while kids will enter this exciting new chapter with a solid foundation—no matter where they’re starting from—so they can embrace the "newness" with confidence! Teachers even benefit because when children come into kindergarten with some prior exposure to key concepts and developmental skills, they are better prepared to engage with the curriculum. That's a triple win! But for now, let’s take a moment to explore the goodness inside our free digital backpack resource and how it will benefit your child as they head into kindergarten!
What’s Inside Our Digital Backpack Kindergarten Readiness Bundle
This bundle targets skills such as math and early numeracy, reading and phonics, writing and fine motor skills, science, and more! There are over 1,000 pages of learning resources to choose from. They all come in a PDF format straight to your email for easy at home printing!
What's Included:
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First Day of School Signs in pastel, black and white, bright, and neutral color options
We understand that all of this might seem like a lot—what are these resources, and how will they benefit my child? Let’s break it down into the main components!
Workbooks
This bundle includes 5 of our favorite workbooks in an easy digital format! Our Spring and Summer Printable Activities workbooks offer a variety of activities, from letter and number tracing and formation to color-by-letter and number, crafts, beginning and ending sounds, weather concepts, seasons and months, and SO much more! These workbooks are specifically designed to incorporate aspects of the seasons into the pages, art, and activities, making them more engaging and fun for your child.
My First Printable Math Workbook and Preschool Shapes and Colors Activity Book are made specifically for preschoolers to gain exposure and build early mathematical skills and concepts!
Our Preschool Handwriting Printable Activity Book is also geared specifically for pre-kindergarten children who are just building their fine motor skills and pre-writing concepts. Before children just pick up a pencil and start writing, there are many phases that come first—from hand-eye coordination to holding a writing tool, gaining awareness of letter spacing, and even seeing lined paper for the first time! There are many little details it's easy for us to forget that children have never seen, and it will take some practice to be comfortable with before beginning to learn how to write! This book is perfect for guiding children through those first pre-writing skills so when they get to kindergarten, they’ll be ready to hit the ground running!
Worksheets and Activities
Our backpack also includes "I Can Write My Letters" and "I Can Write My Numbers" formation guides! The benefit of these guides is that they provide exposure to letters and numbers, showing children that letters and numbers aren’t just spoken—they’re written and represent something meaningful. These guides feature tracing dots to help guide their writing tool, along with arrows for proper formation—something they’ll be practicing in school! Tip for parents: Make this more fun by having your child pick out a special writing tool, like a fun pencil. Or, try having them write once with a colored marker, then go over it multiple times in different colored markers to create rainbow letters and numbers!
This backpack also includes two full sets of printable 5x7 flashcards (in bright colors and black and white alphabet cards)! When practicing flashcards with your child, we encourage you to not only say the letter but also the sound along with the associated image. For example, "A, apple, /æ/" and "B, bear, /b/." This helps children with letter and sound recognition, which are the essential building blocks they will be putting together as they develop the foundational skills needed for reading and writing in kindergarten!
A super fun, hands-on activity included in the backpack is our Alphabet Dough Mats! Simply print them out and laminate them, or slide them into a plastic sleeve (even a large ziplock bag works). Then, give your child some play dough (or make our DIY aromatherapy dough for an extra fun sensory experience), and let them mold the dough to form each letter! This activity strengthens fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination while also building letter recognition and formation. It’s a great way for kids to learn through play, allowing them to be creative and imaginative, all while building focus and patience!
Readers
"Readers" usually refer to early-level books designed specifically for young children who are just starting to learn how to read. These books are typically simple, with large pictures and easy-to-read text, often focusing on basic vocabulary and simple sentence structures. They help children connect words with pictures, recognize sight words, and begin to understand how stories are structured. Readers are a great way to support early literacy skills and build confidence in young learners as they begin their reading journey. Most kindergarten students will begin reading readers throughout the school year!
Our ‘Back to School’ Reader series is not only perfect for reading practice and exposure, but the topics themselves are also great preparation for a child going to school for the first time! These books cover exciting topics like school playgrounds, eating lunch at school, things you might see at school, and packing a backpack!
The digital backpack also includes our “A-Z is for... 26 Printable Alphabet Activities Bundle”, which offers a printable activity for each letter of the alphabet! This bundle helps with letter recognition, sound association, and writing formation, giving children a solid foundation for early literacy!
Crafts
Our “Pack a Backpack” craft is specifically designed to complement our “Pack a Backpack” reader (included in the bundle), but it can also stand alone as a fun activity! This craft provides a great opportunity to build excitement around choosing school supplies, learning how to use those supplies appropriately, and practicing fine motor and hand-eye coordination skills—all while learning through play and being creative. If you do this craft along with the reader, it’s also a fantastic way to build connections between the activity and the story!
Another fun freebie from this bundle is our printable “First Day of School” signs, in your choice of color theme from pastels, brights, neutrals, or black and white! These make for the perfect photo op when the big day comes!
Your Turn!
If you can practice even just a few of these activities throughout the spring and summer, both you and your child will be feeling way more prepared when the big day rolls around! Remember, the goal isn’t to “teach your child everything they need to know before school.” It’s about giving them exposure to new concepts, making it easier for them to make connections when they start learning at school, and helping them feel confident as they dive in! There’s really no downside to being prepared! Plus, with less stress about academics, your child will have more space to take on all the exciting and new situations they’ll face at school. And honestly, we want your child’s most stressful worry the morning of school starting to be deciding which color "First Day of School" sign they want to hold up!
For more tips on preparing for kindergarten, check out “Going Back to School: What Kindergarten Teachers Want Parents to Know” and follow along with our kindergarten readiness series on our social media!
We hope Kindergarten Readiness With These Free Resources help you take a deep breath and enjoy all the amazing moments ahead as you and your child start this exciting new chapter!
