27 Concepts Your Kindergartener Should Know By the End of the Year

Being a homeschooler, I know that my child is getting the best education, but that doesn't mean that I don't wonder if she truly is prepared. We are mothers and fathers and grandparents; it is our jobs to make sure our children are hitting "appropriate" (I put that in quotation marks because I'm unsure if that is even the word I should be using) milestones by grade.

Because my only example is my own child, I will start off by saying that my daughter who is classified as a kindergartener by state standards has surpassed the first grade curriculum. Already, I'm in murky territory. 

However, I have compiled a list that I expect her to fulfill, not because she is entering "first grade" but because I want to maintain a goal. Whatever we haven't accomplished, we will continue to work on through the following months. 

If you are not homeschooling your child, then this is the perfect list to check your child on before they enter the next grade. Of course, this may be applied to a first grader going into second grade as well. I made it based on my child's aptitude and what we have learned throughout the year. 

27 Skills to Master Before Entering First Grade

1. She should work independently at her desk.
2. Listens to extended sets of directions.
3. Write his name.
4. ​Relate to and repeat experiences in greater detail and in a logical way after listening.
5. Be able to see things from another person’s point of view.
6. Understands the concept of habitats and distinguishes between different types of habitats.
7. Read aloud first-grade books with accuracy and understanding.
8. Understand and use correctly conjunctions and prepositions, such as but and beyond...
9. Write and spell untaught words phonetically.
10. Knows that objects can be described, classified and compared to their composition and properties.
11. Write complete sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation.
12. Tell time to the hour and half-hour using analog and digital clocks.
13. Quickly answer addition problems with sums up to 20.
14. Quickly solve subtraction problems with numbers 0 to 20.
15. Complete two-digit addition and subtraction problems without regrouping.
16. Recognizes and observes characteristics and behavior of living and non-living things.
17. Uses simple maps, globes and other means to identify and locate places of personal significance.
18. Understands the basic functions of a bank.
19. Counts by 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s.
20. Identifies whole, halves, thirds and fourths.
21. Identifies, orders and writes numerals from 0 to 200.
22. Knows addition and subtraction facts to 50.
23. Identifies and draws basic shapes.
24. Recognizes and uses standard measuring tools, such as rulers, scales and thermometers.
25. Recognizes and adds money to $1.00.
26. ​Understand the meaning of the “tens” and “ones” places in two-digit numbers and learn to compare two-digit numbers using > (more than) and < (less than).
27. Measure objects and put them in order by length.