What Are Characteristics of Children Who Are Ready for School?

School readiness means that a child is ready to enter a social environment that is primarily focused on education. Research has suggested that many aspects of children's lives influence their preparation for formal school learning, including intellectual, social, emotional, and motor development, and, most importantly, early home and preschool experiences. In deciding if a child is "ready for school," all of these factors have to be considered, as well as the school's willingness and ability to adjust to individual differences in young children's development, personalities, and backgrounds.

The following are characteristics of young children who tend to be successful in their early school experience:

• Able to follow structured daily routines
• Able to dress independently
• Able to work independently with supervision
• Able to listen and pay attention to what someone else is saying
• Able to get along with and cooperate with other children
• Able to play with other children
• Able to follow simple rules
• Able to work with puzzles, scissors, coloring, paints, etc.
• Able to write their own name or to acquire the skill with instruction
• Able to count or acquire the skill with instruction
• Able to recite the alphabet (or quickly learn with instruction)
• Able to identify both shapes and colors
• Able to identify sound units in words and to recognize rhyme

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