Homeschool Pre-Kindergarten

Hearing the first sound in a word

Can tell you what sound a spoken word starts with — /m/ in milk — without seeing it written.

Rhyming

Notices when two words end the same, and can offer a third — even a nonsense one.

Recognising letters — starting with their own name

Spots the letters in their own name and names a handful of others by shape.

Listening to a story and telling it back

Can say what happened first, next and last using the pictures as a prompt.

Holding a crayon and making marks on purpose

Grips a chunky crayon with fingers rather than a fist, and draws lines and circles they meant to draw.

Cutting with scissors

Opens and closes safety scissors with one hand and snips across a strip of paper.

Counting things, one touch per number

Touches each object exactly once while saying one number, and knows the last number said is the answer.

Seeing how many without counting

Says "three" at a glance for up to three or four objects, no counting required.

Sorting into groups

Puts objects into groups by one rule — colour, size, or type — and can say what the rule was.

Making and continuing patterns

Continues a red-blue-red-blue pattern and can say what comes next.

Naming and spotting shapes

Names circle, square, triangle and rectangle, and finds them in real objects.

More, less, bigger, smaller

Compares two groups or objects and uses the right word for the difference.

The five senses and describing words

Names the sense they are using and offers a word for what they notice.

Weather and the seasons

Describes today's weather and picks clothing that matches it.

My family, my home, my helpers

Names the people in their family, knows their own full name, and identifies helpers like a doctor or a firefighter.

Following a two-step instruction

Hears "put your shoes away and then wash your hands" and does both, in order.

Dressing, tidying, and doing it themselves

Puts on a coat, manages shoes, and puts toys away when asked.