What Children Need to Know to Start School

Preparing children to be ready to learn and grow when they start school is an important part of parenting or caring for young children. There are so many things that parents and caregivers can do to help make sure that young children are prepared to start kindergarten.

The five domains of school readiness are Language and Literacy, Cognition and general knowledge (math, science, etc.), approaches to learning, physical development and health and social and emotional development. Understanding these five domains as well as developmental milestones can help parents and caregivers support young children’s learning and prepare them to be ready for school as well as for lifelong learning.

Check out MSU Extension’s video based resources on the MSU Extension Early Childhood YouTube channel. Topics of videos include: friendship skills, communication, developing independence, cooperation, misbehavior, early literacy, sibling relationships and much more. New video topics are added frequently!

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