Homeschool Kindergarten is an important year for your child. During this school year, your child will learn so much about math, reading, and writing. You will notice as the year goes on that your kindergartener’s reading skills will grow very quickly.

Although we work at our own pace as homeschoolers, you should still keep in mind that there are certain things that your child is likely to learn before 1st grade.  It’s important that you help your child learn the top reading skills of kindergarten. Here are a few that your child will definitely need to know before you move on to homeschool 1st grade.

Top Reading Skills Your Child Needs to Know Before 1^st Grade

1. Print Concepts – Before your child can learn to read, there are a few print concepts that they must learn. For example, your child should know how to follow along with a story, going left to right for each line of text, as well as top to bottom on the page. Additionally, your kindergartener will need to know the right direction to turn to the next page in a book.
2. Letters – Your kindergartener will need to know all of the letter names and sounds before going into 1st grade. This is extremely important since they will use the letters to begin reading.
3. Rhyming Words – Rhyming words are also important for your child to learn. Being able to recognize that the ending sound is the same for two words will help your child learn to read more fluently later on.
4. Blending Sounds – Before first grade, your kindergartener will need to be able to say each sound in a word and blend it together into a spoken word. For example, if they are reading the word dog, your kindergartener will say, “d-o-g. Dog.” Start with short vowels such as the sounds in the words cat, dog, and kit. After your child has mastered this, you can move on to long vowel sounds such as in the words late, bite, and tote.
5. Retell Stories – Comprehension is an important part of reading, whether your child is reading on their own or you are still reading to them. In order to show that they understand what they are reading or hearing, kindergarteners will need to know how to retell the story they heard, including important details from the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

All of these reading skills are vital for your homeschooled kindergartener to know before they go on to a 1st grade curriculum. Your child will use these foundational reading skills throughout the rest of life.