For Child Care Providers

Age Level Targets

Childcare can be more than entertaining children while parents are at work. You can play a pivotal role in the future lives of the children you care for. How? By using your childcare services as an opportunity to prepare children for their first day of school!

As a professional, you probably already know what you can expect to teach an infant during the first year or two of life. But what should a typical five year–old child be familiar with when he or she starts school? Are the children under your care on target for mastering the essential school readiness skills?

READY! for Kindergarten is a program that answers that question by setting reasonable targets for each age level of pre-kindergarten learning. Not matter when you join the READY! program, we help you focus on the progression of interconnected skills each child under your care needs to accumulate year by year from birth. When we break down the target skills sets by age, our objective is to guide you toward goals that are attainable for each child's developmental capabilities at a given age. Please don't look at the READY! age level targets as a list that you have to work your way through! They are a tool that help you pursue intentional learning goals.

View these goals with a fluid attitude. Each child is unique and develops targeted skills at different rates. One child may even develop skills from target sets above his or her age level before mastering everything at the current level. Another will develop skills consistent with the chart. Both are perfectly acceptable. Expect it.

READY! for Kindergarten encourages you to view the age level targets as a continuum with parallel tracks. A child's progress is split along three tracks. A child may race ahead along one track while lingering behind on the others. Enjoy the tools and activities provided in READY! for just five minutes a day with each child in your care and know that you are supporting that child's development.