Foundations Early Care & Education

Kindergarten Readiness: What Children DO Need

As children prepare for kindergarten, many families wonder what they should be working on at home. While academics often get the most attention, research and child development experts agree that the most important indicators of kindergarten success are social-emotional skills, independence, and confidence.

Social-Emotional Skills

Separate from caregivers with confidence
Manage emotions with support
Express wants, needs, and feelings appropriately
Take turns and share materials
Participate in a group setting
Show empathy and kindness toward others
Begin solving conflicts with words
Follow simple directions and routines
Persist through challenges and frustration

Self-Help Skills

Use the bathroom independently
Wash hands independently
Manage clothing (coat, shoes, pants, backpack)
Open lunch containers and food packaging
Clean up after themselves
Care for personal belongings
Recognize when they need help and ask for it

Communication & Advocacy

Speak up for their needs
Ask questions
Communicate with peers and adults
Share ideas and experiences
Understand and follow conversations
Listen during group activities

Foundational Literacy & Identity

Recognize their first and last name

Recognize their written name

Know parents' or guardians' names
Know their address
Know a family phone number
Show interest in books and stories
Understand that print has meaning

Foundational Thinking Skills

Curiosity and willingness to explore
Problem-solving skills
Ability to focus on an activity for a period of time
Follow multi-step directions
Ask questions and investigate ideas
Use imagination and creativity

Kindergarten Readiness: What Families Don't Need to Pressure

Children develop these skills at different rates, and strong social-emotional foundations are far more predictive of kindergarten success than early academics.

❌ Reading independently
❌ Writing sentences
❌ Perfect letter formation
❌ Memorizing sight words
❌ Completing worksheets
❌ Mastering addition and subtraction
❌ Knowing all letter sounds
❌ Sitting still for long periods
❌ Academic drills or flashcards
❌ Finishing work quickly
❌ Having "school skills" beyond their developmental level

What Matters Most

A child is often considered kindergarten-ready when they can:

✓ Manage basic self-care tasks
✓ Advocate for themselves
✓ Participate in a classroom community
✓ Regulate emotions with support
✓ Build relationships with peers and adults
✓ Demonstrate curiosity, confidence, and a willingness to learn

As we often say in Reggio-inspired programs, the goal is not to create children who already know kindergarten academics—it's to nurture children who are confident, capable, curious, and ready to engage in the learning journey.

The children in Meadowlark transformed the outdoor learning space into a campsite of their very own! Using tires, blankets, and tree stumps, the preschoolers worked together to design and build a cozy camping fort where they could relax, tell stories, and enjoy outdoor play.

This exciting invitation offered so many opportunities for learning. As the children planned and constructed their campsite, they practiced teamwork, communication, and collaboration by sharing ideas and making decisions together. They engaged in problem-solving and engineering thinking as they experimented with different ways to arrange materials to create a sturdy and comfortable space. The children also used their imaginations to bring their campsite to life, strengthening creativity, storytelling skills, and social connections through cooperative play.

Experiences like this help build confidence, critical thinking skills, and a sense of independence while fostering a deeper appreciation for nature and outdoor exploration.

MOVEMENT: ONE OF THE GREATEST DRIVERS OF DEVELOPMENT

Movement is far more than exercise or physical activity. It is one of the primary ways young children build their brains, bodies, and understanding of the world.

Research has consistently found that movement supports:

• Brain development and neuroplasticity
Physical activity contributes to changes in brain structure and function that support learning, memory, and cognition.
(Hillman et al., 2008)

• Executive functioning
Children who engage in regular physical activity often demonstrate stronger working memory, inhibitory control, attention, and cognitive flexibility.
(Best, 2010; Donnelly et al., 2016)

• Learning and academic success
Movement and motor development are associated with school readiness, language development, cognitive performance, and later academic achievement.
(Diamond, 2000; Cameron et al., 2012)

• Emotional well-being and mental health
Physical activity has been linked to improved mood, stress regulation, and overall mental health outcomes in children.
(Biddle & Asare, 2011)

• Healthy sensory development
Movement helps organize and strengthen sensory systems responsible for balance, body awareness, coordination, and attention.
(Schaaf & Mailloux, 2015)

• Physical health and lifelong wellness
Regular movement supports cardiovascular health, bone development, motor competence, and overall physical well-being.
(World Health Organization, 2019)

One of the most important findings from developmental science is that cognitive, physical, social-emotional, and sensory development do not occur in isolation. They are deeply interconnected.

When children climb, crawl, run, jump, spin, balance, carry, push, pull, roll, and explore, they are simultaneously developing the skills that support learning, regulation, problem-solving, confidence, and health.

Movement is not a break from development. Movement is one of the primary engines that drives it.

"Nothing without joy" ✨☀️

🎉 We are thrilled to share that, for the second year in a row, Foundations has been recognized as the Best Childcare Agency by Business Rate!

This honor is especially meaningful because rankings are based on feedback and experiences shared by families in our community. We are incredibly grateful to our amazing teachers, supportive families, and, of course, the wonderful children who make Foundations such a special place every day.

Thank you for trusting us, partnering with us, and helping create a nurturing, engaging, and joyful learning environment. This recognition reflects the dedication, passion, and care that our entire Foundations community brings to each day.

We are so proud to hold this title for a second consecutive year and are honored to continue serving the wonderful Casper community. Thank you for helping make Foundations the best! 💙🏆✨

During outdoor exploration, the children in Bluejay were provided with containers of water to enhance their play. Together, they collaborated to create mud pies, soups, cupcakes, and many other imaginative food creations of their choosing. Through this experience, the children practiced teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills as they shared materials and ideas. They also explored science concepts by observing how water changed the texture of the soil, while strengthening their creativity and sensory exploration through hands-on play☀️

Happy International Day of Play ✨

Okay, we’re gonna let you in on a little secret…

While everyone is obsessing over fine motor skills, tracing, worksheets, and pencil grip… gross motor movement and heavy work are where so much of the real development is happening.

Of course fine motor skills matter. But development happens in sequence.

Before the hands can control a pencil well, the body first has to develop:
• Core stability
• Shoulder strength
• Bilateral coordination
• Postural control
• Body awareness
• Sensory integration

And that development happens through movement.

Lifting.
Pushing.
Pulling.
Dragging.
Climbing.
Digging.
Carrying.
Building.

Heavy work activates the proprioceptive system: one of the nervous system’s most powerful organizers for regulation, coordination, motor planning, attention, and spatial awareness.

But heavy work is not just a “pre-writing activity” or a stepping stone to academics.

The human body is biologically designed to move, resist force, carry weight, climb, push, pull, and engage with the physical world across the entire lifespan.

Children don’t outgrow this need. Adults don’t either.

Research consistently links movement and proprioceptive input to:
• Stronger emotional regulation
• Healthier nervous system function
• Improved executive functioning
• Better focus and attention
• Greater confidence and resilience
• Stronger cognitive performance and learning outcomes

Yet somehow we’ve normalized expecting children to sit still for long periods while minimizing the very systems the brain depends on to learn well.

The irony?
The path to healthier development, stronger learning, and even better handwriting often starts far away from the worksheet.

It starts with movement.

So stop obsessing over worksheets and start obsessing over: climbing, carrying, balancing, lifting, pushing, hauling, digging, jumping, dragging, rough-and-tumble play, obstacle courses, uneven terrain, and whole-body movement.

The children in Hummingbird became chefs as they worked together to make homemade popsicles! Using apple juice, the children carefully poured the liquid into popsicle molds and helped carry them to the freezer, eagerly anticipating the finished treat.

This simple activity was packed with meaningful learning opportunities. As the children poured and transported the molds, they strengthened their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and concentration. They explored science concepts by observing how a liquid changes when frozen and practiced patience as they waited for their popsicles to be ready. Throughout the experience, children engaged in conversations with teachers and peers, building language skills and expanding their vocabulary. Sensory exploration, healthy eating habits, and opportunities for independence all contributed to a joyful learning experience that fostered confidence and pride in their work.

One of the biggest misconceptions in early childhood is that children constantly need new materials, new themes, new setups, and endless novelty in order to stay engaged and keep learning.

But the developing brain actually thrives on repetition.

Not because children are “stuck,” but because the brain is constantly growing, reorganizing, strengthening, and building new connections through revisiting experiences over time.

The 2-year-old exploring paint is not having the same experience as the 3-year-old.
And the 3-year-old is not having the same experience as the 4-year-old, etc.

Even when the medium stays the same, the thinking evolves.

What begins as sensory exploration can become representation, storytelling, planning, symbolic thinking, emotional expression, innovation, and communication.

This is why open-ended materials are SO powerful.

Blocks. Clay. Paint. Loose parts. Water. Dramatic play.

They do not have a fixed ceiling because children themselves are constantly changing.

So often in early childhood, we overcomplicate learning by constantly rotating themes, changing setups, introducing more, and chasing novelty for the adults in the room, while children are still deeply learning through repetition, mastery, experimentation, and revisiting.

Open-ended materials allow children to return to the same experience while continuously finding new ways to think, create, problem-solve, imagine, and explore through it.

And that is exactly why they remain so relevant across ages and stages.