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What to do When Your 5 Year Old Isn’t Ready for Kindergarten

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In All You Do uses affiliate links within its posts. You may read more on our disclosure policy.

We are in our seventh year of homeschooling and truthfully…I thought it would get easier. I mean, I’ve taught three kids their numbers, letters, sounds and how to read. So why was our fourth child so hard to teach? She loves to color, draw and has the imagination of a Disney writer.

Is your 5 year old really ready for Kindergarten? What if they're not? What are you to do? Here's what we did! :: www.inallyoudo.net

When we began Kindergarten with her last year, I realized very quickly she was struggling. The curriculum we used for the others is wonderful, but she just wasn’t grasping it. She just wanted to have fun. And it was fun…for a while. Until I saw she wasn’t retaining any of the information we had covered in previous weeks or even just days before.

That’s when I knew we needed a change. Maybe a different approach would work? So, we tried more hands-on activities like our playdough mats to help her with more tactile learning of letters and numbers.

It went well…for about 2 weeks. Then I realized once again, it just wasn’t clicking with her.

I was at a loss.

I had no idea what to do.

She loved learning and could remember the words to songs she’d only heard once, but not the names of letters or numbers. I had to think quickly. She was falling further and further behind and was surely going to graduate without knowing how to write her name if we didn’t get this figured out.

After all, she was FIVE and ready for Kindergarten, or so I thought.

So, what if Your 5 Year Old Isn’t Ready for Kindergarten?

As homeschoolers we pride ourselves on teaching each child at their level, not pushing them into a mold created by society. And here I was pushing her in to the “public school mold” just because she had turned five. However, as I thought about it more and more, I realized that had she gone to public school and started that year, she would have turned 5 after school started!

That’s when I told my husband, we were waiting another year to officially start her Kindergarten lessons.

So what do we do in the meantime? I had a plan!

I knew we couldn’t just keep on “playing to learn” and not help push her along a little, yet I didn’t want to frustrate her either. I had been working on my next eBook and thought it would be the perfect solution. It was a fun combination of short lessons, fun activities that all led to learning letters. We could do as much or as little as she wanted combined with other activities to make them fun and hopefully help set the foundation for next year.

Apples to Zebras

I printed out the first letter in the book and was thrilled with her excitement. She loved working on her letters and doing papers like her brothers and sister. At this point, school was fun and she was now included.

Apples to Zebras is designed for a 3-day week schedule, so we chose to do Tues-Wed-Thurs, as Mondays are usually very busy getting the older three kids settled back in to our school routine and Fridays my husband was off. However, you could easily expand the lessons to be a 4- or 5-day schedule.

The lesson plans are flexible to fit a variety of learning styles while reinforcing the letters of the week. Every 4th week there is a review lesson to help them remember the previously learned letters. There are hands-on activities for every letter, plus some bonus printables at the end of the workbook – from puzzles to flashcards and more!

Is your 5 year old really ready for Kindergarten? What if they're not? What are you to do? Here's what we did! :: www.inallyoudo.net

This 680+ page digital download is the perfect way to get kids started learning their letters while working on their handwriting and beginning sounds. My daughter has done well this year working through the book and enjoyed hands-on activities as well as the relaxed lessons.

As we move in to Kindergarten this year, we will go back through these lessons and add in even more activities and learning opportunities, because I feel she is ready. We may still struggle, so I like that we can finish the “workbook” in 3 days, but do more or less depending on her comprehension of the letters.

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**I have had several inquires about why this is not available in a printed and bound version. I am sorry for the inconvenience. As much as I would like to, at this time this is just a digital product. This is a DIGITAL product, no physical product will be shipped.**

  • Is your 5 year old really ready for Kindergarten? What if they're not? What are you to do? Here's what we did! :: www.inallyoudo.net

    Apples to Zebras: An ABC Workbook for Preschool and Kindergarten

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  • Prewriting: A Shapes & Lines Workbook

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Annette Breedlove

Annette has been married to her husband and best friend since 2003. Together they are raising their six children to follow the Lord’s will, no matter what. Annette longs for the day when she will meet all her angel babies who have entered heaven before her. She enjoys creating fun and engaging printables, unit studies and curriculum for homeschool families. You can follow her crazy life at In All You Do where she blogs about marriage, parenting, and homeschooling all while maintaining her sanity. She is also the owner of Thrifty Homeschoolers, where she shares free printables and resources from around the web as well as deals on curriculum and homeschooling resources. You can also keep up with her via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
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Latest posts by Annette Breedlove (see all)

  • 3 Ways to Homeschool thru the Month of December - December 4, 2019
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Filed Under: Homeschool Tagged With: ABC, ABCs, alphabet, beginning sounds, letters, preschool

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Comments

  1. Janna says

    July 24, 2017 at 12:46 pm

    Legos

    Reply
    • Annette Breedlove says

      July 24, 2017 at 3:07 pm

      My kids still play with all their LEGO!!

      Reply
    • M. Chaplauske says

      July 25, 2017 at 12:17 am

      My preschoolers are little artists! They love to draw and color 🙂

      Reply
  2. Deana says

    July 24, 2017 at 12:48 pm

    We love to read! My kids have also always loved dot markers. Thanks for the great giveaway!

    Reply
    • Annette Breedlove says

      July 24, 2017 at 3:08 pm

      My kids love those dot markers too!

      Reply
  3. Hannah says

    July 24, 2017 at 1:59 pm

    My pre-schooler (3yo boy) likes to use the computers and tablets for learning games (abcya.com, starfall.com, pbskids.org)

    Reply
    • Annette Breedlove says

      July 24, 2017 at 3:08 pm

      We have used all of those too! They are great sites!

      Reply
  4. Michelle Urdak says

    July 24, 2017 at 3:12 pm

    THis looks perfect for my 5-year-old daughter! 🙂

    Reply
    • Michelle Urdak says

      July 24, 2017 at 3:18 pm

      My preschooler loves to color and pay with play-doh!

      Reply
      • Annette Breedlove says

        July 24, 2017 at 3:56 pm

        Those are a favorite in our house too!

        Reply
  5. Magda Miller says

    July 24, 2017 at 4:40 pm

    My preschooler loves to “design outfits” more than anything on earth.

    Reply
  6. Ashley says

    July 24, 2017 at 4:45 pm

    My kids LOVE anything messy. We live in the country, so we spend a lot of time outside. They like writing in mud and using sticks to make letters. Fun and educational!

    Reply
  7. Beckie says

    July 24, 2017 at 4:59 pm

    Coloring!

    Reply
  8. Jacquie says

    July 24, 2017 at 5:11 pm

    My preschooler loves her workbooks! She will do several pages at s time! She also loves to play with play dough almost daily.

    Reply
  9. Caroline @ The Modest Mom says

    July 24, 2017 at 5:22 pm

    My preschooler loves to color, and cut out paper!

    Reply
  10. Elizabeth says

    July 24, 2017 at 5:26 pm

    Reading

    Reply
  11. Annie says

    July 24, 2017 at 5:38 pm

    Does yelling count? I kid, but singing and dancing are a favorite.

    Reply
  12. Alisa says

    July 24, 2017 at 5:39 pm

    Osmo

    Reply
  13. Cynthia Hebert says

    July 24, 2017 at 5:42 pm

    I had a five year old who wasn’t ready for kindergarten either. He loves learning videos (especially musical ones), learning apps and computer games. Reading Eggs was worth the subscription!

    Reply
  14. Sabrina Houck says

    July 24, 2017 at 5:51 pm

    My preschoolers love to sit down and practice their letters, it makes them feel like they are doing “real school” like the big kids!

    Reply
  15. Olivia says

    July 24, 2017 at 5:52 pm

    Playing outside and playing with her younger sister!

    Reply
  16. Laura Kaczmarek says

    July 24, 2017 at 6:04 pm

    She has so many favorites! She loves pretending to be a vet or play restaurant.

    Reply
  17. Jessica Winkler says

    July 24, 2017 at 6:05 pm

    My preschooler loves art! I plan on including coloring and painting in as many lessons as I can for him!

    Reply
  18. Renee Rayder says

    July 24, 2017 at 6:06 pm

    Coloring is his favorite!

    Reply
  19. Nikki Howell says

    July 24, 2017 at 6:10 pm

    My preschooler loves to help me cook.

    Reply
  20. Nikki says

    July 24, 2017 at 6:18 pm

    Read and play learning games on a tablet.

    Reply
  21. Jessica Thompson says

    July 24, 2017 at 6:28 pm

    Playing outside

    Reply
  22. Jennie says

    July 24, 2017 at 6:44 pm

    Books and coloring

    Reply
  23. Jordan Boss says

    July 24, 2017 at 7:04 pm

    My preschooler loves to color with markers!

    Reply
  24. Jessica Medina says

    July 24, 2017 at 7:25 pm

    Coloring!

    Reply
  25. Jamie says

    July 24, 2017 at 7:44 pm

    Reading

    Reply
  26. Crystal says

    July 24, 2017 at 7:53 pm

    He LOVES to color. 🙂

    Reply
  27. BrendaF says

    July 24, 2017 at 8:31 pm

    My preschooler loves play dough. And dancing!

    Reply
  28. Brenda says

    July 24, 2017 at 8:32 pm

    My preschooler loves play dough. And dancing!

    Reply
  29. Julie says

    July 24, 2017 at 8:42 pm

    This looks so fun! When my current 1st grader was 4, I gave her a pre-K workbook with two rules: do all the pages in order, and follow the instructions (no coloring everything purple or whatever). She set her own pace, sometimes ignoring it for weeks and sometimes doing ten pages a day. When she finished it, she and I both knew she was ready for kindergarten, and we started the next week. I’m so glad we did it that way.

    Reply
  30. Julie says

    July 24, 2017 at 8:43 pm

    Playing pretend.

    Reply
  31. Rachel B. says

    July 24, 2017 at 8:44 pm

    My pre-schooler loves anything that has to do with a glue stick or markers or scissors – basically anything her big sister uses, she wants too.

    Reply
  32. Chassidy says

    July 24, 2017 at 9:01 pm

    Storytime

    Reply
  33. Hannah R. says

    July 24, 2017 at 9:10 pm

    I have a preschooler who learns through hands-on activities. We use Legos to help him learn!

    Reply
  34. EliseO says

    July 24, 2017 at 9:22 pm

    My daughter loves to build and design things just like her engineer daddy!

    Reply
  35. Melanie Gerstorff says

    July 24, 2017 at 9:39 pm

    Magnetic letters on the fridge

    Reply
  36. Diana says

    July 24, 2017 at 10:10 pm

    Our favorite preschool activity is coloring. Great for hand-eye and learning colors and shapes.

    Reply
  37. LeAnn Harbert says

    July 24, 2017 at 11:16 pm

    We like walking in the woods and looking for animal tracks

    Reply
  38. Rachel Janssen says

    July 24, 2017 at 11:26 pm

    Playing outside!

    Reply
  39. Jen ODell says

    July 24, 2017 at 11:33 pm

    Building tracks and playdoh.

    Reply
  40. Charlotte says

    July 24, 2017 at 11:57 pm

    Coloring with markers.

    Reply
  41. Pam N. says

    July 25, 2017 at 12:07 am

    Painting.

    Reply
  42. Cheryl C says

    July 25, 2017 at 12:20 am

    Reading and bird watching.

    Reply
  43. Kayla Rowden says

    July 25, 2017 at 1:26 am

    My preschooler enjoys play dough mats and math manipulative games!

    Reply
  44. Lynn says

    July 25, 2017 at 2:21 am

    My preschoolers love arts and crafts. Thank you!

    Reply
  45. Dina says

    July 25, 2017 at 2:23 am

    Dinosaurs are a huge thing right now, he’s been watching Dino Dan, Dino Dana and Dinosaur Train on Amazon Freetime. It cracks me up to hear him spout off these 5-6+ syllable dinosaur names as easily as he says “cat” or “dog”.
    He was also given a Frisbee last weekend so that is a bit of an addiction right now! 😉

    Reply
  46. Jayne Yang says

    July 25, 2017 at 3:41 am

    Our children (4.5 and 2) love reading! We read to them almost everywhere (at their request!). It’s our special time together.

    Reply
  47. nicole deardorf says

    July 25, 2017 at 4:02 am

    Little man loves anything to do with crayons, markers or paints lol. Rare occasions he likes to just cuddle up and let me read to him. Those are my favorite days.

    Reply
  48. Afton says

    July 25, 2017 at 7:04 am

    My preschooler loves anything hands on and is a great little artist!

    Reply
  49. Kristi E. says

    July 25, 2017 at 7:22 am

    My kids love paint!

    Reply
  50. Katie says

    July 25, 2017 at 7:28 am

    My kids like playing Legos and drawing.

    Reply
  51. Darcy Carmichael says

    July 25, 2017 at 8:26 am

    All of my preschoolers love to color and draw!

    Reply
  52. Tracy says

    July 25, 2017 at 8:56 am

    My kids love coloring and Megablocks!

    Reply
  53. Ashley says

    July 25, 2017 at 8:58 am

    She loves to color and play Legos

    Reply
  54. Lindsay lewis says

    July 25, 2017 at 9:49 am

    Swimming!

    Reply
  55. Tara J says

    July 25, 2017 at 10:03 am

    Outside! Mud, dirt, water…

    Reply
  56. Ruth Utz says

    July 25, 2017 at 10:39 am

    Digging in the dirt, pretending to drive tractors, … Anything and everything outside.

    Reply
  57. Kelli says

    July 25, 2017 at 11:26 am

    Waterpaints!

    Reply
  58. Sheila says

    July 25, 2017 at 3:35 pm

    My Littles love to color.

    Reply
  59. Brooke says

    July 25, 2017 at 3:41 pm

    Drawing and painting is wildly popular at our house!

    Reply
  60. Gretchen says

    July 25, 2017 at 5:05 pm

    Using tools with Daddy…especially screwdrivers!

    Reply
  61. Cassandra says

    July 25, 2017 at 5:39 pm

    My son loves to sing and dance!

    Reply
  62. Joni McPike says

    July 25, 2017 at 10:25 pm

    My preschoolers new favorite activity is to “write notes” and put them in envelopes then he brings them to momma and daddy and reads them to us. He just turned 4 and can’t write so they are scribbles but I love the energy and imagination he puts into them!

    Reply
  63. Emily says

    July 26, 2017 at 7:30 am

    Drawing what the see and reading together.

    Reply
  64. Katie L. says

    July 26, 2017 at 8:10 am

    his favorite activity is swimming… but as far as school stuff goes he loves to paint or use stickers.

    Reply
  65. Sonja Rea says

    July 26, 2017 at 11:23 am

    My preschooler loves playing outside and trying to keep up with siblings. Her favorite activity is anything involving arts and crafts.

    Reply
  66. Blanca Lomas says

    July 26, 2017 at 12:34 pm

    My preschooler loves to color!!

    Reply
  67. April Schuman says

    July 26, 2017 at 1:19 pm

    Very nice giveaway.

    Reply
  68. Diana says

    July 26, 2017 at 2:18 pm

    Playing with sand and play dough

    Reply
  69. Laura Brown says

    July 26, 2017 at 7:20 pm

    She loves to do schoolwork, because her siblings do it. I put that as my comment entry.. oops!

    Reply
  70. Jessica says

    July 26, 2017 at 8:08 pm

    My preschooler loves to build different things with Legos, but I would say his absolute favorite activity is coloring… On himself.

    Reply
  71. Allison S says

    July 26, 2017 at 10:19 pm

    I am loving your blig snd tips for preschool moms! Great giveaway as well 🙂

    Reply
  72. Mindy says

    July 26, 2017 at 11:13 pm

    She loves to play dolls for hours!

    Reply
  73. Karyn Ashley-Smith says

    July 26, 2017 at 11:14 pm

    Mud

    Reply
  74. Anne says

    July 26, 2017 at 11:15 pm

    My daughter loves games, puzzles and drawing.

    Reply
  75. Julia Cosgrove says

    July 26, 2017 at 11:45 pm

    I would definitely have to say drawing.

    Reply
  76. cenewhard says

    August 5, 2017 at 7:03 am

    I just found tor site roday, and sas I missed the discount on this. I don’t see a purchase link. How do you buy it?

    Reply
    • Annette Breedlove says

      August 5, 2017 at 3:37 pm

      I am sorry about that! I have updated the post to add in the product you can purchase!

      Reply

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Learn about 6 countries in this Northern Europe Geography Unit Study - PLUS a BONUS Iceland Mini Unit
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I am child of the King, wife to 1 and mother of 6 earthly children. My passion is creating printables and products homeschoolers and teachers can use quickly and easily. I love sharing about my One True Love, Jesus Christ and encouraging parents in this crazy journey of raising kids. Read more about me and the ministry here at In All You Do here.
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