Is Your Child Ready For Kindergarten

Most preschools will start accepting children at around age 2 1/2, but that doesn't mean your child is magically ready for preschool when he reaches that age. Readiness for preschool has more to do with where your child is developmentally. Is he socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively ready to participate in a daily, structured, educational program with a group of other children?

Is your child fairly independent?
Preschool requires children to have certain basic skills; most will want your child to be potty trained, for instance. Your child should also be able to take care of some other basic needs, like washing his hands after painting, eating his lunch without assistance, and sleeping alone.

Has he/she spent time away from you?

If your child has been cared for by a babysitter or a relative, he'll be better prepared to separate from you when he's at preschool. Kids who are used to being apart from their parents often bounce right into preschool with hardly a backward glance. If your child hasn't had many opportunities to be away from you, you might want to schedule some — a weekend with grandma, for instance, or a day with your sister and her kids. But even if you can't work out your separation issues up front, don't worry too much; many children leave Mom or Dad for the first time to go to preschool and they do just fine. The trick is to help your child adjust in short doses. Many preschools will allow you to drop off your child for an hour or two during his first few days there; as he gets more used to his environment, you gradually work up to a full day.

Can he/she work on projects on his own?

Preschool usually involves lots of arts and crafts projects that require concentration and the ability to focus on an individual task. If your child likes to draw at home or gets engrossed in puzzles and other activities on his own, he's a good candidate for preschool. But even if he's the kind of child who asks for help with everything, you can start getting him ready by setting up playtimes where he can entertain himself for a half hour or so. While you wash the dishes, encourage him to make creatures out of clay, for example. Gradually build up to longer stretches of solo play. Your goal here is to keep yourself moderately preoccupied with an activity so that he'll get on with his own without too much hand-holding from you.
source(baby center)