Making Preschool Report Cards Meaningful and Stress-Free!
- Mrs. Briana & Mrs. Christine
- Sep 29
- 5 min read
The start of the new school year has come and gone, and now the end of Quarter One is almost upon us. Yikes! We know that filling out report cards can feel overwhelming and time-consuming, and as preschool teachers, your plates are already full! Our goal is to help make this process easier, providing tips, tools, and examples to streamline your work while still giving families meaningful insight into their child’s progress.
Report cards in preschool look a little different than they do in elementary school. Instead of focusing on grades, we’re assessing the developmental milestones and social-emotional growth that matter most at this stage. Using a clear, teacher-friendly report card template can make the process smoother while also giving families valuable insight into their child’s progress.
Why Report Cards Matter in Preschool:
They highlight more than academics—social/emotional growth, fine motor skills, and work habits are equally important.
Families get a window into the classroom, which encourages home-school partnership.
They help teachers track progress across the year and identify areas where students may need extra support.
Tips for Teachers:
Keep It Developmentally Appropriate Preschoolers develop at different rates. A scale like “Beginning, Progressing, Mastered” (instead of letter grades) gives a clearer picture of growth without pressure. We always explain to our parents that it's common and appropriate to see lots of "Beginning" or "Progressing" on preschool report cards as the children are new to being students and learning these skills.
Beginning: This indicates that the skill has just been introduced or that the child still requires consistent teacher support to demonstrate proficiency in this area.
Progressing: The child is showing growth and developing understanding in this area, requiring less teacher support than before.
Mastered: The child consistently demonstrates understanding and mastery of the skill and is able to perform it independently.
N/A: This indicates that the skill has not yet been taught or assessed. It is most commonly used during the first half of the year.
Balance Detail with Simplicity Use straightforward language that parents can easily understand. For example, “Uses scissors correctly” or “Keeps hands to self” are easy for families to visualize.
Include Social/Emotional Skills Families often want to know how their child interacts with others, participates in groups, and transitions between activities. These skills are just as important as counting and ABCs. We always tell our families that half of preschool is laying the academic foundation, and the other half is teaching the children how to be students and peers.
Celebrate Strengths and Growth Always note what the child is doing well! Pair constructive feedback with encouragement, so families see the progress along with goals.
Use the Report Card as a Conversation Starter Send the report card home, but also use it during conferences. The checkboxes and notes provide structure for meaningful conversations with families. We like to have parent teacher conferences in January since our local schools do Kindergarten enrollment in January. We use the report card during the conference to discuss kindergarten readiness with each family.
Provide Work Samples Along with report cards, we always include work samples to give families a clear picture of each child’s progress and skills. These samples may come from activities used during assessment, such as cutting, coloring, or name-writing tasks. By sending these materials home, families can see firsthand how their child is developing in different areas and celebrate their growth.
Over the years, we’ve worked on creating and refining our preschool report card to best meet the needs of our students and families. Our goal has always been to design a tool that is both easy to understand and truly reflective of each child’s growth. The report card highlights key areas of development, including social-emotional skills, work habits, fine motor abilities, basic readiness skills, language arts, and math. Here is a dive into our preschool report card:
Social/ Emotional: This section highlights how the child interacts with their peers, builds friendships, and responds to group activities. It emphasizes the child’s ability to manage personal needs independently and move smoothly from one activity to the next.
Work Habits: This section assesses the child’s ability to listen carefully during group and individual activities, follow directions with increasing independence, and take responsibility for cleaning up after themselves. These skills are important for building focus, developing responsibility, and contributing to a positive and organized classroom environment.
Fine Motor Skills: In this section, we assess the child’s fine motor development, including their ability to hold a pencil with proper grip, use scissors safely and effectively, and demonstrate early writing skills. This includes writing their full name, forming letters, and drawing a recognizable person. These skills support both academic readiness and overall coordination.
Basic Skills: The basic skills section highlights a child’s growing knowledge of personal information and foundational concepts. This includes knowing their full name and birthday, being able to recite the Days of the Week and the Months of the Year, and identifying 11 different colors. It also looks at their ability to color neatly and use realistic colors in their work. These skills reflect both memory development and the ability to apply learning in practical, everyday ways.
Language Art: The ELA section assesses early literacy skills, including the ability to identify both lowercase and capital letters and recognize their corresponding sounds. It also looks at phonological awareness, such as producing and identifying rhyming words. Additionally, this section considers the child’s ability to draw on-topic pictures in response to a question or prompt, supporting comprehension and creative expression. These skills lay the foundation for reading, writing, and effective communication.
Math: The Math section assesses a child’s developing numeracy and problem-solving skills. This includes demonstrating one-to-one correspondence, verbally counting, identifying and ordering numbers from 0–20, and recognizing 10 basic shapes. It also evaluates the child’s ability to extend and create patterns, as well as skip count by tens up to 100. These skills support a strong foundation in mathematical thinking, helping children understand number relationships, spatial awareness, and early algebraic concepts.
** You will see a blank box below each section—this is for adding personalized comments. When sending report cards home outside of conference times, we make sure to include a comment for each section to give parents additional details about their child’s progress and accomplishments. If you need more space to include comments, and details, we also offer this fun school to home connection page. In the “Glows” section, highlight the student’s strengths and accomplishments. In the “Grows” section, identify areas that will be the focus for improvement. The “How to Help” section provides practical tips and strategies that parents can use at home to support their child’s growth and learning.
We offer two versions of our report cards: one designed for schools that use quarterly grading, and another for schools that assess and send report cards at the end of each semester.
Report cards don’t have to feel overwhelming. With a simple, organized format, they become a tool to celebrate children’s growth, guide instruction, and strengthen relationships with families.
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