School Readiness at Bright Horizons
Ready for school. Ready for life.
Bright Horizons parents and elementary school teachers agree that social, emotional, and self-help skills are the top skills children need for school readiness — it goes way beyond academics. Here, your child will develop the skills and confidence they’ll carry into school and life.
What does it mean to be ready for school?
Rachel Robertson, our Chief Academic Officer, speaks about how we help each child learn to love the process of learning while building lasting skills that will support them in all that comes next.
OUR APPROACH TO EARLY EDUCATION
Discovery is at the heart of all we do. Our Discovery Driven Learning® framework fuels our curriculum and supports personalized learning experiences for every child. Expert teachers spark curiosity, creativity, and confidence at every stage, and our classrooms are thoughtfully designed to inspire wonder and invite exploration. When discovery leads the way, your child will do more than learn. They’ll learn to believe in themselves.
Are Bright Horizons® alumni ready for school?
Parents and elementary school teachers say Bright Horizons helps children develop a strong enthusiasm for learning
Parents and elementary school teachers say we play an important role in preparing children to succeed in school and life
Parents and elementary school teachers say children develop important academic skills at Bright Horizons, laying the foundation for future school success
School Readiness Survey 2026
Check out this year’s results, and see what school readiness truly means.
Learn more about our programs
"Bright Horizons did a great job preparing my child for school by teaching her a mix of important skills. Their well-rounded approach made sure she was ready to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally when she started school.” - Bright Horizons parent
FAQs About School Readiness
Children should enter their first years of elementary school with social and emotional skills and an ability to comprehend broader language and math concepts. Key indicators of a child’s readiness for kindergarten and first grade include:
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The ability to make new friends and respect others
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Readiness to accept new responsibilities and greater independence
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Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
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A strong enthusiasm for learning
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Innovative and creative thinking
Bright Horizons prepares children by focusing equally on all aspects of development: social-emotional, cognitive, and physical. We know that this approach gives children their best chance for healthy, happy, successful lives.
We incorporate the following characteristics to create a high-quality early childhood program that focuses on school readiness:
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An emphasis on trusting relationships and caring social interactions. Social-emotional development is the foundation for all other learning and must be a priority. Teachers understand that young children are still learning and will make mistakes. Children are gently guided and encouraged as they gain confidence and learn to collaborate, communicate, and resolve conflict with each other.
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Opportunities for meaningful play, project work, experimentation, and discovery. Children should understand not only what to learn but also how to learn. We want children to observe; ask questions; notice similarities, differences, and patterns; and solve problems, all aspects of critical thinking.
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Math, literacy, and science interwoven throughout the day, rather than in isolation (worksheets and flash cards). For example, while planting a garden in a center or classroom, the children read books about plants, make signs and notes, measure the garden area, learn about soil and composting, count out and plant seeds, and care for and harvest the garden. The learning is rich, immediate, and relevant, and tends to stick with children. Our classrooms have designated math, science, and writing centers open to children each day.
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Well-rounded literacy activities. In addition to learning the letters of the alphabet, children are encouraged to develop vocabulary, listen and communicate effectively, and view reading and writing as pleasurable and important ways to share ideas and gain knowledge. Children gain literacy skills by listening and reading.
Tips for School Readiness at Home:
1. Talk with your child. Encourage expressions of feelings and find time to share love and appreciation. These moments build your child’s confidence and ability to communicate and collaborate.
2. Build social-emotional skills. Building emotional literacy (recognizing feelings, naming them, and knowing how to manage them) is good for school and great for life. Practice social skills like meeting a new person, practicing independence, managing feelings, sharing, joining into play, and more - these are the most valued school readiness skills from teachers.
3. Read to your child. Instilling a love of reading will allow your child to absorb new ideas and information, and also builds vocabulary, literacy learning, and even perspective taking.
4. Play with your child. Blocks, active games, and silly moments all forge communication and collaboration and nurture cognitive skills such as impulse control, working memory, and regulating behaviors.
5. Experience nature. The natural world is a laboratory that encourages risk, critical thinking, observation, imagination, and creative innovation.
6. Develop a growth mindset. Believing in your own personal abilities and growing a sense of determination are skills you can encourage in a young child. Use process praise (e.g. you never gave up!) versus product praise (e.g. you are so smart). This focus on abilities, tenacity, and growth can influence school success more than IQ.
7. Learn to love learning. Lifelong learning is a lifelong pursuit but many children begin to lose enthusiasm for learning as they get older. Make sure learning is fun and exciting by pursuing children’s interests, building learning into everyday experiences, and avoiding a focus on right/wrong.
Skills needed for kindergarten include: being prepared for the social and emotional demands of school and an ability to comprehend broader language and math concepts. Teachers agree that key indicators of a child’s social and emotional readiness for kindergarten and first grade are readiness to accept new responsibilities and greater independence, a strong enthusiasm for learning, an ability to make new friends, and the ability to respect others.