what should my 4 year old know before kindergarten?

Help him to work on listening and following directions...   But he will get that in Kinder.   He shouldn't need to know much really.

What is he like?

 Hes currently in preschool so he is learning stuff from there but i kindof want him to be ahead once hes in kindergarten. Hes very smart and very active. They call him a "busy guy" at school. Were definitely working on listening and following directions. He does have some cognitive and social/emotional delays so it takes a little longer to learn things. He has another 1 1/2 years left in headstart preschool but since he does have delays i want to start working on the things he needs to know for kindergarten now. He isnt the type that can sit still he has to be learning with fun activities not pen to the paper stuff. If anyone knows any good learning activities that dont involve him sitting down with a pen and paper or book that would be awesome. 

He doesn't need to know much--  if you want to offer him crayons and paper that's great, but no need to push or expect much.     By the time he is 6/in first grade there will be more expectations.   He will develop a lot by then.    He certainly doesn't need to be sitting down and still for a while yet, no need to use pen/pencil and write for a while!  
It also depends on what sort of program you want to send him into, as well.  
:-)

Quoting bnkirk24:

My school wanted him to know how to write his first name and be able to recite the ABCs. I would check with your school. They usually have a packet for K and can give you better infomation b/c every school is different.

My sons school the kids need to know how to write their name and the alphabet. Count to 20 and know all shapes. I forget the rest

Quoting doulala:

Help him to work on listening and following directions...   But he will get that in Kinder.   He shouldn't need to know much really.

What is he like?

Check with your district. It really varies depending on the kindergarten curriculum.

My district doesn't have many requirements. We are working with my son on writing his first and last name, numbers up to 100, letter sounds, and basic addition. I'm not sure all of those are required, but they're things he's shown aptitude for or interest in... Except writing! Preschool teacher asked us to work on that.

Colors, letters, how to spell and write his name (first and last), address, phone number and how to play well with others.  

Letters, sounds, know how to write name & some other letters, starting to read some sight words, count to 20 or more, colors, following directions & listening,, how to share & take turns, etc

Kinder is not what it used to be - start behind (not knowing letter sounds, not knowing how to write letters) & it's harder to catch up.

My daughter knew how to count to 100, write her name and she could read about 10 small sight words such as: I, It, And... The summer before K started she was reading level 1 books. She's in 2nd grade now and in advanced classes. :)

i think this will vary by school. i'm not sure what our schools expect.