[loveajax]

I know there are some wonderful teachers on a.com...my question is what is "expected" of kindergarteners these days? Someone showed me a list of "basic skills" they got for their kindergartener and it included reading! I was surprised. Is there some kind of "list" somewhere?

DD is going into preK and to say that it is not an "academic based" thing is an understatement! But I love the program and the teachers and she really has thrived there. For some reason, I feel like life is so stressful as it is and I was really just looking forward to her playing, exploring, etc. this year, but now I wonder whether I need to do "more" this year to "prepare" her for Kindergarten.

TIA!

[Nevada Jen]

I will be interested to hear this also. My DS was in a preschool last year where they expect the kids to read by the end of PK. I think that's kind of ridiculous and have put him in a more moderate academic based school this year. I think we could teach him to read this year if that was important to us. But its not. I swear I remember most kids not reading the were in 1st grade when I was young.

[crick]

They also have to be able to read while hanging upside down from a chair while balancing a juice box. So sign her up for gymnastics ASAP

I'm not a teacher but yes, kindy is a whole different world than when we went to school. My kids' school did have a list of "suggestions", some of which I did and some I didn't. Other than my youngest who has dyslexia the other three did just fine learning to read in Kindy. We did letters before kindy and through that they knew some basic 3 letter words but I didn't push the reading thing.

[loveajax]

Nevada -- same here. I remember that it was really first grade where kids learned how to read. I agree with you about the pressure thing....I don't even want DD reading right now (does that sound terrible?). I want her to be playing! Hopefully, someone will tell us it's OK and we are not screwing these kids up for life!! haha

PS: Crick, that's funny. And I like that you are a "rebel" and didn't do everything on the list...ha!

[Nevada Jen]

Kind of funny cmoing from us. If I remember correctly we are both attorneys. I don't know about you but I am doing everything in my power to make my kid a dancer or athlete! I don't need to be raising the next generation of smarty pants! (not that those people can't be smart but at least they don't make their livings proving it!)

[loveajax]

Nevada, agreed! I always tell people I went to law school because literally I had no talents! I remember teaching legal research and writing to two One Ls...one was a renowned pastry chef and the other an impressive concert pianist. Neither of them listened to me when I told them it wasn't too late to bag law school! I personally am hoping DD is a renowned concert pianist and chef!

[carrie2adopt]

I taught kindergarten for four years. It's true, at least in the district I worked in (in NV), that the kinders were required to be reading at a level 4 by the end of kindergarten. Definitely not the same as when I was 5 years old.

My preference as a teacher was pretty basic for incoming kids. I hoped kids came in knowing: first & last name, phone number, parents' names, and having at least colored with crayons and hopefully allowed to to write with a pencil (drawing, pretending to write, etc). Yes, I had kids who came in without ever having held a crayon or a pencil, which imho is just sad. Knowing the home address was awesome, but rarely happened. I think by then, kids should recognize a handful of basic colors and should recognize their first name in print. Bonus points if they can write it.

I kind of figure anything more than that is a bonus...counting to 10, knowing some/all letters, the alphabet song, etc. Not necessary, but definitely makes it easier for a child to be ahead of the game at the start of school than always struggling to keep up.

ETA: Another thing is I hoped kids had been read to. Kids in kindergarten, even if they don't know a single letter yet, should be able to orient a book...if given a book upside down, they should be able to turn it right side up and know which way it opens.

Great books to read (among many others): Seuss' Hop on Pop & the ABC Book.

[portlowski]

My niece was in kindergarten last year and my sister became stressed to the max over the staggering amount of homework her child had to do each night.

One assignment early in the year required the "child" (putting this in quotes because clearly a parent would have to do almost all of this assignment) to get a bathroom scale (they had to borrow one from their neighbor), weigh the child and then take objects from around the house and weigh them individually adding them up until they amounted to the child's weight.

She also had weekly sight reading tests and was expected to be able to read by the end of kindergarten.

My niece is quite bright and she did well on most of these things...but the hardest thing for her was that she was "required" to learn to tie her shoes and she does not have great fine motor skills. My sister worked on this daiy and even took her daughter to a shoe-tying class but she couldn't get it. This made her feel terrible. She finally learned over the summer when the pressure was off.

I am really worried for when DS goes to kindergarten. He is doing great but is develpmentally lagging behind on many milestones...once he catches up it is as if he never had a problem but he takes his time. I am worried that the pressure might stifle his joy of learning...

[DPline]

You might contact your school district and/or the elementary school she will attend. From threads on the Guat forum there seems to be a broad range of kindergarten expectations among states/school districts.

At least where I live, it is a whole different world than when I was in school. The things my kids do in kindergarten are what I did in first and second grade. Reading basic books by second semester, taking 'dictation' (being able to write sentences the teacher is speaking) by second semester, adding and subracting single digit numbers, etc. Not that they have to know these things going in, but that that is where the year is heading.

[MamaS]

Check with the school system you plan to enroll in and ask to see the Kindergarten entrance test. Ours includes about 20 items:
Child knows and can clearly speak full name, address and phone number.
Child can print his first name and last initial: John S.
Child can count from 1 to 10,
Child can recite alphabet.
Child can identify the ten basic colors: black, brown, white, red, blue, green, yellow, orange, purple and either gray or pink, I forget which.
Child can complete a pattern sequence using blocks.
Child can complete 2-step directions: Example "Pick up the pencil from the floor and put it on the table."
Child knows situational words suck as Up and Down; on and off; open and closed, etc. and can complete actions using those words.
In K-5, they will learn cursive writing and the Dolch word list (the first 100 words).

[loveajax]

Carrie, thank you...now can you come to MA and be DD's teacher? I have a friend who did Teach for America and it blew my mind when she told me that some first graders did not know how to count to three?

Port, oh God, that poor boo! I have a funny story...I was a peanut in first grade and I had (still have) poor motor skills...so I had a girl named Adrianna "assigned" to me. She had to tie my shoes, zip my jacket, etc. (I am sure she was thrilled...haha!).

Debbie, zoinks! I still don't know how to subtract (obviously... since I keep overdrawing on my checking account!).

I think part of my "fear" is that my own parents put terrible pressure on me when I was a kid and I don't want that for DD...but I also don't want her to "struggle" to keep up. Parenting is hard!!

Mama, thanks...that's a good idea. It seems like the schools really vary so I will check with our grammar school.

[Sleeplvr]

My kids started prek this week so we are looking at the requirements now. Prek is optional yet kindergarten still expects certain things. Prek is teaching kids alphabet, counting/math, colors, writing and sight reading. What's going to happen to a child who shows up to kindergarten not knowing this stuff? My kids have homework every night and a quiz every friday. They should skip kindergarten if it's going to be more of the same to catch up the kids who didn't do prek.

We were given a list of things to work on before they started prek. I'm just thankful my kids previous childcare providers did an outstanding job because they are thriving in an academic environment.

My DH and I had a major battle over preschools. He did not want them in an academic program... he wanted socialization only. They ended up in an academic program... he's not complaining because we found a free state lottery funded program. This school does not follow the state curriculum which is more socialization but rather an academic program.

[crick]

Port - your sister couldn't just buy velcro shoes? I looked at shoe tying the same way I did potty training...it happens when it happens. Don't stress yourself out over this stuff!

Personally I think that kindy is the place to learn a lot of the things they need later because if you are staying in the same school for the duration of their elementary, they'll start learning the program that continues through out. If they have to "re learn" everything to the school's and teacher's expectations and methods, it's harder, imo.

Our preschool followed a different way of writing letters than our school did. My oldest (now 7th) had a really difficult time in kindy & first grade because he didn't make the letters the same way they were teaching. I fought them on that one. I mean really...who cares if he starts his C from the bottom instead of the top?

Anyway, guess my best advice is go at your child's pace and there is plenty of time for homework and all that. We got homework in Kindy and it was really disappointing to me. Bottom line is K-3 has to get the kids prepared for the state tests and all their lessons are geared towards that goal. Don't let it stress you.

[Sleeplvr]

Motor skills is a one of the things they test in kindergarten.

Here's the elements they look for in Georgia even though they say it's optional.

Motor Skills
The following statements are observable student behaviors related to personal and social development.

Fine Motor Skills:
Putting together puzzles using picture and shape cues
Buttoning shirts
Zipping jackets
Building structures with blocks
Holding a pencil in a mature grasp
Drawing pictures and letters with pencils, pens, crayons, markers
Cutting simple shapes with scissors


Gross Motor Skills:
Walk
Run
Hop
Skip
Jump
Gallop
Slide
Throw a ball
Catch a ball
Kick a stationary ball
Walk with bean bag on head
Chase
Cross the midline

[sbaglio]

Originally Posted by Nevada Jen

I don't know about you but I am doing everything in my power to make my kid a dancer or athlete! I don't need to be raising the next generation of smarty pants! (not that those people can't be smart but at least they don't make their livings proving it!)

Kind of OT, but isn't it funny - I feel the same way. Here I am this super specialized physician, and I truly would love it if my daughter went into the arts. I dream of her going to Julliard and becoming a concert pianist, or an opera singer. If writing could pay the bills, I'd have probably become a writer (I'm still trying, though time is scarce), so maybe that's why I love the arts so much. In reality, whatever she wants to do will be fine by us.

Karen, reading by kindergarten?? OMG, maybe I need to buy Hooked on Phonics for our DD now!