"Pre" Kindergarten

[ChrisnSteph]

Both of my kids went to preschool. I went to preschool for two years when I was little also. My SIL is not sending her kids to preschool and I think she will be in for a rude awakening when her oldest goes to kindergarten. I love my niece and nephew a ton but they have some major sharing issues. My SIL also thinks that all my niece will need to know to get into kindergarten is her alphabet and her numbers to 20. I have tried to hint at what they expect for kids to know BEFORE the get to kindergarten, but she wants them to "just be kids". My kids loved preK and had a great time "just being kids" while learning how to play with others, follow rules, ABC's both verbal and visual, numbers up to and beyond 100, write their names, know their address and phone number, and many other things. Prek may not be for everyone and that is fine. Just as long as they learn what their school district expects for kids to know before kindergarten, and they prepare their children to meet those standards.

It used to be that they wanted kids to be able to count to 20, now it's over 100, write their names and know their address and phone number? I think society in general pushes kids too much too soon and it's getting to a point where kids can't just be kids for a little while. Your sister's kids may do just fine. My dd never went to pre-K and could only count to 40 before she started. She was reading at a first grade level and doing great well before the end of the school year. And there are plenty of kids who attend pre-K that don't have the best sharing skills! That's just a kid thing. I agree with another poster that the kids all even out in the end!

 

[Beth76]

I never considered, for one second, not sending my children to preschool. My first son started when he was almost 2-1/2. He started a Mom's Day Out program for two days a week (4 hours a day). My second son starts the same program in the fall. He'll be a little over 2. All the kids I know go to preschool of some sort.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

what is moms day out?

 

[Beth76]

what is moms day out?

It's like a preschool, but it's more of a social program, rather than academic. It's like a first step before preschool. My son went to MDO for 2 years and then one year of pre-k at an accredited preschool.

 

[Castlebound]

It used to be that they wanted kids to be able to count to 20, now it's over 100, write their names and know their address and phone number? I think society in general pushes kids too much too soon and it's getting to a point where kids can't just be kids for a little while. Your sister's kids may do just fine. My dd never went to pre-K and could only count to 40 before she started. She was reading at a first grade level and doing great well before the end of the school year. And there are plenty of kids who attend pre-K that don't have the best sharing skills! That's just a kid thing. I agree with another poster that the kids all even out in the end!

I'm sure they will "even out in the end", but it will be a tough road at the start because my niece is unprepared for kindergarten. As far as sharing goes or lack of it, it is just being a kid at two. At five or six a child should know that it is wrong to take toys or not share. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but that by that age they know it is wrong. I don't care who sends their kids to preK or not as long as they prepare them for entering kindergarten. My niece isn't prepared and that makes me sad because I know it will be hard on her.

 

[Bunchkin]

It is common in our area for children to attend a pre-school or some form of city park district toddler classes or pre-school.
DD attended several different programs before kindergarten. Some for socialization and some for learning. Early on we did more socialization type classes. We did library program once a week. And several different park district classes. And then official pre-school class by age 4.

DS is 3yrs old and he is just finishing a speech class. Which he completed early!!! He will be 4 in July and will be going to pre-school in the fall. He's ready and willing to learn and to socialize with his peers and have fun.

 

[Blondy876]

I teach pre-k and we have a curriculum that we must follow. In fact we have 2. One from the state and one from the district (and they don't match ). When my students leave my classroom to go to kindergarten they are suppossed to know how to write their names, know there phone #'s and addresses, be able to write their #'s to 10 and verbally count even higher, the kindergarten teachers have also asked that we teach them to write all the other letters (not just the one's in their names) and for them to know the sound each letter makes. Like someone else said, many of the skills that, years ago, were taught in kindergarten are now taught in pre-k.

Just about every child in the district I teach in attends pre-kindergarten. The teachers are licensed and highly qualified and the programs are among the best in the country. But many of our children do not attend for these reasons, they attend because it is free. Every child in an Abbott district in the state of NJ is by law entitled to free quality education starting at the age of 3.

I guess what I am saying is that it is a personal matter. Pre-k is a great base for kids to build upon. However, children are pushed from the moment they walk in the kindergarten classroom. If a parent wants to keep their child home until then, so they can just be kid for a while longer then I say go for it. I know that any child in my room will learn a lot and have a great time doing it but that in not what all parents want. No one knows their child better than the parent, and no one can make the desicion for them.

 

[aprilgail2]

Most of the kids we know have all gone to at least one year of preschool. Kindergarten is a full day here and to not prepare them for it makes it tougher on the kid. Two of the kids in her class last year had to repeat kindergarten and they were 2 that did not attend any type of preschool program. The school itself runs a one day prekindergarten program where they teach the kids whats expected of them the following year. How they have to come in, empty their back packs, where to put their lunch, they have to take their folder out of the backpack and put it next to the teachers desk, how to set up their supplies for the day etc...just things they are expected to do from the first day of kindergarten. That was only one day a week-Tuedays- so the kids all went to some other type program for Mon, Wed and Fri. They expect so much out of them in kindergarten that its tough on the ones that have no idea what to expect going in there.

 

[aprilgail2]

My SIL is not sending her kids to preschool and I think she will be in for a rude awakening when her oldest goes to kindergarten. I love my niece and nephew a ton but they have some major sharing issues. My SIL also thinks that all my niece will need to know to get into kindergarten is her alphabet and her numbers to 20. I have tried to hint at what they expect for kids to know BEFORE the get to kindergarten, but she wants them to "just be kids". My kids loved preK and had a great time "just being kids" while learning how to play with others, follow rules, ABC's both verbal and visual, numbers up to and beyond 100, write their names, know their address and phone number, and many other things. Prek may not be for everyone and that is fine. Just as long as they learn what their school district expects for kids to know before kindergarten, and they prepare their children to meet those standards.

I was really amazed when I sat in on the test they give to the kids going into kindergarten to see if they can go. She had to write her first and last name, name all the colors and this whole other set of tests..one was Show me the picture of the boy showing the girl to the boy. And there was a picture of a girl showing a girl to a boy, a boy showing a boy to a girl, a boy showing a girl to a boy etc and they had to pick out the one that went with the sentence. Another was a set of pictures and they said "show me all the vehicles" not cars, trucks etc..but vehicles! Then they did if you had 2 apples and I gave you one more how many would you have. Which is the boys left eye, which is the girls right foot. And things like that. I thought they were going to see if she could count to 10 and know her basic colors but it was SO much more than that and this was for public school, not any exclusive private one!!

 

[Nite0wl71]

When my Dd was 4 I tried to enroll her in the pre-k at our local school. They test them on different things like colors, shapes, directions etc. They called me back a week later with good and bad news, she did so well on the tests she couldn't go to pre-k. It seems that in Chicago pre-k is for the kids that need help to get them ready for kindergarten.

I was a SAHM with her and she was really attached so I enrolled her in a park district program, she went twice a week for 1 1/2 hours. It was mainly a play group, not a true learning setting.

 

[Daxx]

Kdg. teacher here. Here are some things that students should know (in my district) before going to Kdg.:

Tying sneakers
Recognizing numbers 1 through 10, randomly
Ordering numbers 1 through 10 when presented out of sequence
Counting to 50 (better if they can count higher)
Recognizing alphabet letters randomly
Ordering alphabet letters when presented out of sequence
ABC song by rote
Colors
Shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval)
States Address
States Phone Number
States Full Name
States Parents Names
Prints first name correctly

There are lots of other things, but it's late and I can't think straight.

Anyway, do not be alarmed. Currently, I have 12 Kdg. students and 8 attended a Pre-K program. The four who did not attend Pre-K have been doing well and are up to speed. Some had to work harder than others and only two are not on-target (moreso due to maturity issues).

Pre-K is v. big here. I don't know of many kids that don't attend some sort of Pre-K program (1/2 day, full day, etc.) in my area.

 

[pixiemomma]

When my Dd was 4 I tried to enroll her in the pre-k at our local school. They test them on different things like colors, shapes, directions etc. They called me back a week later with good and bad news, she did so well on the tests she couldn't go to pre-k. It seems that in Chicago pre-k is for the kids that need help to get them ready for kindergarten.

I was a SAHM with her and she was really attached so I enrolled her in a park district program, she went twice a week for 1 1/2 hours. It was mainly a play group, not a true learning setting.

Pre-K in our district is also reserved for those who are either learning disabled or "financially disadvantaged". If there are any spots left over they go to those who do not fit the criteria.

 

[Bbgrizzle]

I teach K also, and although I know this is not the norm, this is what I have found: The kids who stay at home with their mom before K in my experience, are better behaved and tend to be better prepared for K. Now let me say that I work in a school where the parents are very involved and really want their child to succeed. I have noticed that the moms who stayed at home spent a lot more time preparing their child for K. And so many of the preschool/daycares here in Vegas don't even come close to teaching their kids what they need to know before K. Most of it needs to come from the parents.

I wouldn't worry that your child has not been to preschool. Just make sure you are working with him at home to help get him prepared.

I agree with Daxx on what kids should know when entering K. I teach Full-Day K and actually I prefer that kids know a good portion of their letters and sounds as well as how to write their letters before they enter K. I like to get them sounding out words pretty early in the year. I expect them to know how to write their first and last name, making sure they ONLY capitalize the first letter of each name. My DD4 will be in K next year and she is currently in preschool. They don't teach her a whole lot; I feel like I'm the one teaching her everything when we get home. However, I do know that there are good preschools out there that teach the kids a lot.

Good luck with everything!

 

[Cindy B]

Our district is huge, with a large economic scope..from very very affluent to lower income housing (section 8)

This district has a FREE Prek/K school. The mission of the school is for learning disabled students to have acclimation to a school situation --they start a 3 years old. If you are learning disabled/special education student they are first priority for enrollment. However, since this school wants to promote an inclusion model, non special education students are selected for enrollment via lottery. Special education students get bussed, however non special ed has to either carpool or walk.

In some other local districts, they have a free/no cost prek-k at a local high school. These classes are held by a teacher (usually home economics/health/psychology teacher) and high school studetns. These high school students want to be teachers/psychologists/nurses/social workers after they finish high school. So parents can get a 5:1 ratio of teacher vs. student if you can find these programs. Both of my kids have done these programs and they are excellent.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm sure they will "even out in the end", but it will be a tough road at the start because my niece is unprepared for kindergarten. As far as sharing goes or lack of it, it is just being a kid at two. At five or six a child should know that it is wrong to take toys or not share. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but that by that age they know it is wrong. I don't care who sends their kids to preK or not as long as they prepare them for entering kindergarten. My niece isn't prepared and that makes me sad because I know it will be hard on her.

I wouldn't feel sad at all.

Unless you are aware of a learning disability or that she is being neglected at home--kids will be resiliant and pick up Kindegarten quickly. All this preparation...it's not like they are taking the SAT's.

I'm not that old--but I didn't even go to Kindergarten and I turned out fine and dandy (ahead academically of my peers).

I homeschool--my daughter her counting skills weren't too high at the beginning of the year and her reading--oy vay did I think something terrible would happen when we first learned our sounds (we didn't sit down and do it any earlier).

Now--when she finishes her reading book-she will be reading at 2nd grade level and her math--she can add single digit numbers and is learning 10's, followed by 100's addition and skip counting by 2, 5, and 10.

She didn't go to pre-K either.

All those who put their kids in kiddy harvards---they are really no further ahead of their peers who didn't do this a few years down the road unfortunately. I say unfortunate--b/c parents are made to believe it makes a difference, but it really doesn't for the most part.

 

[Ava83]

When my Dd was 4 I tried to enroll her in the pre-k at our local school. They test them on different things like colors, shapes, directions etc. They called me back a week later with good and bad news, she did so well on the tests she couldn't go to pre-k. It seems that in Chicago pre-k is for the kids that need help to get them ready for kindergarten

I looked into the same program for Ava...we did not even test her because of the rules in place and I would have felt bad if she had taken the place of a child that really needed the class...so we have her in a regular preschool and she loves it. She even got a report card this year (it was really funny to read..one of the things was notices things about others and the teachers comment was "love her fashion statements" ) Next year she will be in the 4 year old program (she will be a young 4-August baby)which will be less play more academic..she did learn stuff this year..but the structure and social is why she was sent.