Teachers ~ Home School Moms...

[lillygator]

ok this is not Disney related but "family" related a little...


what are the requirements for children entering Kindergarten? Such as knowing ABC's etc....or what do you prefer them to know?

I have been working with my daughter from several of those large PreK workbooks which have things like:
choosing big/little
which ones match
mazes
which items belong
learning to write numbers....

she loves working in this book and is not up to writing letters at this point but can do most everything else. I guess I am just wondering what things teachers prefer to teach on their own and what they prefer them to already know??!!

 

[estherhead]

I'm not a teacher of children, but I do teach adults self-help and I'm a home-schooling mom. For me it never matters what knowledge a person or kid has, it is their capacity to learn and their desire to be taught that makes a good student. Your child's desire to be taught will be her greatest asset. As far as kindergarten requirements, they differ but around here it is simply 5 yrs old by August 1st, all their shots, and a maturity that equals their age. It sounds like you are in good shape.

 

[lillygator]

Thanks!
I have "heard" from other moms some of the requirements...such as being able to use a mouse for the computer etc....when I went to kindergarten all we had to do was show up!!

 

[ladyelle]

My children attend a Catholic school and had specific requirements that had to be met in order to be accepted. The children were tested in May prior to the school year. They went to the preschool at the Catholic school so the teachers taught what was expected for kindergarten. We also spent time learning and reviewing at home. Some of the things they were expected to know:

Say the alphabet. (not sing)
Identify upper and lower case letters out of order.
Count to 20
Identify numbers out of order
Write their full name in proper form
Write all letters (upper and lower case) and numbers (1-20)
Simple math problems (1+2=3)
Identify all colors
Cut and Paste
Listen and Follow Directions


Hope this helps.

 

[meandtheguys2]

Name of parents, address, tel. #.

We just showed up, and learned about colors, letters and numbers. It is amazing how test scores are falling rather than rising as they push younger and younger children past their developmental abilities!

 

[Mom to Jordan]

If your daughter attends a public school, there will be children of all different abilities and experences and backgrounds there. Children who have had 4 years of preschool and children who have never held a crayon. A good kindergarten program will adjust to meet the needs of all of them. They will do a developmental screening early on to see what skills your child has and what skills she needs to mastor.

I am a firm beliver that preparing a child to be ready to learn is the most important preschool skill needed. Can she sit quitely with a group? Follow direction? repect adults? Take care of self care needs such as toileting?
Does she speak clearly to adults?

It is great if they know the letters and can write thier names but they are going to be taught it all again.

Now, I am a firm beliver in not sending a child to kindergarten until they are developmentaly ready. Delayed entry has gone though times of being favored and shunned. As a preschool director I have many times recomended parents wait another year to start thier child. I have NEVER had a parent regret this decission. MAny times have I had parents regret sending them on. I held back my June DS and it was the best decission I ever made. If you have any doubts, give her another year of preschool. If she has never been to preschool I would try to give her a year of that before school.

Good luck,

Jordans' mom

 

[lillygator]

So in a public school setting the teachers go by what - what the youngest/most needs to learn by?

In our area, I know the school my children attend is one that K teachers seem to love as far as what the children know before entering K....but since the majority will be in a public school setting does that mean these children will in essence be "re learning" what they have been taught at preschool/home? I guess this would be better asked of parents in my area....too bad I don't know to many!

 

[zookeeper]

I taught Pre-K for many years and ITA with Mom to Jordan!!!! I always told parents at the start of the year that some kids will come in knowing how to print their names neatly and counting up to 100 and some will come in never having attempted to print their names. Both ends of the spectrum and everything in between are perfectly normal. It's far too early to be demanding that children must have acquired a certain set of skills before allowing them to attend Kindergarten. It's also important to remember that even a few months difference in ages (January birthday as opposed to August birthday) can sometimes make a huge difference in maturity and school-readiness in the early years of school.

 

[crisi]

So in a public school setting the teachers go by what - what the youngest/most needs to learn by?

In our area, I know the school my children attend is one that K teachers seem to love as far as what the children know before entering K....but since the majority will be in a public school setting does that mean these children will in essence be "re learning" what they have been taught at preschool/home? I guess this would be better asked of parents in my area....too bad I don't know to many!

Not really, but don't have really high expectations either. I was astounded with what my son learned in Kindergarten after I realized he was only there 2 1/2 hours a day.

By mid year ours had broken out into groups for language arts. Most of the kids were reading by the end of the year, some better than others. Amazingly, most of the kids who were behind at the beginning of the year caught up quickly.

But just as no one wants to go at the pace of the slowest, no one wants to go at the pace of the quickest kid in the class (my girlfriends son read Harry Potter in kindergarten). So teachers look for a balance. Kindergarten class sizes are usually small, most kindergarten rooms have Mom volunteers to help out, and kids do learn.

There is far more to learn in kindergarten than relearning the ABCs.

 

[wenbel]

I taught Kindergarten for 8 years. The best thing that I feel I could share with parents of any age child would be to read to your child on a regular basis. More important than pre-teaching kindergarten stuff would be to make sure your child is socially ready for school.

 

[shelly3girls]

My children attend a Catholic school and had specific requirements that had to be met in order to be accepted. The children were tested in May prior to the school year. They went to the preschool at the Catholic school so the teachers taught what was expected for kindergarten. We also spent time learning and reviewing at home. Some of the things they were expected to know:

Say the alphabet. (not sing)
Identify upper and lower case letters out of order.
Count to 20
Identify numbers out of order
Write their full name in proper form
Write all letters (upper and lower case) and numbers (1-20)
Simple math problems (1+2=3)
Identify all colors
Cut and Paste
Listen and Follow Directions


Hope this helps.

This is very similar to the requirements for my DDs kindergarten. In addition she also was expected although not required to know letter sounds. They review them during the year but most of the children were reading already(the were taught in the pre-k program).

 

[lillygator]

That is one thing I love...reading ....we do it every night. I read to DD and then she reads to me!


I have a while to worry about it but I wanted to know if I would be expected to teach her certain things before attending.

 

[golfgal]

My children attend a Catholic school and had specific requirements that had to be met in order to be accepted. The children were tested in May prior to the school year. They went to the preschool at the Catholic school so the teachers taught what was expected for kindergarten. We also spent time learning and reviewing at home. Some of the things they were expected to know:

Say the alphabet. (not sing)
Identify upper and lower case letters out of order.
Count to 20
Identify numbers out of order
Write their full name in proper form
Write all letters (upper and lower case) and numbers (1-20)
Simple math problems (1+2=3)
Identify all colors
Cut and Paste
Listen and Follow Directions


Hope this helps.

These are pretty much the requirements for the END of kindergarten at our kids' school. Entering K they want the kids to be able to count to 10, recognize the basic colors and be able to recognize their name. Five year olds are such little sponges that they pick this stuff up so quickly.

 

[crazymomof4]

Something many moms don't know....

In NJ (probably other states too) your child must be 5 by a certain date BUT.....that doesn't mean that you MUST send the child to kindergarten that year.

I've heard from several professional sources (a 2nd grade teacher and an elementary school guidance counselor, among others) that especially in the case of boys who turn 5 yo in the summer, it may be better to hold the child back and start them in kindergarten as a young 6 yo. Of course, this all depends on the child. Some moms mistakenly believe that it's the law that you must send them at 5 even if they feel like the child is not ready.

 

[delilah]

My children attend a Catholic school and had specific requirements that had to be met in order to be accepted. The children were tested in May prior to the school year. They went to the preschool at the Catholic school so the teachers taught what was expected for kindergarten. We also spent time learning and reviewing at home. Some of the things they were expected to know:

Say the alphabet. (not sing)
Identify upper and lower case letters out of order.
Count to 20
Identify numbers out of order
Write their full name in proper form
Write all letters (upper and lower case) and numbers (1-20)
Simple math problems (1+2=3)
Identify all colors
Cut and Paste
Listen and Follow Directions


Hope this helps.

That was the same here in Central Indiana for Catholic school. I see lots of kids entering Kindergarten who weren't in preschool who can't begin to be able to do all those things on the list. (I am a family doctor, and I screen kids for all those when I do the kindergarten physical, and advise the parents to work on it between when I see them and when school starts).

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

As a teacher, I also agree with JordansMom. It is much more about readiness for the setting and behavioral expectations than actual knowledge or skills. That said, I recommend that you contact your school and ask them what specific skills they would like to see your child enter school with. If she starts school with a sense that these things are familiar and she "gets it," she will be more confident and have a better attitude toward school and her abilities in the long run. Lillygator also hit the nail on the head with reading. Children who are immersed in reading from the beginning have so much more going for them academically than those who aren't exposed regularly to it.

Readiness for that first year of school is so different for each child. DD turned 5 the week before she began Kindergarten and was academically and socially precocious, so she has always done well. DS has a January birthday, so he began at almost-6. Even so, academically he's scary-smart, but that has led to social issues that show he was barely ready for the school environment even entering later.

Our school does not screen for readiness, only to assess the right classroom for students of all skill levels. However, there are area schools that do test students academically and emotionally to make sure they are truly ready for school. One such test measures how long it takes parents to leave the room after dropping their child off for assessment - if the child clings or cries excessively, parents are advised to wait another year.

 

[paigevz]

For those just entering school, I second the thoughts on readiness, being able to listen to a story, enter a group, stand up for yourself verbally, etc.

I taught Pre-K for almost a decade...........18 groups of children...........our report card changed in that decade quite a bit...........at the end, ours were expected to know all their letters, upper and lowercase, sounds they made and words that started with them, follow and extend a pattern, use scissors, paste, gluesticks, liquid glue, and crayons well, write their first name, retell a story, name the characters in a story and the parts of a book, use one to one correspondence to 20, rote count to 100, know 6 basic shapes and 8 basic colors, body parts (including chest.....one that got them until I began starting our daily pledge with "put your hand on your chest over your heart"........and get along with others, follow rules, listen in group, stay on task.........etc.

These were the stopgap measures for our disadvantaged kids. These were the things someone had determined that middle class children knew upon walking into kindergarten, so we needed to get ours to the same place before K so as not to begin behind, according to "them" (whoever they are). Hope that helps.

 

[paigevz]

One such test measures how long it takes parents to leave the room after dropping their child off for assessment - if the child clings or cries excessively, parents are advised to wait another year.

That's an interesting test..........I'd have had far fewer students if we'd used that measure. I still have one or two every year who have trouble in second grade leaving their parents..............I guess eventually they have to go ready or not unless homeschooled.

 

[daisyduck123]

I've been teaching 1st grade for 15 years & will tell you that reading to your child & giving them lots of different experiences (coloring, cutting, etc) is great. Some children come to kindergarten having never picked up a crayon or worked on a puzzle before. One thing that a lot of teachers prefer is that parents not teach their children to print because often the children then come to school forming the letters incorrectly..and it can be very hard to break them of that habit. There is a right way & wrong way to form the letters. (I also tell 2nd grade parents not to teach their children cursive for the same reason). On BACK-TO-SCHOOL night I distribute a sheet showing the correct strokes to form each letter. Many parents also teach their children to only print in uppercase letters (even their names) & that does not help.

 

[golfgal]

Something many moms don't know....

In NJ (probably other states too) your child must be 5 by a certain date BUT.....that doesn't mean that you MUST send the child to kindergarten that year.

I've heard from several professional sources (a 2nd grade teacher and an elementary school guidance counselor, among others) that especially in the case of boys who turn 5 yo in the summer, it may be better to hold the child back and start them in kindergarten as a young 6 yo. Of course, this all depends on the child. Some moms mistakenly believe that it's the law that you must send them at 5 even if they feel like the child is not ready.

To take this one step further, kindergarten isn't required AT ALL in most states, if any.