Preschool - What They Should Know

i have a kinder and a first grader.. some kids come to kinder reading very well. some kids come to kinder not knowing any of their letters.

The most important thing for a child to know when they go to kinder.. is social skills... listening to the teacher, following directioins, able to go to the bathroom alone... plays well with others... taht is critical.. they can teach the abcs... but social skills need to be there from day one..

go to starfall.com it is agreat website... for learning the abcs...

Kids learn at different speeds. What is he going to have left for kindergarten if he learns it all now. There are lots of kids who go into kindergarten without ever having been to pre-school. They don't have parents who spend their time teaching them letters and numbers and stuff. They go in fresh clean slates. They do just as well in kindergarten as the kids who've done preschool and child care by the end of 1st grade.

Don't worry so much about it. He'll do find. He still has over 9 months before he starts kindergarten.

Yeah, I would think they would have mastered all letters and numerals by now in a full time program... a small amount of work at home should do it, though. Get the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD, all 3 of my kids knew letters and the sounds they made by 2/2.5 just by watching that 3 or 4 times a week! Its a great learning tool!

Our kindergarten sent us out a package when we registered, and in the package it outlined wha our child was expected to know coming in. Our school expected children to recite the alphabet and count to ten. They were expected to recognize and print their own name. They were expected to know how a book worked (how to hold it, where to begin, words flow from left to right etc). Anyway, pre-school prepared them in other ways. They learned how to stand in line, sit in a circle, follow instructions, raise a hand to ask a question, take turns etc. The children who attended pre-school were far ahead of the children who didn't in these areas. Pre-school also taught my kids days of the week, colours, address and phone number, how to use scissors and glue etc.

Preschool is really about socialization - learning how to be ok without Mommy, learning to listen and respect an adult who is not Mommy, playing with other kids, taking turns, learning when to listen, how to participate is group activities, etc.

ABC's, 123's, shapes, colors, etc., are all introduced, but they are certainly not the most important thing the kids need to learn.

Kindergarten has got to be one of the hardest grades to teach. Some kids have been exposed to so much - preschool, play groups, classes at the YMCA. Some kids have been home with a parent and have done very little reading or socialization. The diversity of abilities is huge!

It's great that your child has attended preschool and be introduced to pre-academics. All that knowledge will certainly be helpful. But I really have to agree with WindyCityMom and Lisa. The life skills that are gained during the preschool years are far more important entering kindergarten than any pre-academic skills.

There will be kids who don't know any letters or numbers. There will be kids there that know how to read. There were kids in my daughter's K class that didn't know their address or phone # and there were kids who were already reading Junie B Jones books. So it will vary tremendously.

What he should know is how to listen to the teacher. How to sit still even when he is done and the rest of the class is still working. What to do if everyone else is done and they are waiting for him.... but he is not done. How to follow directions. How to share. How to take turns.... even when he doesn't want to take turns or share. How to help other kids. How to each lunch in 10-15 min without talking :-) To wipe his hands before he eats. How to open his lunch (all components) by himself. To be "fully functional" in the bathroom with his clothing and his personal hygiene. How to put on and take off his own coat. How to recognize his own backpack and his own mittens. What he should DO when he gets mad at another one of his classmates. What he should say if another kid is mean to him.

Those skills are WAY more important than if he should know letters going into kindergarten.

They didn't need to know it at my son's school. They spent the first semester going all those basics - colors, shapes, letters and numbers recognition. The 2nd half of school touched on letter sounds, reading and a little math (I stress the word "little" 1+1=, 2+1=...). For a child like mine who already knew how to read, k was very boring.

Instead of focusing so much on academics, you might want to start focusing on her independence. In k, she will have to tie her own shoes, keep track of her own schoolbag and jacket, be still and quiet for periods of time, lay out her own lunch no matter if she buys or brings, get her own napkins, follow directions, and learn social skills like making new friends, taking turns and getting along.

http://school.familyeducation.com/kindergarten/school-rea...

See if that's useful to you at all. I think there is a pretty wide range of "acceptable" entrance levels, depending on your district.

Yes, you are expecting to much from your child and no, she doesn't need to know all of her letters before kindergarten. The first half of kinder is learning numbers and letters. The purpose of preschool is to learn how to follow rules, listen to a teacher, separate from mom, and make new friends and learn to write her first name. Any learning of letters and reading is just a small unexpected bonus.

Your child does not need to know and recognize all letters and numbers. If she can recognize and write her own name, that's really the most important thing. If you are worried and want her to know more going in, Starfall.com is a great website for learning letters. I also have many Discovery Toys that can help her. Visit http://www.discoverytoys.com/karenchao to check them out (we're even having a sale right now). Let me know if you need any specific recommendations. Off the top of my head, Tub Stick-Ups Letter Catch would be a great one, as would Memo Spell.

As for what the preschool should be teaching her, it really depends on the kind of school you have her in. My son went to a play-based preschool so I knew he wouldn't be learning academics in the class. Sure, they sometimes did things involving letters and numbers, but they were never outright taught any of it, and that was fine with me.

He is in kindergarten now. They focus on one letter a week at our school, so your child will not be way behind if she doesn't know her letters going in. It's not as crazy rigorous at all as I expected based on the way people talk about kindergarten.

Don't do flashcards or drill her in any way - just find ways to make learning fun. Read LOTS of books. Most importantly, don't stress. I guarantee she'll know her letters by the end of kindergarten if she doesn't know them going in.

Full-time preschool and my child knew about what yours did. Preschool is not a magical academic provider, nor should it be.

My child who did half-time preschool? Reading at a first grade level in 4-year-old preschool.

I don't think you do or don't do matters too much beyond PLAY, PLAY, PLAY at age 3-4.

At this age it's more important to learn social skills and to learn through play.

I would think your child could do a few more things than that! If he will be five by the time school starts. My son turned five yesterday. 6 Months ago he could count to 20 and say his alphabet, shapes and colors and knows his address. New daycare with preschool classes and he knows to count to 100 (missing a few) and recognizes the alphabet and now knows how to write his name. He was on his way but not nearly where he is today. Some things he is really egar to learn from his teacher others he is willing to learn from me. The address was from us, he connects the family members to eachother. like my mom is gran and my dad is po his uncles are my brothers. and his aunt is his dads sister. he gets all that. we are currently teaching him about fires and 911 calls what to do where to go. He also knows and knew our full names and where we work. I dont think its too much to expect from the preschool. I would consider moving him to a more education focused program. Its not too late...but on the same hand I believe he can catch up in Kindergarden.

Each preschool and each child is different. There were kids in my son's kindergarten class that didn't know many letters, numbers, or colors. So I think it all depends.
My son knew all his letters, but we worked on the a lot at home. We put up posters of letters, shapes, and colors and went over them every night before bed. I think the preschool just helped reinforce what he was learning at home.

My daughter plays on our ipad a lot. It has some fabulous apps for teaching children their letters and numbers, counting, etc. If you have that or a phone and are willing to let your child play with it there are a bunch of apps out there that will help if you are worried about it! :) (Best one I've found is called "Write My Name" on ipad. I think it's like 4.99, but its GREAT. lets you add your own words and they can "write" them out with their hands. Really fun for the kids too.

Relax and play learning games. Kindergarten is for learning as well. You can call your kindergarten to see what they expect if it will make you more comfortable. Also, if your child is allowed to have computer time, check out PBSkids.org and starfall.com for learning games. My kindergartener playes starfall at school during computer time.

There is a core knowledge book out by ED Hirsch called What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know: Preparing Your Child for a Lifetime of Learning.

Does the preschool have a curriculum? If they don't follow a curriculum, they may just be teaching the children random information. As if they follow a specific curriculum.

I am reading the book on first graders and am loving it.

My GD NEVER went to preschool. She started kindergarten knowing how to spell her name and recognizing some letters and counting to 10. That's it.

She's now in fifth grade. She's been at the top of her class since 1st grade. As long as you work with them on homework and read to your child daily, he/she will be just fine even if they know nothing when they enter kindergarten. They DON'T have to be ready to graduate high school when they enter kindergarten. Let the teacher do his/her job and you supplement at home. That's all it should take.

My son's pre-school just sent home a checklist of things that they should know by the end of the year (they do one in the fall and one in the spring). It included things such as: recognize and write all of the letters in uppercase form, count from 1-30, write numbers 1-30, understand and follow two step directions, write his name, recognize and draw basic shapes. That being said, he knew how to do a majority of that from us playing with him at home before he went to pre-school. There will be different kids at all different levels when kinder begins. We use learning as play at home to reinforce what J does at pre-school so that he will be prepared.

Your district should have a list on their website or available through the school what an incoming K should know. You can also talk to the preschool about what they expect to have taught the kids by the end of the year. For my DD, I was not worried at all about her academics. I wanted her to socialize, follow directions, learn to listen, etc. The how to behave in school part was much more important, as I'm sure she'll be fine on the rest. Being in preschool can help with letters/etc. but you can still do things at home. Read to him, play games with him, count and sing and point out colors. I'm sure he'll be fine.

Kids are so different. Just my own 2 boys learned reading and letters very differently. When my 4 (5 in a few days) year old started Kindergarten he could read already. My younger is almost 5 right now and he knows all his letters and numbers but can't write any of them. Don't gauge your child based on any other child. He is different.

My daughter enjoyed playing with the letter magnets on the fridge when she was a toddler :-) I agree, just play and read, and incorporate learning. It'll come naturally.

My son is 4 and a half in part time preschool. He can't write his last name yet, knows most of his letters I'd say but not the sounds on most, he writes his numbers backwards. I feel like what he knows is what I've taught him. I don't think they do much teaching in his preschool. He is very happy there though and I'm glad he's in it because he gets social interactions and they don't watch tv. However, as someone mentioned the Letter Factory movie is great. My son liked it but I didn't put it on a lot. I should put it on more. Good reminder!

so, yes, my son did know all his letters and numbers. and he knew the sounds each letter makes, and was beginning to try to sound out words. HOWEVER - this is what they DO in kindergarten. the whole first half of the year he was bringing home papers where he wrote "H" a million times. now they have moved on and are on to more advanced stuff, but really, at first, they really do teach them all of this. if it was me, i admit i would want to make sure he at least knew the alphabet and numbers upon going to kindergarten - but you have to keep in mind, like some said, there are kids who have never even been to preschool too. do what you can. yes, i'd focus on it more. but just do what you can and DON'T stress about it. when the time comes stay in contact with his teacher. take their advice. good luck -i'm sure he'll do fine! (also as some have said - when you do kindergarten round-up, or enroll him, however they do it - you'll get TONS of papers telling you what he needs to know.)

Is your child closer to 4 or to 5? My son is almost 5 and in 1/2 day preschool. At the recent conference they told me that before Kindergarten they should recognize the uppercase letters, count things out to at least 20, and obviously know the colors and shapes (they should know that by 4 honestly). But the most important skills are being flexible, keeping track of their stuff, use the bathroom and wash up properly, being kind and friendly, attention to task, and being a good listener.