fIt is the first year of formal education for your little one! Letter recognition, letter sounds, and word recognition are the primary learning objectives for kindergarteners.
You'll be overjoyed to see your kid take their first steps towards reading, expand their vocabulary, and start writing the letters of the alphabet as you watch them do all of these things.
You may be curious about the typical kindergarten curriculum and what you need to do to prepare your child if you decide to enrol them in kindergarten. If this is the case, you should read on.
Should children, for instance, count to one hundred, recite the alphabet, or engage in activities that require them to use their fine motor skills?
If they are not expected to know these skills prior to kindergarten, then during this landmark school year, will they learn these skills in order to prepare themselves for kindergarten? What are some of the skills that children are expected to have mastered by the time they graduate from kindergarten?
In addition to that, the fundamentals of mathematics will be taught to your child. They should be able to count up to 30, recognise common shapes, and finish the essential single-digit addition problems by the end of the school year.
If you have a good understanding of these goals, you will be able to determine whether or not your child is prepared for kindergarten, whether or not they require some additional preparation, or whether or not they are too advanced for a typical kindergarten class.
It is essential to be aware that educational standards differ between states, school districts, and individual schools, and that no two children acquire knowledge at the same rate.
Building up their self-confidence will help them do well in kindergarten, and it will also instil in them a love of learning that will stay with them throughout their lives.
The following is a list of important educational benchmarks that children will reach during their time in kindergarten, as well as suggestions for how you can assist your child in remaining on track with the kindergarten curriculum at home.
Development
In kindergarten, your child will continue to develop a wide variety of skills, including those related to their physical development, social development, emotional development, language and literacy development, and thinking (cognitive) development.
Your child's motor skills, which include how she moves her arms and legs, as well as how she uses the small muscles in her fingers and hands, are all part of her physical development (small motor skills).
Children are better able to concentrate, feel less stress, and build stronger bones and muscles when they spend time each day playing outside and participating in other forms of physical activity.
Children can improve their finger and hand control through a variety of activities, including putting together puzzles, writing, drawing, and working with clay.
The ability to get along with other people is a benefit of social development. The development of children's social skills is supported by teachers who help students cooperate, include one another in activities, make and maintain friendships, and resolve conflicts with one another.
Emotional development enables your child to comprehend not only his own feelings but also those of other people.
The role of educators is to assist children in identifying, discussing, and expressing their feelings, as well as developing a concern for those around them.
They also help children develop the ability to self-regulate, which means they are better able to control both their feelings and their behaviour.
Understanding language and being able to communicate effectively through reading, writing, listening, and talking are essential components of language and literacy education.
In kindergarten, there is a strong emphasis placed on literacy. These are skills that will serve your child well throughout his life.
Your child's knowledge will expand in the following areas over the course of the current school year: letter-sound correspondence, phonemic awareness, sight words, rhyming, word families, and concepts regarding print.
Students in kindergarten discover how to recognise individual letters of the alphabet and the sounds that those letters make, as well as how letters and sounds can be combined to form words.
By the end of the school year, it is expected that the vast majority of kindergarten children can read words.
In addition to that, they learn to print the letters. In addition, as they learn to write the alphabet in both capital and lowercase letters, they will practise developing their fine motor skills.
They might also make an effort to write short stories, poems, or entries for a journal.
These will typically be a jumbled mess of letters and words, but it is a step in the right direction towards them being able to express themselves in writing.
This will be the first year that the school actively encourages parents to participate in the process of teaching their children how to read and write.
Many educational institutions give their students book bags that they can take home and use to read with their families.
To assist students in developing their reading abilities and expanding their vocabularies, teachers often spend time with their classes engaging in activities such as reading aloud, playing games involving rhyming and word association, and playing word games.
Thinking skills, also known as cognitive abilities, can be developed when children engage in activities such as exploring, observing, creating, questioning, attempting new activities, and solving problems.
The teachers assist the children in planning what they are going to do, encourage the children to talk about their ideas and think about them more deeply, and include the children in the decision-making process.
Learning Standards
Every state has established learning standards that outline the skills and information that children of a certain age should be able to demonstrate.
These standards are used by educators to strike a balance between what is essential for children to learn and the ways in which children learn best.
Language Arts Skills
The majority of children are able to use words they've picked up from previous conversations with others or from being read to before they start kindergarten.
During the course of the school year, your child's speech will develop more structure and become easier to understand, and their reading and writing skills will emerge and advance.
As the school year progresses, it is expected that children will acquire a fundamental understanding of sentence structure as well as punctuation.
They will learn, for instance, that the first word of a sentence is capitalised and that sentences end with periods, question marks, or exclamation points. In addition, they will learn that certain punctuation marks can be used to end sentences.
In kindergarten, children not only learn how to form sentences using question words like "who," "what," "when," "where," "why," and "how," but they also learn how to make words plural by adding a "s" or a "es" to the end of the word. They are also instructed in the proper utilisation of common nouns and prepositions.
The vast majority of kids are able to read age-appropriate books on their own by the time kindergarten is over, and your kid might find it helpful to have you listen to them read aloud while they do it at home.
Math Skills
Children start their mathematical education in kindergarten by learning the names of the numbers and how to count them in order.
They make some progress in becoming accustomed to the numbers 11–19. In addition to this, they should learn to count the objects in the room and begin an introduction to geometry by identifying and naming basic shapes like triangles, rectangles, circles, and squares.
Students in kindergarten are introduced to the ideas of addition and subtraction, which they initially learn as "putting together and adding to" and "taking apart and taking from," respectively.
When it comes to mathematics, kindergarten is all about the fundamentals. They will develop skills in counting, number recognition up to 10, and object classification.
They will gain an understanding of the concepts of more and less, ordinal numbers, fundamental addition and subtraction, and pattern making through the utilisation of concrete aids.
They will begin to learn about time and calendars, and we will continue to cover these topics in class on a regular basis.
It is common practise for teachers to kick off the school day by asking students to come up to the board and pin the current calendar day, day of the week, and weather conditions.
Students should be able to recognise numbers up to 100, count to 100, and have a basic understanding of single-digit addition and subtraction by the time they leave kindergarten. In addition, they should be familiar with the components of a calendar and how to build on them (days, weeks, months), as well as some essential time concepts (on the hour, half-hour segments).
Other Skills
In kindergarten, children are instructed not only in mathematics and language arts, which represent a significant focus of the curriculum, but also in science, social science, and typically art, music, health and safety education, and physical education.
The majority of kindergarten classes place an emphasis on the development of socialisation skills such as taking turns, waiting to be called on by the teacher, and being kind to other students.
How to Prepare
If you want to know what your child should know before starting kindergarten, the best way to find out is to get in touch with the school that you intend to send your child to, regardless of whether that school is public, private, or parochial.
Several months prior to the beginning of the school year, kindergarten screenings are held at many schools.
This is done with the intention of locating children who require additional assistance or who are gifted and require additional challenges. Occasionally, a tour of the school or the classroom is included in this process.
If the school that your child will attend in the future does not use this system, you should make an effort to schedule a meeting with the principal or the person in charge of the kindergarten curriculum.
When you get together in the spring or summer, before the start of the school year, you can use this time to make sure that your child is on the right track or to get some professional assistance with getting ready for school.
The majority of children look forwards with excitement to getting ready. However, it may also be an opportunity for you to talk to your child about the prospect of spending some of the school day apart from you, which is especially important to do if your child has not previously attended preschool.
If you are concerned about your child becoming bored at school or acting out in class, you may want to enquire about the possibility of enrolling your child in a kindergarten programme that is more challenging. Gifted children are typically more advanced than other children their age.
Even if your child is academically ahead of their kindergarten peers, there are other options available to you besides skipping kindergarten.
There is also the option of taking accelerated courses or participating in extracurricular activities.
Some paediatricians and education experts advise against skipping a year of school because it can have a negative impact on a child's social development to be in the same classroom as students of a much older age group rather than with peers the same age as them.
In the end, the decision should be based on the particular requirements of your child.
Subject Areas
Teachers connect learning across subject areas to give children a deeper understanding of a topic, whether they are assisting children in writing thank-you letters to a library that they visited, deciding what material would best support the cardboard bridge that they are making, or brainstorming solutions to keep the lettuce in the class garden from wilting. This can take place in a variety of contexts.
Letters and Sounds in Kindergarten
Your child will be able to recognise, name, and write all 26 letters of the alphabet by the time kindergarten comes to a close (both uppercase and lowercase).
They will be able to read approximately 30 high-frequency words, which are also referred to as "sight words," such as and, the, and in. Additionally, they will know the correct sound that each letter makes.
When children enter kindergarten, they bring a variety of reading experiences and abilities with them.
Teachers strive to instil a love of reading and reading skills in their students, regardless of how much the students may already know.
- Share books and other types of information in both print and digital formats, and post different types of track around the room (like the daily schedule and helper charts) so children see that reading is valuable and fun
- Read with children every day, individually or in a group.
- Teach children letter sounds
- Point out and explain parts of written language, like capital letters and punctuation
- Support children who are learning English in addition to their home languages
Reading aloud to your children at home not only encourages them to develop a love of reading but also benefits them academically.
Reading aloud to one another not only fosters companionship and a sense of fun, but also improves one's ability to concentrate, focus, and expand their vocabulary.
You should look for books that are relevant to your child's specific interests and ask the librarian for recommendations; however, you should make sure that the books are not too difficult to comprehend.
It is always best to begin with books that are easier to understand in order to give the reader a sense of accomplishment, which in turn encourages them to read more.
In addition, the rhymes and straightforward language used throughout Dr. Seuss's books make them an ideal choice for children of this age.
Repetition is one of the most effective teaching strategies for children; therefore, you should read your child his or her favourite books multiple times, pose questions, and encourage your child to say simple words out loud.
If you could please encourage them to read the words that they see on street signs, billboards, and computer screens throughout the day, or have them look for high-frequency words in a magazine, that would be greatly appreciated.
Writing in Kindergarten
Students in kindergarten will learn how to write basic CVC words (consonant, vowel, and consonant) in the classroom. Examples of CVC words include hat, red, and dog.
They will also write brief sentences that are straightforward, such as "The cat ran home."
In order to improve his writing, your child will practise a wide variety of skills. For instance, in order to plot out a story, he might draw pictures.
It's possible that his instructor will encourage him to use his spelling in his writing. She will demonstrate to him how to write the letters and how to leave a space between each word.
The more he writes, the more proficient he will become at the activity. The following are some things that teachers can do to encourage writing in children:
- Provide lots of writing materials, like different kinds of paper, pencils, markers, crayons, and digital devices (such as tablets and computers)
- Model—show and explain—specific skills.
- Have children write in different forms, like observations in their science notebook
- or instructions on how to feed the class guinea pig
- Would you please encourage your child to review and look for ways to improve his writing?
- Share the pen—on a large sheet of paper, the teacher writes some of the words of a story and then invites the children to write some too.
Your child can hone their writing skills by practising to write simple sentences about their day in a special box that you keep stocked with writing supplies (crayons, pencils, markers, paper, and notepads, for example).
Inquire with them regarding what they have written, and request that they read it out loud. Then, provide encouragement by posting their writings on the refrigerator so that others can see them.
Numbers and Counting in Kindergarten
Students in Kindergarten will learn to recognise, write, and order objects up to the number 30, as well as count them.
They will also perform addition and subtraction with very small numbers (add with a sum of 10 or less and remove from 10 or less). Through the second grade, we will continue to place a strong emphasis on addition and subtraction.
Math is everywhere in the world! For instance, if your child is learning about patterns in school, she may notice that the patterns on the kitchen tile at home, on a butterfly's wing, and on the shirt she's wearing all have stripes.
Mathematical ideas are integrated into daily classroom activities, and students are encouraged to apply these ideas to the solution of authentic challenges, such as measuring their plants with rulers.
They will ask questions designed to challenge your child's thinking, and they will encourage children to provide explanations for the answers they give.
You should look through magazines and newspapers with your kindergartener to find the numbers one through thirty.
They can cut them out, affix them to paper with glue, and arrange them in numerical order. Play a game of "What Comes Next?" when you're waiting in line or riding in the car next time you're bored.
If you give your child a number and ask them to identify the number that comes after it, this may help them achieve the goals they set for themselves in kindergarten.
At bedtime, you should question them about how many stuffed animals they own and have them count them "How many books do you own that are about canines? How quickly are you able to count them?"
Ask "How many more are there?" after removing two of these books from the pile.
Shapes and Objects in Kindergarten
The most common shapes will be identified and described to the children (circle, square, triangle, rectangle).
They will be able to recognise, organise, and categorise objects according to colour, size, and shape by the time the school year is over.
Discuss the following characteristics of standard shapes: What are some characteristics of a rectangle? What makes it distinct from a triangle is its shape.
In addition, you can teach your kid a game called "Draw a Shape," in which the two of you take turns drawing different shapes like circles, squares, and rectangles.
Last but not least, instruct your pupil to categorise the toys; for example, they can stack blocks of the same size on top of one another or arrange the Legos according to colour.
You could also take out an old button box and have your child sort the buttons according to the size of each button and the number of holes in each button.
Time and Seasons in Kindergarten
What should five and six year olds know about the passage of time and the changing of the seasons? Children of this age have an understanding of the fundamental ideas.
They are able to determine the exact time of events that occur in their daily lives, down to the nearest hour. For instance, they leave for school at seven in the morning and eat dinner at six in the evening.
Be aware, however, that because they are concrete thinkers and time is an abstract concept, it will continue to be challenging for them to fully grasp the concept of time.
Read the time on the clock repeatedly while going about your daily activities so that you can reinforce the idea of time. Words such as morning, noon, night, yesterday, today, and tomorrow should be used, and their meanings should be explained.
Create a timeline together that depicts a typical day, complete with drawings of everyday occurrences and the corresponding times of day written underneath each one.
In addition to learning about time, children aged 5 and 6 can correctly identify each of the four seasons; therefore, it is beneficial to track the variations in the weather together on a calendar throughout the course of the year.
Find some pictures that illustrate the changing of the seasons (such as colourful leaves, snow, or flowers in bloom), and then talk to your child about what they see in the pictures. Discuss the various types of clothing that are appropriate for the different seasons.
Science
The goal of scientific study is to gradually develop an understanding of the world around people.
Children are educated on a variety of topics, including flora and fauna, healthy lifestyle practises, the weather and how to keep track of the weather, the five senses, and the fundamentals of their bodies.
Experiments in elementary science will be carried out by the teachers in the classroom. Kindergarten students are now able to remember more information and to use that information to make connections between different things and to organise different things into groups.
Building and disassembling things, examining objects, thinking about why certain things happen, and explaining what they find out are all activities that encourage children to be curious (which they are naturally!) and make discoveries. Teachers provide the materials and activities that encourage children to be curious.
The purpose of teaching children to think like scientists is to enable them to make predictions, put their ideas to the test, generate potential solutions, and record (document) their learning through the use of pictures, graphs, writing, and photography.
Social Studies
The first few weeks of the school year are spent concentrating on "me" in social studies. They acquire knowledge regarding their immediate and extended families, including their names, addresses, and phone numbers, and they communicate information regarding themselves and the things that interest them.
In kindergarten, kids are taught how their homes, as well as their classmates and teachers, are connected to the larger school and community environments.
Children are provided with numerous opportunities by their teachers to express their viewpoints, listen to the viewpoints of others, work through disagreements, and acquire knowledge of their native languages and cultures.
The skills and ideas that children learn in geography and history are connected to events that they are already familiar with through the use of long-term projects.
Conclusion
The academic career of your child officially begins with the start of kindergarten. Therefore, ask that you give it your best effort to make sure that everything goes as planned.
FAQ About Kindergarten
Approved kindergarten programs develop your child's physical, social, intellectual, language and emotional abilities. ... creatively express ideas and feelings through art, dance and dramatic play. identify, explore and solve problems. develop reading, writing and numeracy skills.
“Children learn best through play because it allows them to apply everything they know and encourages them to ask questions and seek out new information and discovery.”
Math in kindergarten is all about the basics. They will learn how to count, recognize numbers up to 10 and sort objects. Using concrete props, they will learn the concepts of more and less, ordinal numbers, basic addition and subtraction, creating patterns.
Approved kindergarten programs develop your child's physical, social, intellectual, language and emotional abilities. Children will have opportunities to learn how to: use language to communicate ideas, feelings and needs. Make friends and cooperate with other children.
Kindergartners will learn to recognise, write, order, and count objects up to 30. They'll also add and subtract small numbers (add a sum of 10 or less and subtract from 10 or less). This focus on addition and subtraction will continue through second grade.