ReadyforKindergarten?
Five teacherstellyouwhatpreschoolersreallyneedfornextyear
Ifyourchild'spreschoolyearsarecomingtoanend,yourthoughtsare probablyturningtoward kindergarten.Butisyourchildreadytomoveontothe"big"school?Whatskillsdokindergarten teachersexpect theirnewstudentstohave?Tohelp answerthosequestions (andeaseyourmind), we'veaskedhighlyregardedkindergartenteachersfromaroundthecountrytosharetheirinsightson helpingyourchildgaintherightmixofkindergarten-readinessskills.
Theskillsetstheyarelookingformightsurpriseyou.Becauseofthenationalfocusonimproving educationandmeetingstandards,youmightthinkthatit'smostimportantforchildrentoenter kindergartenknowingtheirABCs,numbers,shapes,andcolors sotheycankeepupwiththecurriculum. Whileteacherswouldlove childrentocomeinwithsomeletterandnumberrecognition,theydon't wantyoutodrillyourkidsonacademicskills.Thereareequally-ifnotmore-importantreadiness skillsthatsetthestageforyourchild'slearning.Raisinganeagerlearneristhegoal,anditcanbe achievedeasilythroughplayandday-to-dayactivities.
Whatfollowsarethetopreadinessskillsthatkindergartenteacherslookfor.
EnthusiasmTowardLearning
SolidOral-Language Skills
TheAbilitytoListen
TheDesiretoBeIndependent
TheAbilitytoPlayWellwithOthers
StrongFine-MotorSkills
BasicLetterandNumberRecognition
EnthusiasmToward Learning
"Ilookforthosequalitiesthatprimechildrentobesuccessfulinschool,"saysKimHughes.Doesthe childapproachlearningenthusiastically?Issheeagertoexploreanddiscover?Doessheaskquestions, take initiative,andpersistwhentasksaredifficult?
"Parentscansetasidealittletimeeachdaytoinvestigatetheworldwiththeirpreschoolerandanswer thoseendlessquestions,"saysSandraWaite-Stupiansky.Asyoudriveorwalkalonginthepark,point outyourchild'ssurroundings-thedifferenttrees orthevariousbirdsatthefeeder.Demonstratehow thingswork."You'llhelp yourchilddevelopbeginningscience skills-theabilitytoformahypothesis,
testitout,andcomeupwithnewquestionsandtheories,"Waite-Stupianskyexplains."Themorekids notice,themorecuriousthey'llbecome.Andwe'llbebuildingonthatcuriosityinkindergarten."
SolidOral-LanguageSkills
"Childrenneedwidebackgroundknowledgeabouttheirworldandthewordstogowithit,"saysLisa Mosier."Iwanttoknowwherethey'vebeenandwhattheycantalkabout."Youcanhelpbuildlanguage skillsbytakingyourchildtomanynewplacesandgivinghimwordsanddescriptionsforwhatheis seeing.Atthezoo,explain,"There'satiger.Seehowhehasstripes andlooksdifferentfromthelion?" Mosiersaystheseexperienceshaveahugeimpactonliteracy."Ifyou'rereadingabookaboutzoo animalsanditsays'Lookatthetiger,'andyoucan'ttellthedifferencebetweenalionandatiger,then youwon'thavethebackgroundknowledgetohelpyoutackletheword.Whenchildrencometowords thattheydon'tknow,theywon'tbeabletomakeagoodguessbecauseitisn'tin theirvocabulary."
Researchshowsthatoneofthebestpredictorsoflaterreadingsuccessisawell-developedoral vocabularyinkindergarten."PreKkidsarelearningvocabularyat therateoffivetosixwordsaday," saysWaite-Stupiansky."It'sjustamazinghowtheywillretainwordsifyouusethemseveraltimesin contextandconversation."
TheAbilityto Listen
Children'sliteratureisarichresourceforexpandinglanguage."Weexpectparentstobe readingtokids everyday," saysJayneC.Isaacs."IcantellwhichchildrenhavebeengluedtotheTVorcomputerfor hoursat atime.Whenwereadthemastoryandaskthemtotellusintheirownwordswhattheyliked orremembered,they'reunabletodo so."Besides fosteringvocabularyandcomprehension,reading developstheattention skillsnecessaryinakindergartenclassroom."Listeningisakeypartofschool behavior,"Isaacsnotes.Studentsmustbeabletoconcentrateonwhattheteacherissaying,listen carefullyfordirections,andtuneintothesoundsinlettersandwords.
"Themoreanimatedyouareasyouread,thebetteryou'llfocusyourchild's attentiononwhatshe's hearing,"saysArmandoArgandona.Usedifferentvoicesforthecharacters.Promotecriticalthinkingby askingquestionslike,"Whydoyouthinkthathappened?"and"Howwouldyoufeelifthathappenedto you?"and"Whatdoyouthinkwillhappennext?"Engagekidsbyinvitingthemtoclaporstompwhen theyheararhymingword, andlettingthemfinishsentencesinfamiliarstories.Books withrhymeand repetitiverefrains(likethosebyMotherGooseandDr.Seuss)help kidspredictwhat'scomingand detectconsonantsoundsat thebeginningandendofwords,whichfostersphonemicawareness-the abilitytohearandbreakdownthesubtlesoundsinwords.Yourchildwon'tbeabletoreadtheword "cat"untilsheunderstandsthatitactuallyhasthreesounds:"cuh,""ah,"and"tuh."
Singingfosterspre-readingskillstoo."Taketurnssubstitutingnewsoundsinnurseryrhymesandsongs," suggests Mosier.Forexample,transform"TwinkleTwinkleLittleStar"to"DinkleDinkleDittleDar"or "ZippetyDooDa"to"BibbetyBooBah."
TheDesiretoBeIndependent
Encouragingself-helpskillsisanimportantsteptopreparingyourchildforkindergarten."It'samazing howmanykidscometokindergartennotknowinghowtohangupajacket,"saysArgandona.Itmightbe quickerforyoutodoit,but"independenceiscriticalforhelpingyourchildadjusttoschool,"he emphasizes.Teachersexpectchildrento:
•Getcoatsonandoffandhangthemup
•Followsimpletwo-stepinstructionssuchas"takeoffyourbootsandputonyoursneakers"
•Gotothebathroomandwashtheirhands
•Blowtheirnoseandcovertheirmouthwhentheycough
•Fastenandunfastensimplebuttonsandsnaps
•Eatneatlyandpourintoacup
•Openupajuice boxandgetthestrawin.
"Somechildrenaresodependentontheirparentsthattheyexpecttheteachertodothesethingsfor them,"saysHughes."Butwhenyouhave20-pluskidsintheroom,it'shardtoworryaboutwiping noses!"However,shenotesthattyingshoesisadevelopmentalskillthatoftendoesn'tcomeuntilthe firstgrade.Ifkidscan'tyettietheirshoes,Hughessuggestssendingtheminslip-onsorsneakerswith Velcrofasteners.
TheAbilitytoPlayWellwithOthers
Yourchildwillneedyourassistancerefiningessentialsocialskillssuchassharing,compromising,turn taking,andproblem-solving."Childrenare naturallyegocentricatthisage,andwe don'texpectthemto beabletoshareeverything,"saysWaite-Stupiansky. "Butbythetimetheyreachkindergarten,they shouldbeabletoexpresstheirfeelingsinwordsandbegintounderstandthattwopeoplecanusethe samethingatthesametime."
Ifyouandyourchildare buildingwithblocksandhereachesforoneyou'reusing,Hughessuggestsyou firstencourageyourchildtoask,"MayIhavetheblock?"Thenmodelsharingbysayingsomethinglike, "I'mgladtosharemyblockwithyou."Whenyounoticeyourchildsharingwithothers,celebrateitby saying,"I'msoproudofyou.It'sreallyhardtoshareyourfavoritedoll,butyouwereabletodoit.Good foryou!"
Onplaydatesandparkoutings,staywithinearshotsoyoucanhelpkidsproblem-solvewhenconflict occurs,Hughesrecommends.Ifyoursongetsinapowerstruggleoveratoyandcan'tseemtoworkit out,stepinandsay,"Itlookslikewe'rehavingaproblemhere.Whatcanwe doaboutit?"Encourage
himtocomeupwithpossiblesolutions,offeringyourownsuggestions,ifnecessary. "Helpkids understandthefeelingsofothers,"saysHughes."Iwantthemtoknowwhenafriendissadbylookingat herfaceandseeingthathermouthisfrowningorhereyesarecrying."Thisnurturescompassionand empathy,valuesthatareprizedbykindergartenteachers.
StrongFine-MotorSkills
Yourchild'shandsmustbestrongenoughtomastercoloring,cutting,pasting,andholdingapencil- fine-motor tasksthatkidsuseeverydayinkindergarten."Byweek one,we'realreadywritingaletterof thealphabet,"saysArgandona."Ifkidscan'tholdthepencilcorrectly,theywillfallbehind."
Toholdthepenciltherightway,kidsneedtodevelopthesmallmusclesintheirpalmsandfingers. Hughessuggestsgivingyourchildapipecleanerand someCheerios(orsimilar,colorfulcereal)tomake bracelets."Itrequiresyoutopinchwithyourfingers,"sheexplains,thesamemotionneededfor graspingapencil.Oraskyourpreschoolertomistyourhouseplantswithaspraybottle,anactivitythat boostsbothwritingandscissorskills.Scribblinginclaywithfingers isafunalternativetodoingiton paperandespeciallyhelpfulforkidswhoareresistanttowritinganddrawing.(Achildcanpractice cuttingtheclayintosmallstrips too.)
"Offerwritingutensilsinavarietyofsizesand shapes,"advisesHughes."Somepeoplethinkthatfat pencilsareeasiertohold,butthat'snotalwaystrue.Forachildwithweakhands,asmaller,shorter pencil mightbeeasiertomanage."
BasicLetterandNumberRecognition
Kindergartenteachersbelievethatitistheirresponsibilitytoteachkidslettersoundsandhowtowrite, buttheydohopeincomingstudentscanrecognizemostlettersbysight.Theyalsohopechildrencan countto10,identifynumbers1to5,andknowsomeshapesandcolors.
Butteachersdon'twantyoutoquizyourchildoruseworkbooks,flashcards,orphonicskits."Somuch learningcanhappenwithout quizzingorsittingdownwithapencil,"saysIsaacs.Thelessons unfold naturallyasyouandyourchildsortLegosbycolororshape.Yourdaughterpracticescountingasshe dolesoutpretendcookiesforthedollsinherteaparty.Yoursonbuildsletterrecognitionwhile scrambling alphabetmagnetsonthefridge.
"Everyoutingisaspontaneousopportunitytolearn,"Isaacsadds.Playguessinggameslike,"Ispywith mylittleeyesomethingwiththenumber3."
Teachby"immersion" and"showkidshowlettersareallaroundus,"says Mosier."Say,'Hey,thatspells K-Mart.Let'sspellittogether.K-M-A-R-T."'Pointoutobjects thatcontainthelettersinyourchild's name.Mostimportant,alwayskeepthefocusonfun."Relax,andenjoyyourchildren," Mosiersays."Read, play,andgoplaces.Andtalkthewholetimeyou'redoingit!"