Kindergarten eases children into elementary school's structured environment and teaches them the academic and social skills they'll need for later academic success. A Harvard University study found children who performed well in kindergarten matured into adults who earned more than peers with average academic scores and were more likely to attend college. You can help your child prepare for kindergarten by reading and playing with her and engaging her natural sense of curiosity to foster a love of learning.
What Kids Should Know Before Entering Kindergarten
Age is just one factor for gauging your child's readiness for kindergarten. Your child should have the social skills to share with other children and engage in group activities with his classmates, and his attention span should be long enough for him to follow a story and comply with simple instructions. Your child's motor skills should be refined enough for him to be able to hold a crayon and use safety scissors. Some teachers expect students to recognize numbers and letters, and be able to print their names. Preschool can offer valuable preparation for your child by exposing them to a social and academic environment that eases his transition into a full-day kindergarten class.
Academics
During kindergarten, academics focus on developing children's basic reasoning skills and ability to make connections, along with building the necessary core knowledge for first grade. Children learn individual letters and numbers, sound out basic words and write letters and numbers. Teachers focus children's early forays into math on counting and learning simple addition and subtraction through activities using blocks and other objects. Science lessons focus on types of animals, weather and other familiar concepts to children, and teachers will introduce children to other nations and cultures by describing how children in other parts of the world live.
Social Skills
Schools place as much emphasis on children's social development as academic progress during kindergarten. Teachers work on building students' self-esteem nurturing a confidence in ability to understand the new concepts they're expose to. Children also begin to learn get along with peers and under the guidance of the teacher, begin to discover share and meet other people halfway. Children usually make considerable progress in exercising self-control during kindergarten, as they learn to contend with a structured environment with rules away from home. While outbursts are inevitable, teachers guide children into learning appropriate behavior and impulse control, preparing them for first grade's more rigorous environment.
Learning Through Play
The Saskatchewan Department of Education indicates that kindergartners gain the most knowledge through manipulating objects and direct experience with the world around them. Kindergartners' play helps develop their imaginations, abilities to make connections and to vicariously experience the adult world as they pretend to be firefighters, doctors and other professionals. Kindergarten provides a safe environment where children can explore their interests during self-directed play and gain exposure to new ideas and knowledge during guided group activities.
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