Preschool for Parents

Continued From TSI E-Newsletter #3

Parents often ask us what makes a great kindergarten program. In our book "Preschool for Parents" we devoted a chapter to this topic. The article that follows is a summary of what we said--and strongly believe.

What Kindergarten Should Be Like

Children in kindergarten generally range in age from four-and-a-half-year-olds to six-year-olds. At this age, they are closer in their development to preschoolers than they are to primary grade children. Therefore, a good kindergarten program should look more like a good preschool than like first grade. Organizations like the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) clearly support this idea. In their book, "Kindergarten Policies: What Is Best for Children?" NAEYC makes a strong statement.

"A great deal of quite conclusive research over half a century tells us that kindergarten-aged children still think like younger children; they think differently, see the world differently, act differently, and have different skills than children of 7 or 8... The kindergarten year is one more important year in a child's lengthy process of growing up. It is not developmentally helpful, or in the long run a success, to push and rush children through it."

A good kindergarten program strengthens children's social, emotional, and physical skills, while providing varied opportunities for children to explore reading and writing, discover mathematical relationships, do what scientists do, find out about the world, and create through the arts. In this type of kindergarten, children talk with each other, explore materials, solve problems together, and in general, are deeply involved in and excited by their work. Because it's kindergarten, not preschool, there should be focused time spent on early reading and writing, mathematical thinking, and long-term studies. Here are some things to look for:

Meeting times: Expect the schedule to include several times during the day for the whole group to gather for discussions about a topic the class is studying, resolve a problem in the classroom, participate in a lesson planned by the teacher, and share work they have completed.

Work times: Look for one or two planned periods--depending on the length of the kindergarten day--for focused work on reading and writing or math tasks. These work times might center around a math task such as making and repeating patterns, sorting and classifying objects and comparing them on a graph, writing and drawing in personal journals, finding words that sound alike in a poem, or looking at books. Children should have opportunities to work in small groups or individually, sometimes with a teacher and sometimes independently. During a meeting time, the teacher may encourage children to present their work to the whole class.

Long-term studies: Look for evidence of long-term projects. By the time they are in kindergarten, children are ready to explore topics in science and social studies in some depth, perhaps for several weeks or even months. The topics should enable children to be first-hand researchers and explorers studying the here and now, not the long ago and far away.

The focused time children spend on tasks and extended studies of topics that interest them makes kindergarten a bridge between preschool and elementary school.

Readiness for Kindergarten

Another question parents often ask is how to decide if a child is ready for kindergarten. Of course it depends in part on whether the program makes unreasonable academic demands (for example, extended seat work with pencil and paper) or whether it is designed as we described above. With a developmentally appropriate kindergarten program we encourage parents to talk with their child's preschool teacher. Together, they can assess whether the child:

• has the verbal skills to communicate ideas, engage in conversations, and respond to questions
• is curious, is eager to explore, asks questions, and seeks answers
• can make friends, relates to others in positive ways, and cooperates
• can control impulses and postpone gratification
• recognizes emotions in others and shows empathy
• is an active learner, able to sustain play and complete tasks

Using these measures, parents can judge whether their child is ready to move on from preschool to a high-quality kindergarten program. If the child is already reading, an appropriate kindergarten program should provide enriching activities that extend the child's experience and skills. On the other hand, a child may not recognize all the letters of the alphabet or count accurately to twenty, but he or she may have good physical coordination and the strong social skills needed to thrive in a developmentally appropriate kindergarten program. Parents shouldn't be persuaded to keep a child out of kindergarten based on what he or she doesn't yet know.

Would you like to read more? You can read Chapters 3 and 12 of this book online.

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