Dear Teacher: Is My Child Ready For Kindergarten?

Question: Soon, I will need to decide whether or not to send my young son to kindergarten in the fall. I am hesitating because he just made the age cut-off date. What will the kindergarten teacher expect of my child? - Uncertain

Answer:

The final decision is yours. However, your child’s preschool teacher (if enrolled) should be able to give you valuable insight on his readiness level. There are two other considerations. One is your child’s age. Generally speaking, older children in a class typically do better in the primary grades; however, this advantage does usually disappear as children move on to higher grades. The second consideration is the opposite. Young children can change rapidly. The child who is not ready in April, may be more than ready for kindergarten in August.

The Department of Education’s Office of Communication and Outreach has the following list of expectations of what your child’s kindergarten teacher will expect of them. However, this list should not be the sole determinate of when you enroll your child in kindergarten. The Department of Education will also have information describing the kindergarten curriculum, which varies based on your state. This should play into your decision, including the fact that boys are not always as ready for school as girls.

Although teachers’ expectations vary, here are some social skills and behaviors generally expected of children entering kindergarten:

Children should be able to follow school and classroom rules.
Children should be able to listen attentively and follow instructions.
Children should be able to concentrate and finish a task.
Children should show self-control.
Children should respect the property of others, share, and take turns.
Children should do as much for themselves as possible, such as taking care of their personal belongings, going to the toilet, washing their hands, and taking care of and putting away materials.

The academic skills and knowledge expected of kindergarten children will depend on the type of curriculum mandated by your state, and the standards children are expected to meet by the end of the school year. Here are some academic achievements that are commonly expected for students entering kindergarten. Expect your child to have most of these achievements, but all of them are not necessary. You can always work with him on acquiring missing skills before the start of school as you can begin right now.

Children can recognize and name alphabet letters.
Children can recognize print they often see such as their own name, as well as various logos and signs.
Children understand that words in books convey meaning, are able to recognize the parts of books, and know that words run from left to right across the page, and from top to bottom.
Children notice and can work with the sounds of spoken language, for example through rhyming, and can recognize when a series of words begin with the same sound.
Children use spoken language to express their thoughts and ideas, tell a story about an experience, and learn about themselves and their environment.
Children produce circles, lines, scribbles, and letters as part of their early writing.
Children are able to recognize numbers and understand that numbers tell us about quantity, order, and measurement.
Children can recognize, name, and manipulate basic shapes, and understand that shapes can be transformed into other shapes.
Children know how to hold and look at a book and are beginning to learn to read.

Parents should send questions and comments to dearteacher@dearteacher.com. To learn more about helping children succeed in school, visit the Dear Teacher website.