What to know before Kindergarten?

[camyblue7]

Hi!

 

I was just curious as to what your child knew before Kindergarten? Could they read? Complete simple addition and subtraction problems? I went to Parents night the other day at the charter school where my son will be starting Kindergarten in August and they are a lot more academically inclined than the preschool he is currently attending. According to his preschool teachers children are only required to recognize 20 letters and be able to count to 20 before going to Kindergarten in my state but the school he will be attending seems like they will be quickly progressing through math and reading and I do not want him behind right off the bat! Currently he knows his alphabet and can count to 20 and can recognize his name and most letters but that is it. I feel like I should be doing more for him especially as he as asked me to teach him to read and he is trying to do simple math problems on his own. He is also very creative and wants to create a robot ( working one - not happy just drawing one) and he loves science experiments, and learning about our world ( geography, volcanoes ) etc. I feel like I should encourage this since he is so interested but I have no idea where to start!

 

So I guess I really have three questions...what SHOULD he know before Kindergarten?? and do you have any ideas on curriculums or activities to help him start to read, start simple math problems, science activities, how to start teaching geography, etc??? Or should I not attempt to encourage more independent learning so he isn't ahead when he starts Kindergarten? ( this seems completely wrong to me to not encourage learning  but I was one that was always ahead in school and would just read  while everyone else did their assigned work)

 

Note: He is super creative. Loves hands on activities but not so much into worksheets or flash cards.

 

Any help would be appreciated!

[vonfirmath]

It REALLY depends on the school they went to. Our kids go to public school and takes every child, no matter where they are at.

 

My son was fairly far advanced (could read Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat books in one sitting, had already figured out addition and subtraction and skip counting, etc.)

 

My daughter was farther behind. Count to 100, knew the alphabet and sounds, etc. But some kids do not even all know their letters yet.

 

One really useful thing to know in K is how to write their own name (Or at least a nickname). Because they have to do it on every paper from the beginning.

[mom2bee]

Since he is interested in learning to read and asking you, I would begin to teach him. I use, love and highly recommend The Reading Lesson. and you can sample the first 3 chapters of the book on the authors website.

 

They sell other products, but I only have The Reading Lesson and it's usually enough to get a child up and reading. I also like to use the Sight Words By Sound

chart, but whether or not I'll use those Sight Words by Sound and how I use it varies by child. I can give you tons of ideas about that if you like.

 

Begin Buddy Reading with him everyday once he completes the first 5 chapters of TRL (or before, if he's eager) and get an older set of 1st grade reading anthologies such as Reading by Houghton Mifflin or Journeys. Make time to read each day and just go at whatever pace he goes at. Get nonfiction readers according to his interest from the library and read those with him to build his knowledge base.

 

Continue to read to him from books that are above his level, but that interest him. So read to him about robots and machines and such.

 

 

As for math, I wouldn't press it too hard, but to get him started I would get some counters and play counting games with him. If he shows a strong interest in math, then I would begin to teach him math more consistently, but he's got an interest in reading already so I would indulge that fully.

[wendyroo]

I don't think there is any harm in gently starting some phonics, but I would not jump straight there.  I see too many cases of parents skipping past "pre-phonics", and trying to introduce blending to kids who don't yet have enough practice with phonemic awareness.  The kids struggle and get frustrated, and before long they rebel against reading and phonics in general.

 

Instead, I would make sure he has a firm mastery of the phonemic awareness skills.  Does he know the primary sounds all the letters make?  Can he reliably tell you what letter a spoken word begins with?  What about what letter it ends with?  Can he pinpoint any letters in the middle?  Can he recognize rhyming words?  Can he produce rhyming words?  Can he orally split a word into phonemes (bat = /b/ + /a/ + /t/)?  It you say a word split into chunks, can he blend them back into a word (/f/ + /i/ + /sh/ = fish)?

 

Only once I had ensured that he had those skill down pat would I proceed to slowly introduce blending...keeping in mind that he might not be ready developmentally, and that if that is the case, nothing but time will help.

 

As for math, of course I would count with him and add with him and talk about shapes and patterns and attributes, but I would not start a formal curriculum.  Same with all the other subjects.  I would read, read, read to him.  I would do puzzles and play games and go on outings.  I would not buy curriculum in order to get him ready for kindergarten.

 

Wendy

[amymarie3]

Spend time focusing on the alphabet and number sense. Play games where you add beads together and do patterns.   My kids learned a lot from watching shows like Word World and Leap Frog videos.  Keep it all fun.  Try to instill a love of learning instead detesting rote practice.

 

One thing that I learned is to not try to push the academics that the school will be teaching.   While my boys love math I backed down on doing math at home and instead focus on things like science and history which our school is really bad about. 

 

My boys ended up quite a bit further ahead in reading and math than where their classmates are at and are now bored in first grade and "hate" school.   I stopped all enrichment in those subjects at home and instead focus on other stuff.   

 

I wouldn't worry about him being behind.  You are obviously a parent involved in your sons education, or you wouldn't be here, so he will already have a leg up :)

 

[camyblue7]

Thank you everyone! You guys have helped calm my panic :) I know the school he will be attending doesn't do much with geography, history or foreign languages so I want to afterschool in those subjects once he starts Kindergarten.

 

In the mean time he has not mastered phonemic awareness yet and I didn't even think about it so I think we will focus on that.  Are there phonics activities you guys would recommend or specific board games? I will look at TRL too thank you!

 

 

[ReadingMama1214]

It varies greatly. Out public school recommend knowing how to count to 20, recognizing numbers to 20, knowing the letters, writing their name, and similar skills. Very basic.

 

My dd will attend a Spanish immersion school. So essentially she goes in as a blank slate. She can count some in Spanish, but not very high. She can read in English, but has no idea of Spanish phonics. She can do basic addition and subtraction, but not in Spanish. So her English skills are grade levels ahead of her Spanish skills.

 

check out the app Teach Your Monster to Read. There's a free computer version but the iPad app is only $5 and well worth the money.

[camyblue7]

I will look into that! Thank you! I wonder if they have a Kindle version? I wish they had an immersion school closer to us but ours is over an hour away :(

[MistyMountain]

Before kindergarten I like to minimally work on phonemic awareness like hearing rhyme, the beginning and end sounds etc if that is not down yet. I like to do skip counting by 10s and counting to 100 if counting to 20 is down. You can also work on number sense like being able to look at numbers and know what they are with ten frames or an abacus grouped by 5s Cuisenaire rods etc and knowing numbers are made of smaller numbers in them then branch into addition and subtraction from there.

Edited January 24, 2017 by MistyMountain

[Tanaqui]

I've read studies that indicate a few things contrary to the general trend right now towards increased academics in kindy, with conclusions like:

 

1. If we delay teaching kids to read until six or seven, they read at the same level at ten as their peers who learned in kindy.

 

2. Every 15 minutes of playtime outside increases on-task attention by an hour.

 

3. Students who do intensive, inquiry-based science and arts in kindergarten do better on reading in first grade than those who were taught intensive phonics.

 

4. In general, play-based programs have better outcomes years down the line.

 

5. Homework is essentially useless.

 

6. Kids need more sleep. Like, whoa.

 

So, to answer your question about what kids should know before kindergarten - I'd say your kid should be working on basic social skills like turn-taking and patience. (Board or card games can help a lot with that, and some can double-up as math skills practice). He should be developing the proper pencil grip. (Play with tweezers or playdough, putting coins into piggy banks, lacing beads onto a string, doing simple folding and cutting will help with this.) He should be practicing - but not necessarily mastering - phonemic awareness. (Singing, saying nursery rhymes, playing games like "I'm thinking of a word that rhymes with cat" or "I'm going on a trip and only bringing things that start with f-f-f" or "Does this sound come at the beginning or end of the word?", playing jump rope with the rhymes, jumping or clapping out syllables, these will all help in this endeavor.)  He should be learning to count and sort items. He should be read to for 20 minutes every day, fun books. He should be baking cookies and helping in the kitchen, and learning to do a few simple chores.

 

Don't overthink it :)

[ReadingMama1214]

I will look into that! Thank you! I wonder if they have a Kindle version? I wish they had an immersion school closer to us but ours is over an hour away :(

I'm not sure. The computer version is free and my daughter just now got the hang of my laptops track pad and can play there.

[Guest]

Read to him...and not just stories, include rhymes, childrens newslaper page, highlights magazine, and nonfiction. Tell stories and have him tell you stories.

Teach him to be observant by getting out in to nature. Have him help with chores such as table setting and folding napkins and towels. Enjoy trike rides and playground and hiking And tag.

[SKL]

When my kids were 4, I would ask math questions based on things we were seeing around us at the time.  For example, "if two branches each had 3 leaves, how many leaves is that all together?"  "I see 4 strings of 3 lights each.  How many lights is that all together?"  If I had it to do over, I would also have them play with math manipulatives on a regular basis, and do some traditional games that use math concepts such as rolling dice / comparing the value of playing cards etc.  Since your child likes projects, activities such as cooking from recipes or planned building projects might be a good way to play with math concepts.

 

The thing that helped most with reading was my reading aloud to them, but I also sat with them and studied the phonic elements of common words.  Another thing that helped launch them in reading was a sort of "I read to you, you read to me" repetition, where the kid heard and followed along with the story enough times that she could read it back.

 

Reading clicked with one of my kids shortly after her 4th birthday, without a lot of effort on my part.  The other kid needed a lot of repetition and didn't begin to read until around her 5th birthday, when she was already in KG.  However, in 1st grade, the curriculum began back at a very basic level.  So I don't think there would have been a problem with kids not being readers at the end of KG, let alone the beginning, provided they were "ready" to read.

[Guest]

Definitely agree on board and card games.

Slap jack, go fish, crazy eights, and war with playing cards

Checkers, connect four, mille bornes, dominoes, darts, marble arches, amazing labrynth, lego for math skills

[Renai]

I will look into that! Thank you! I wonder if they have a Kindle version? I wish they had an immersion school closer to us but ours is over an hour away :(

 

Yes, there is a Kindle version.