What should your rising K'er know???

[LatinLover]

About math, specifically...

 

I always planned to homeschool and was in the 'better late than early camp'; but due to life changes, DD5 will attend private K in the fall. She is reading very well, but I'm curious where she stands with math.

 

What do you expect your rising K'er to know math-wise? Counting to 'x', simple addition? I'm really not sure and could use some opinions. Also, what (if anything) should we be doing? Any good, basic programs out there? I'm just not one of those talented moms who can make math problems out of dried pasta - I need it all laid out for me so any gentle curriculum suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[MBM]

Counting to 100, simple addition and subtraction, learning to group -- are what my kids learned during kindergarden. I have attempted to follow the guidelines in the Core Knowledge Sequence book which is now available online for free.

 

http://www.coreknowledge.org/

 

We only afterschooled our youngest son, and at that age, we did very little except read this almost every night for a year--I can clearly remember parts even today! :tongue_smilie:

 

DK's My First Number Board Book

 

I also had my son help me sort things -- socks, marbles, M&Ms, etc. For example, we would count how many green, red, blue M&Ms, and then he'd eat them. Then we would count again to see how many were left. Eating snacks is a good time to learn about subtraction. Nothing spectacular. No workbooks. Only done when I had the time. My motto then was: A lot of little lessons often.

 

In second grade we began using Singapore as a supplement because I didn't like the school's math curriculum. It was easy to do, and he was never overwhelmed by it even during the school year. Ds will be in 8th grade this year and is very math-y. I give credit to Singapore and now AoPS for that.

 

HTH!

[Lovedtodeath]

 

Counting to 100, simple addition and subtraction, learning to group -- are what my kids learned during kindergarden. I have attempted to follow the guidelines in the Core Knowledge Sequence book which is now available online for free.

The key word here is during, not before. Counting and recognizing numbers to 10, orally counting to 20, and knowing shapes and colors, being able to sort objects (visual perceptual skills) are pretty much all you need Pre-K.

[JudoMom]

According "What Your Preschooler Needs to Know", to be ready for K math your child should be able to:

 

 

• Identify if objects are same or different
  
• Count from 1 to 10
  
• Complete 8-15 piece puzzles
  
• Count up to 6 things correctly
  
• Compare groups (more, less, the same)
  
• Compare size
  
• Categorize objects
  
• Continue a pattern
  
• Identify some numerals
  

 

 

I would go to Barnes & Noble and get a PreK or K math workbook to work through if you're concerned.

[LatinLover]

I feel much better after reading your responses. I wasn't *overly* concerned, but since I'm a bit of a math-phobe myself, just wanted to ask the question and make sure dd gets off on the right foot.

 

Thanks again ~