Kathleen Benyo
Published: 2014-08-10
Total Pages: 42
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If you haven't had the chance yet, go online and search for your state's core curriculum. You'll find it overwhelming. I did. Find the kindergarten section and feel unprepared, as I did, for all that these little children are expected to learn.First of all, remember that these are skills the child needs to know by the end of the school year, not entering kindergarten so it's okay to take it easy and be patient with yourself and your child.Secondly, we are fortunate to have caring, clever kindergarten teachers who will pull out all the stops to ensure that children learn.Over the years, kindergarten classes became common and accepted by the population. Again, it wasn't seen as a very important part of school and so students attended for just a few hours, most of the time only two hours for a half-day. Half-day kindergarten became the norm in the United States. Later, kindergarten began taking on a new importance, which it should have. Educators and parents realized that children were ready to learn and we as a society were holding them back. All day or full day kindergarten came to be. But not without some down and dirty fighting over the concept. There were those who thought it the only intelligent decision to help our students succeed in an ever-complicated world. Others, however, thought a full day just too long for a five year old. School boards complained about the extra cost of teaching staff. In most places, full day kindergarten won out. In the same vein as kindergarten developed, so did pre-school. Way back in my day there was no pre-school; you were lucky if your neighbor could watch you while your parents worked. Pre-school grew out of the need for child care services as more and more women joined the workforce and as families became composed of two working parents. It was more of a playtime, with napping and eating in between. Now, pre-school is practically expected from children entering kindergarten. It is unusual to find children entering kindergarten who have not attended some semblance of a pre-school. Pre-school has picked up a lot of what was considered kindergarten activities. During pre-school, children learn to get along, accept diversity, and practice taking turns and exhibiting good manners. In addition, pre-school has taken over academics that once belonged to kindergarten. Children often learn how to print their name, their numbers 0-10, basic colors and shapes, how to handle a book, listening and responding to stories, and so much more. Now, in addition to finding kindergarten checklists for readiness, there are many pre-school checklists for readiness. Some pre-schools are more difficult to be accepted into than kindergarten.Because learning has been pushed down to pre-school, children who don't attend pre-school are at a definite disadvantage. If you choose to have your child not attend pre-school, I strongly advise that you pick up one of the many books on kindergarten readiness and work with your child to develop some of these skills. Otherwise, your child will have a difficult time, at least initially, which may lead to frustration.So I guess what I'm saying is that, in my opinion, pre-school is a good idea, even if it's for only two days a week. And kindergarten is a necessity.You may notice that I do not mention creating or completing worksheets and I have tried not to include websites or books that are worksheets. Since it is only you and your child working together, I'd prefer that it be as active learning as possible. Let the worksheets for when they're needed. There is a place for them in education, but they're unnecessary when it's just the two of you.I admit: I am an old-fashioned educator. In this handbook I take the new core curriculum and use my tried and true methods to help you encourage your child.