scheduling

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Home : 2004 : January : 14

scheduling
By ck

Is your son in a preschool program? If he isn't, going to preschool 2 or 3 days a week will help him get used to the idea of going to school & help him develop skills. Your local preschools should be able to let you know
what the Kindergarten expectations are in your area/school district. Some districts may also have a parent checklist that they make available to answer "Is my Child Ready for Kindergarten?" type of questions. I've worked in 2 districts and the entering Kindergarten expectations were different in both, with one expecting more because most of the families sent their children to preschool

but my current district expects less because the lower socio-economic status prevents families from sending children to preschool.
Usually the academic expectations would include some color, letter, number and shape recognition, rote counting, counting with 1 to 1 correspondence to maybe at least 5 or 10. One district expected a child to be able to sing the ABC song. Letter recognition can start with knowing the letters in his name & recognizing his printed name. Social expectations may include the ability to follow directions & rules, sharing, and waiting turns. Fine motor skills may include scissor skills and a basic, functional tri-pod pencil grasp as well as basic coloring. Large motor skills may include walking up & down stairs unaided by adult, hopping w/2 feet and on 1 foot several times in a row. Your son's kindergarten teacher will thank you for teaching him how to dress and undress (jackets, boots, shoes, etc.), hang up his coat, etc., clean up after himself (put away toys), and especially being able to "self toilet" which includes snapping pants, etc.