Kindergarten Readiness

[Karly]

For those of you with older kids, or kids already enrolled in Kindergarten, what are some of the things your child needed to know to be accepted in? In the shoe lacing thread, a lot of people mentioned being tested for that skill in K. Are there other things they are supposed to know, besides that?

[Kara]

I have a list somewhere, I will try to find it..

Shoe tying is not on our list..

Recognize 1-10
Recognize upper and lowercase alphabet ( I think)
Name Colors
Write first and last name
Recognize shapes
Know address

I will try to find that list for you!

[Jayne]

We have some guides on the website

It is labeled "Successful Children

Successful Children....

GET ALONG WITH OTHERS; they are polite, fair, and well-mannered
EXPLORE new ideas and things
USE NEW WORDS, learn from people, experiences, books, and pictures
ARE SAFE; they play and work cooperatively
SHARE things like toys, games, and pictures
EXPRESS SELF with words, music, and pictures
LISTEN to stories, directions, and to others
SPOT DIFFERENCES in color, sizes, shapes, and sounds
CARE FOR SELF by going to the bathroom alone, hanging up clothes, and picking up toys
PLAY FAIR, follow rules, and take turns
PREPARE FOR SCHOLASTIC SUCCESS by looking at books and by learning how to use them
ARE CONFIDENT, leave parents easily and enjoy interacting with others
They also have a "Help your child learn section



HELP YOUR CHILD TO LEARN




… to use the bathroom


… to wash as needed
… to dress
… to tie shoes
… to use a handkerchief
… to put on boots and coat
… to button
… to be responsible in carrying out simple tasks such as picking up toys when finished playing
… to walk up and down the stairs unassisted
… to talk so as to express needs and wants, instead of pointing or crying for them
… to listen quietly to a short story, and to sit reasonably quiet for periods of ten minutes or longer
… to adjust – feel secure in a situation away from parents
… to enjoy using crayons



TEACH YOUR CHILD










… to eat many different foods


… to feed himself
… to tell his full name, address and telephone number
… to be on time
… to get to school by himself, either to walk or ride the bus
… to play reasonably well with other children of the same age









BE READY
… to judge your child by what he is able to do, NOT by what another child does
… to keep she/he home if sick
… to see that he/she gets 10 to 12 hours of sleep each night
… to inform the teacher of any unusual health condition






REMEMBER


… to take them places with you


… to talk with them about his experiences
… to take them to the library
… to read to them and let them predict outcomes
… to explain new words
… to be consistent in the behavior you require- not easy one time and strict the next
… to praise good behavior
… to punish only when necessary and not when you are angry; explain why he/she is being punished
… to put his/her name on belongings
… don’t criticize her/him in front of others
… don’t criticize the school or teacher when your child is there – if you have a concern, call his/her teacher to set up an appointment for a conference

[Dennis]

I registered Joe for our local school's kindergarten the other day and they don't have any readiness checklist or anything. The only thing they look at is if the kids turn 5 by the cutoff date.

Dennis

[Kara]

I registered Joe for our local school's kindergarten the other day and they don't have any readiness checklist or anything. The only thing they look at is if the kids turn 5 by the cutoff date.

Dennis

Our school has a screening that they do in April to not only check age but also readiness. But I know all schools don't do that.

[Jayne]

I am not sure when our screening is but I do know they do them!

[Mary DK]

No screening in Eliot's school either just cut off date.

[Alyssa]

Aidan is in private K now and the only requirement was date. He's going to K again next year, but I have no idea where (can we say stress?) or if they will have a list.

[Jillian]

Our kindergarten's here do not require any skills.

[Nocona]

Our school district has kindergarten info nights and I asked about what they need to know (I had to know my address, phone number and how to tie my shoes). She said absolutely nothing. They do like them to be able to recognize their names, but that's all.

The school district does kindergarten readiness evaluations (Matthew's is going to be next week with our Parents as Teachers educator). He also had one at school last week. The looked for all kinds of things including scissor usage, writing, address, phone number, letters, numbers, shapes, colors. He did really well on everything except he messed something up in our address and phone number and he knows both of those. I guess he was nervous :dunno: They also said he needs to work on his writing skills as he will not hold the pencil the correct way. We're working on that :aok:

[magoo]

We have Junior Kindergarten (not mandatory) so most of our kids start the year that they turn 4. There are no requirements, but they do make the following suggestions to help your child prepare:

How can I prepare my child for kindergarten?

Help make your child more independent by practicing routine tasks including:


getting dressed - putting on coat, boots and shoes;
using the washroom - flushing toilet and washing hands;
organizing belongings and putting them in an appropriate place;
knowing their first and last name;
giving your child opportunities to make decisions and problem solve - choosing clothes to wear, pouring juice, cleaning up spills, sorting and putting away toys;
following regular bedtime and morning routines;
eating properly and recognizing healthy snacks.
Support language development by:


reading to your child regularly;
talking with your child about things, experiences and events;
creating situations that encourage dramatic play such as dress-up, puppets;
going to the library and choosing books together;
creating and making picture books together;
providing crayons, pencils, markers, paper and encouraging discussion about their creations.
Support thinking, learning and curiosity by:


cooking together to encourage counting, measuring, and sequencing of steps;
playing simple card and board games to encourage counting and problem solving;
going to the supermarket and encouraging your child to note signs, labels and numbers;
taking trips to the zoo, to the park, to a museum, etc., to extend your child's knowledge of the world.
How can I help my child adjust to school?


It is a natural for children to be excited and somewhat anxious about starting school. Help your child prepare for the big day by:


being positive about school, stressing opportunities to make new friends, to learn and to have fun;
letting your child know that it is okay to feel uncertain about starting school and that even adults get anxious about new things;
practicing getting ready for school during the week prior to the actual start date;
walking to school or driving the bus route so that your child will recognize familiar landmarks and feel more familiar with the surroundings;
reviewing basic safety rules and discussing arrival and dismissal routines. Make sure that your child knows that there will be an adult available at all times;
practicing recognizing and organizing personal belongings. If possible, label all clothing and belongings with your child's name;
helping your child learn the name of the school and of the teacher;
marking a calendar with the dates of the conference and orientation visits. Have fun counting the days till the dates of these special visits arrive;
celebrating your child's first day of school. Preparing a favourite meal and talking about events that happened at school. Ask questions that require more than one word answers, e.g. Tell me about a centre you pled at today. Tell me about what you did there.

[magoo]

I'll also add that prior to starting in Sept., they have a 20 min. session with parents and their teacher. At that point, I think the teacher has them do certain tasks so that they can guage where the child's development is at. It is by no means a test that will determine if they admitted or not. That is based solely on age.

[Karri]

No readiness testing here, either. You only have to be age 4 for k-4 by Sept 1 and age 5 for k-5 by Sept 1. When we registered Aidan last Feb for school this year, they did give us a list of "suggested things" that we work on to ready him for school, but it was by no means mandatory.
Kindergarten here is not mandatory, though, so that may come into play. Its just to ready the kids for primary school.

[Clare]

No requirements here either. It's just an age cutoff. They need to be 5 by June30. Harry's teacher did an individual assessment of each child the other day (in the 2nd week of school), I guess that's to give her an idea on where they are all at.

[Kimberly]

The only requirement we have here is an age cutoff. Public schools can give readiness tests, but typically it is so they can place the children into K classes and not group all of one ability into one class. I know that in my district we are not allowed to turn away anyone - ready or not.

[DarcyT]

I've never heard of tying shoes being on a Kindergarten readiness list. :dunno: I have heard that the child needs to be able to detach from the parent easily, go with strangers (ie. a new teacher all day long) easily and know how to potty alone and dress themselves.

Academically, in my children's school they had to know the basics like 1-10, the alphabet, how to write their name and how to spot their name already written, and they had to show social/emotional readiness as well.

I think most people think children have to know a lot more to start Kindergarten these days. While I'm sure most schools would LIKE for kids to know more they certainly will accept them and teach them through the year on most things.

In our area they assess children for K but they don't tell you whether you can or can not enroll them. As long as they meet the cut-off date for age you can enroll them.

[Kara]

I'll also add that prior to starting in Sept., they have a 20 min. session with parents and their teacher. At that point, I think the teacher has them do certain tasks so that they can guage where the child's development is at. It is by no means a test that will determine if they admitted or not. That is based solely on age.

I think our screening is similar to your 20 minute session. I think its just to get an overall sense of where the child is..
And our kindergarten moves so quickly, that its more like 1st grade now than kindergarten. Obviously if your child makes the cut off, they can't tell you no, I think the screening is to get an idea of where they are at academic wise. Its hard to get behind before school even starts. My hope is that Austin is a bit older he will have a bit easier time with it than Josh did.

[~Deborah~]

ditto to what Sarah said :)

[laurie]

Ours has readiness testing and we are also told by our preschool teachers what they are going to expect in kindergarten. I thought it was a lot these days! I can't remember everything (we got a list) but along w/the writing name, upper and lower case letters AND all their sounds, colors, counting to 20 was AT LEAST 20 sight words! Good grief! Our preschool prepares them very well for what's coming and tells us they will be reading in kindergarten and doing something similar to a small "book report" by the time they reach first grade. :wow:

[MrsPeacefrog]

I am enrolling Aiden in the next few months for Kindergarten and I do know that the first thing they look at is age cut off, but then each child has to meet with the principal. The receptionist I spoke to said it was to mainly discuss the child needs and to meet the child :dunno:

I feel sorry for the kids that have to write their first and last names, know their address and phone numbers! YIKES. I haven't tought Aiden our address because I feel he doesn't need to be blabbing it out to anyone who will listen to him :errr: Also I would hate to see these poor kids with last names that are over 10 letters long :giggle:

[Clare]

I am enrolling Aiden in the next few months for Kindergarten and I do know that the first thing they look at is age cut off, but then each child has to meet with the principal. The receptionist I spoke to said it was to mainly discuss the child needs and to meet the child :dunno:



We have an interview with the Principal too but it doesn't really mean anything. If it was to check if they are ready for kindergarten then half the kids in the school wouldn't be there! :shuffle:

[MrsPeacefrog]

Ha! that's what I thought!

[magoo]

If it was to check if they are ready for kindergarten then half the kids in the school wouldn't be there! :shuffle:
Well, that's kind of what I was thinking. I can't imagine actually requiring that they know colours or shapes, or what have you. Would they just not accept ESL students? What about kids who are neglected and don't have anyone sit and read to them and help them learn these things?

I always thought that the whole point of kindergarten was to take all of the kids and get them on the same playing field as much as possible. To make sure that they've learned all of that stuff, as well as the other non-academic stuff (like relating to peers, how to line up, taking turns, being used to routine, etc.)

[Kara]

Well, that's kind of what I was thinking. I can't imagine actually requiring that they know colours or shapes, or what have you. Would they just not accept ESL students? What about kids who are neglected and don't have anyone sit and read to them and help them learn these things?

I always thought that the whole point of kindergarten was to take all of the kids and get them on the same playing field as much as possible. To make sure that they've learned all of that stuff, as well as the other non-academic stuff (like relating to peers, how to line up, taking turns, being used to routine, etc.)

I think it used to be...Now kindergarten seems to be alot more and alot harder. When my oldest went it was still only half day. Austin will go all day as most are changing to.
But I think they need to know which of those kids don't get that at home so they can accurately place them in the classes? I know for our schools they try to tier them and have the same number upper level students as well as mid and lower.

[Mary DK]

Ours has readiness testing and we are also told by our preschool teachers what they are going to expect in kindergarten. I thought it was a lot these days! I can't remember everything (we got a list) but along w/the writing name, upper and lower case letters AND all their sounds, colors, counting to 20 was AT LEAST 20 sight words! Good grief! Our preschool prepares them very well for what's coming and tells us they will be reading in kindergarten and doing something similar to a small "book report" by the time they reach first grade. :wow:
That is a lot, it used to be that kindergarten was where you learned all that but now their academic agenda is crazy!
Eliot's school didn't test, there is different levels in his class & his teacher is aware of where each kid is, she does a great job :nod:

[TtownAnne]

Caroline has her screening for kindergarten on Tuesday, they said to expect it to take an hour to an hour and a half!

[Mary DK]

An hour or an hour and a half? :woa:

[Brooke]

There isn't any screening for Kindergarten in the public school system in our county. As long as the child meets the age requirement, then they get in.

However, if your child doesn't meet the age cut-off, then they have to take a test to get in to Kind. One of the kids in Rebekah's preschool class has to take the test to get into kindergarten and his mom was told it was a hard test and it will include questions like "Who was the first president of the United States?" One question shows 3 drawings of the sun at different times of the day and the child has to pick which shows the sun at 2:00pm.

[Jayne]

Brooke, that is crazy. I don't know that Tylor could tell me the sun question and he is finishing 5th grade.