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I have the kindy list along with that silly test they give to each child during the staggered enrollment the first two weeks of school. I tell parents not to stress too much because if they miss the "heel" or the "thigh" on the body they draw they will be discounted but ????? It is crazy...they have 20 kids there a day and they tell them "when you finish this test you can go outside with the other kids".....do you think those kids really give it their all....:I run a preschool program out of my home and I don't do worksheets.
We do hands on activities to create letters and numbers, much like another poster mentioned. I have out trays that show what we do on the table during interviews and mention how developmentally inappropriate worksheets are, how I never noticed any long term learning occurring when I did utilize them, and how research has shown time and time again that they are simply not an effective teaching method and are, in reality, the lazy way out. Parents faces are usually shocked and as they see me show them how my kids learn here they seem to have a lightbulb moment. Perhaps if you could actually show them then your potential clients would get it better.
I also keep them informed about our state's pre-k standards (20 letter names and sounds, for example) so they can monitor if their child is doing what the STATE wants them to do.
All I expect to see is progress over the course of the year. If there's no progress then I discuss it with the parent and it's usually because they are simply watching TV/playing video games at home and not actually engaging in the world or books. That "illness" clears up quickly and they start making actual progress (how fast or how slow is dependent on the child, of course) when they curb the amount they use screens.
: If the child knows every letter but one and the teacher ask about the letter the child doesn't know first, the child doesn't get any credit for the letters because they are not allowed to move on. Like I said, I warn parents about this and I get many text with a thanks after this very test! Even the teachers think it is crazy but leave it up to our state to be the crazy ASSESSMENT minded persons who like this CRAZY STUFF! :confused:
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Kindy teachers tell me that if I can teach a child to follow directions, respect others, responsibility, etc. which can be taught through play, then the teachers can teach the child. BUT if a child comes in that has NOT learned those social-emotional life skills, then the teaching can be difficult. ABC's/123's are important and my daycare kids learn those here, but they learn it all through play. If the nation takes away our ability to teach social emotional skill we will have a bunch of electronic no-emotion robotic kids running around. That is scary!
Exactly! My kids do fine going to school because they are ready to learn, not I have forced them to retain things so they can go to school...
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I've been debating this. Or not sending her at all. Kindy's not required here- wondering if I should just skip it. Also wondering if this is just public schools and I need another year to find the right place for her. It's tough- her daycare is amazing, I feel like I'm throwing her to the wolves. Thought I had done my research until that orientation.
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I held both my sons back a year and have not regretted it. They were both within 3 weeks of being 6 yrs old when they began kindergarten. Kindergarten is mandatory here!I've been debating this. Or not sending her at all. Kindy's not required here- wondering if I should just skip it. Also wondering if this is just public schools and I need another year to find the right place for her. It's tough- her daycare is amazing, I feel like I'm throwing her to the wolves. Thought I had done my research until that orientation.
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I do feel our kindy asks for them to know to much when they start. They want them to know upper and lowercase letters, be able to write first and last name, be able to recognize letters to 20, know all colors and shapes (even some of the more odd shapes that I still struggle with). But they won't not let them go to school over it. The first three days here are "assessment" days. So each child in kindy only goes one of the first three days. I don't think I knew any of the stuff starting kindy they want the kids to know now, and I went to preschool .
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I do feel our kindy asks for them to know to much when they start. They want them to know upper and lowercase letters, be able to write first and last name, be able to recognize letters to 20, know all colors and shapes (even some of the more odd shapes that I still struggle with). But they won't not let them go to school over it. The first three days here are "assessment" days. So each child in kindy only goes one of the first three days. I don't think I knew any of the stuff starting kindy they want the kids to know now, and I went to preschool .I agree....they throw in body parts here like jaw, heel, thigh....so kindy teachers have told me to work on the parts that are less talked about.....then they have to draw a picture of a person...no stick people or you get discounted for not having a neck....I see this happen every year and some mad parents to go with it...
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They didn't say anything about body parts, but they wouldn't give me "the list" because I wasn't bringing a child to kindy roundup. My set of parents with my kiddo starting kindy in the fall were supposed to give me the list to copy so I could work with him more, but didn't. So I guess I don't have to do the teaching. I am at an impass with these parents anyway. When kiddo learns something new, dad takes credit saying "I have been working so hard with him!". But mom, boy and older sister said none of them work with him at home. Dad asked me to teach him to tie shoes. And I would, except noone is doing it at home, so I have dug my heals in on this one. He also needs an assessment that they refuse to get done. This family is grating on my last nerve right now. It is like they want someone else to do everything with their kids. Oops went off on a whole other topic sorry.I agree....they throw in body parts here like jaw, heel, thigh....so kindy teachers have told me to work on the parts that are less talked about.....then they have to draw a picture of a person...no stick people or you get discounted for not having a neck....I see this happen every year and some mad parents to go with it...Comment
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I'm not understanding this "need to learn" and formal preschool.
I recently lost a barely, nonverbal, not potty trained, 2 yo because her parents "need her to learn". I mentioned to her parents that they needed to have her speech evaluated as she only grunted her wants. Their response was to put her in preschool from 6AM to 6PM daily so she could learn to talk.Comment
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I agree with this, but I wish more parents understood that their child may need more than the on site therapist can provide. My son had speech therapy in school. Looking back on it I wish I had also gotten him therapy elsewhere. He saw the therapist for 10-15 minutes twice a week. It took seven years before he was able to quit the therapy. I think had I done it elsewhere, it would have been faster and maybe better.Comment
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There are pre-k common core standards now. Kindergarten readiness. I am doing kindergarten readiness with my four year olds, and I do tell parents that. But most of the free play at my home takes care of the true needs that preschoolers need, and I just add a little bit of light weight letter and number learning to that.Comment
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4 Things Worse than Not Learning to Read in Kindergarten
"The year Sam started kindergarten, he turned 6 in October. He was one of the oldest children in his class, and he didn’t know how to read. When he started first grade he was almost 7, and he still didn’t know how to read.
Fortunately for Sam, he entered first grade in 1999. And his teachers, Mrs. Gantt and Mrs. Floyd, didn’t panic if a child didn’t learn to read in kindergarten. In fact, they expected that most children would learn to read in first grade. (They also supported and encouraged children who learned to read easily in kindergarten, like Sam’s brother Ben.)
If Sam had started first grade this year, however, he probably would have been labelled as “slow” or “behind.” Because the new standard is that children should learn to read in kindergarten. Even though most educators know that many children aren’t ready to learn to read until first grade.
Even though countries like Finland educate kindergarteners by allowing them to play, not teaching them to academic skills. And even though the new standard causes teachers, parents and even children themselves to worry that something is “wrong” if children aren’t reading when they arrive in the first grade classroom.
But guess what? Sam wasn’t “slow” or “behind,” and neither are most of the other children who don’t read in kindergarten. Sam became a fair reader by the end of first grade, and a good reader by third grade. By the time he reached high school he was an honors student. And last weekend, he graduated from college - with a 3.93 grade point average.
So what happens when education standards require that children like Sam learn to read in kindergarten and that teachers like Mrs. Gantt and Mrs. Floyd had better make it happen? Many educators say the result is ineffective and counterproductive classroom practices. Which means that many children actually learn and retain less than they would in a developmentally-appropriate kindergarten classroom.
So here’s my advice. (You can take it with a grain of salt if you like, because I’m not a teacher. But I am Sam’s mom.) If your son or daughter doesn’t learn to read in kindergarten, relax. Because many, many things are worse than not learning to read in kindergarten. Here are four of them:
Limited time for creative play. Young children learn by playing. They learn by digging and dancing and building and knocking things down, not by filling out piles of worksheets. And they learn by interacting with other children, solving problems, sharing and cooperating, not by drilling phonics. Mrs. Gantt and Mrs. Floyd created fabulous centers and units that allowed children to learn about everything from houses to trucks to pets to oceans. And they snuck in some reading and math skills that the children didn’t even notice, because they were so busy playing and creating!
Teachers today, however, often have to limit (or even eliminate) time for centers and units, because the academic requirements they are forced to meet don’t allow time for creative learning.
Limited physical activity. Few things are more counterproductive than limiting recess and other types of physical play time for children. Children learn better when they move. Parents and teachers know this intuitively, but research also confirms it.
Children who have more opportunities to run around and play have better thinking skills and increased brain activity. And don’t assume that young children are naturally active and are getting all of the exercise they need; researchers have found that children as young as three and four are surprisingly inactive. Yet many schools are limiting or even eliminating recess, even for very young children.
Teaching that focuses on standards and testing. Teachers are increasingly under pressure to prepare their students to perform on standardized tests. This means that their focus is shifting from teaching children in ways that match their development and learning styles to “teaching to the test.”
As one teacher reported, “I have watched as my job requirements swung away from a focus on children, their individual learning styles, emotional needs, and their individual families, interests and strengths to a focus on testing, assessing and scoring young children...” This shift in focus means that teachers have less time to nurture and develop children as lifelong learners, because they’re required to focus their efforts on standards that are unrealistic for many children.
Frustration and a sense of failure. Children know when they aren’t meeting the expectations of teachers and other adults. What they don’t know, however, is that those expectations often make no sense. And because they don’t know that, they experience frustration and a sense of failure when they don’t measure up.
So the boy who thrived in his experiential preschool, but struggles in his academic -focused kindergarten may become frustrated to the point that he “hates school.” And the girl who can’t sit still for 30 minutes and fill out worksheets knows that she’s disappointing her teacher, but doesn’t know that the task isn’t appropriate for her. Which means that many normal children are becoming frustrated - and are being labelled - by an entirely unrealistic system.
As one report has bluntly stated, “Most children are eager to meet high expectations, but their tools and skills as learners as well as their enthusiasm for learning suffer when the demands are inappropriate.”
If your child is in kindergarten or first grade and hasn’t yet learned to read, don’t panic. Talk with his or her doctor about any concerns you have, but recognize that he or she is probably developing normally. If your child’s school is pushing academics in kindergarten in place of play-based learning, talk with the teacher. Chances are, she’s frustrated and under enormous pressure to get her students ready to “perform.”
If you’re stuck with a kindergarten curriculum that seems unrealistic to you and doesn’t fit your child (and assuming that changing schools is not an option), let your child know that you’re not worried about reading in kindergarten (or even early in first grade). Talk about people who learned to read later (like Sam!) and are doing just fine.
Then do things that promote real learning, like reading books he or she enjoys, playing games, teaching useful skills and getting outside as often as possible to have fun, be active and learn together"Comment
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