A generation ago, kindergarten introduced children to school. Today, a variety of early childhood education programs prepare children as young as 3 years old for public school attendance. Because children participate in such widely varied preschool programs, school districts often provide lists of necessary skills for the transition to kindergarten. Groups like the National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education and Scholastic agree that academic skills are just part of sound preparation.
Identification
The National School Readiness Indicators Initiative report, “Getting Ready,” lists five index areas to judge children’s preparation for kindergarten. Physical well-being and motor development indicators include general health and age-appropriate fine motor skills. In addition, children need social and emotional skills that enable them to successfully interact with peers. Children should have some experience with different approaches to learning by following instructions. Language development skills allow children to recognize the relationship between letters and spoken language. Cognition and general knowledge skills include recognition of basic shapes and some colors, numbers and letters.
History
The idea of teaching children to manipulate tools in “occupations,” or crafts, formed the basis of German educator Friedrich Froebel ‘s first kindergartens in the early 19th century. Margarethe Schurz opened a German-language kindergarten in Watertown, Wisc., in 1856, and Elizabeth Peabody began the first English-language American kindergarten in Boston in 1860. After a decrease due to lack of funding during the Great Depression, American kindergartens returned, becoming part of many public school systems.
Considerations
The emphasis of kindergarten education has varied as its educational philosophy has shifted between Froebel’s ideas and those of American educators G. Stanley Hall and John Dewey and Italian educator Maria Montessori. As pre-kindergarten education became more common in the 1980s, kindergarten programs began putting more emphasis on academic preparation, including letter and number recognition, name writing and recognizing simple words.
What Teachers Want
Basic academic knowledge and fine motor skills are important in preparing a child for kindergarten, but they are only part of the picture, according to a panel of teachers writing for "Scholastic" magazine. Enthusiasm for learning, the ability to listen and the desire to be independent are skills that parents can nurture to help children be ready. The ability to get along with other children and communicate orally are also important to successful kindergarten transition.
What Parents Can Do
The Scholastic teachers suggest several strategies for parents to help children get ready for kindergarten. First, explore and get involved with your children’s learning; visit new places and converse with them about experiences. Second, challenge them to teach you; describe experiences, ask questions and find answers together. Third, let them complete basic tasks, including personal hygiene by themselves; patient support will allow them to develop self-reliance at school. Fourth, encourage them to work with others in the family or on play dates to solve problems and complete projects; help resolve conflicts peacefully with compromise.
