The first day of kindergarten is typically loaded with hurdles for just about everyone.
For starters, the child is thrown into an unfamiliar environment full of strange grown-ups who show a curious penchant for decorating bulletin boards.
Then, parents are confronted with all the angst that comes with relinquishing their little one to an institution that they hope will start that child down a path of intellectual proficiency.
And the teacher is facing a classroom of kids who may or may not arrive ready to make the transition into the social, academic and highly structured world of the American educational system we call “school.”
How can kids, parents and teachers navigate those early days? The secret is good preparation, educators say. And parents can help that preparation happen.
Of course, getting kids “school ready” begins in infancy when parents and caretakers help babies develop language, motor and coping skills. But in the days and weeks before kindergarten, parents can help their new kindergarteners get ready in more practical ways.
Diana Miller, a kindergarten teacher at Cougar Ridge Elementary in Issaquah, suggests playing the “school” game with children at dinnertime. “Tell the kids to raise their hand — and then call on them,” she says.
Parents can help diffuse their kids’ anxiety by visiting the school building and letting their children play on the outside equipment, she says. “That gives kids more of a comfort zone.”
And parents should continue to read, read, read. “It’s amazing how that helps,” Miller says. “I can always tell the kids who’ve been read to. They know the beginning and end of book, they can predict what’s going to happen next in the story, and they’re often the ones who read early. They understand the world around them so much better.”
Above all, she says, kids should know that their parents think school is important. “Tell them it’s their job to go to school and do their best,” Miller says.
What else should children know by the time they start kindergarten? Here’s a list of 29 skills they should have, according to Miller, Susan Wickersham-Berg, a kindergarten teacher at Evergreen Elementary in Edmonds, and Clover Codd, principal at Loyal Heights Elementary in Ballard.
Kindergarteners should come to school able to:
• Clean up their own personal space, including work tools and toys.
• Hold a pencil or a crayon and be able to color.
• Print their name.
• Understand that hitting and yelling are not acceptable.
• Know basic colors and simple shapes.
• Know their first and last names, their telephone number and at least some of their address.
• Know how to unzip their backpack and put things in it.
• Manage eating and drinking. They should know how to handle the containers in their lunch box, and how to poke a straw into a juice box.
• Take care of themselves in the bathroom. This means zipping, tying, knowing how to use a belt if they’re wearing one and washing their hands.
• Know the teacher’s name and what to call her (or him).
• Tie (or Velcro) their shoes and put on their coats, button or zip their jackets.
• Know their bus number if they ride the bus.
• Realize there will be many other children in the class and that they will have to share the teacher’s time.
• Cover their mouth when coughing or sneezing.
• Follow safety rules such as walking in a line in the halls, and holding hands and looking both ways when crossing the street.
• Share materials and toys with others.
• Describe how their actions might impact others.
• Show concern about fairness.
• Work on a task over a period of time.
• Sustain attention for activities such as story time and show-and-tell. They should be able to sit quietly and listen to others.
• Explain why simple events occurred.
• Represent simple objects through drawing.
• Count to 31.
• Sort objects into categories.
• Retell a story in a sequential order.
• Follow two- or three-part directions, such as “We’re going to put backpacks away, take our folders out and hang up our coats.”
• Match pictures with letters, such as B for ball or A for apple.
• Begin to recognize vowel sounds.
• Identify upper- and lower-case letters.
Linda Morgan writes frequently on education issues for ParentMap.
This article originally appeared in the August 2006 issue of ParentMap.
