To give parents an idea of what it takes to prepare a child for their first day of kindergarten, we’ve put together a four-part series with advice from a panel of teachers with over 85 years of combined experience! Look for more next issue, or find past steps on HappeningsmagazinePA.com.

“All students learn at varying times,” Hyndshaw admits. “I do not believe there is a ‘checklist’ of skills mastered that can predict academic success. ” Granger adds, “Sometimes so much emphasis is put on things like, ‘Do they need to know the alphabet?’ At this age it’s more about sound recognition, like recognizing ‘balloon’ begins with the sound in my name ‘Betty.’”
That being said, there are some basic academic skills parents can help their children work toward to prepare them for school. The teachers had varied opinions as to how far children’s writing skills should be developed. For example, some recommended mastery of basic strokes while others looked for ability to print a name, some letters and numbers through ten. The majority of teachers said children should be able to count to at least ten, recite the alphabet and recognize at least some letters, shapes and colors. They should also have a basic idea of parts of the body, and should know basic things about themselves such as their full name, phone number, age, address, birth date and parents’ names. They should master gross motor skills such as jumping on two feet, walking up stairs independently and running. The mastery of with fine motor skills such as holding crayons, scissors and paint brushes, buttoning and snapping clothing and completing basic puzzles is also important. Before kindergarten, Piatt says it’s important to expose children to concepts and let them learn basics without being overly critical of the finished product. choice.” Wells encourages, “All children grow and develop at different rates, and some exhibit that growth differently. If a child does not perform well on an initial kindergarten screening, don’t panic. Continue to work on basic skills at home or in a preschool environment (ideally both), and have your child screened again. Little ones make great progress over a period of three months! –Erika A. Bruckner

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