I vividly remember both of my girls starting their very first day of kindergarten. Granted, it wasn't that long ago, but it is definitely a huge milestone for children and parents alike. I think my oldest was born ready for school. She was so excited to go, waved goodbye with a big smile on her face and practically skipped into the building. My youngest was cautiously optimistic. I remember that whole morning, she was fairly subdued which is not typical of her at all. Big sister was a 1st grader, so she was putting on a brave face to seem like she was totally fine with the whole thing, not worried at all. As she began to see her friends from preschool and took pictures with them, she warmed up more. By the time the bell rang, she was chatting away and gave us the quickest wave before getting back to business. In both of these scenarios I was wearing big, dark sunglasses and feeling all the emotions one feels seeing their oldest and then their youngest start school for the first time. With my kids being 19 months apart in age, I did this back to back years. Brutal. I was a hot mess. I knew they were ready, and I knew that this was an exciting time for them, but I was not ready to let go of their "early childhood" years and move into "school-age." It's one thing seeing this happen with my library kiddos, but with my own? Forget it! I cried so much, I honestly think I was a little dehydrated. Starting 1st and 2nd grade was a little easier. There's just something about starting kindergarten. Now mind you I did all this BC - before Covid. I can't even begin to imagine how parents of kindergarteners are feeling these days. I know how I feel as a parent of rising 2nd and 3rd graders and all the nerves, anxiety, and emotions going into that, and my kids have both done the whole first day of school thing, pictures and all. It's going to be different this year starting remote, although I still plan on pics because yes, I am THAT mom. So many kids and parents won't have that whole exciting first day experience. I know that I would have been devastated to not have that. I was fortunate that my kids were fairly comfortable with the whole going to school away from mom and dad thing. Now even if kids are comfortable with the idea of starting school, the reality of it is beyond what any of us could have comprehended. For kids already nervous about starting kindergarten, now they have to do it in unprecedented times. My kids are older, but both of them had a lot of reservations and nerves about going to school during a pandemic that ultimately played a big role in our decision to start the first 9 weeks virtually. Like most everything else right now, there are so many complicated decisions to be made and heartbreaking emotions to be felt. It's parenting on a whole new level. Combine all these emotions with the realities of life. Parents still have to work and may not have the option of doing what they most feel comfortable with. We are blessed to be able to make a decision that we can grow to be comfortable with. That just isn't always the case.
All of this aside, there are still the general parent nerves of "is my child ready for kindergarten" that still have to be addressed. My cousin is going through this right now. She recently moved to a different state where she doesn't have family besides her husband and two kids. Her son is starting kindergarten. She has a support system, but unfortunately it is hundreds of miles away. It's already a situation where one can feel very isolated, but in 2020 it's almost unbearable. I told her that I would do all that I can to help support her. One of her biggest worries is wanting to make sure that he is learning everything he should be, especially because he is starting remotely. That is part of the inspiration for this post and others that I have planned. Usually around this time of year I do a series of kindergarten readiness programs and storytimes at the library, like a kindergarten prep boot camp, but done in a way where kids don't even realize they are learning. I love doing that! They think they are playing and having fun with Miss Jen, but the whole time I am planting seeds of knowledge and introducing them to routines and concepts that they will experience in kindergarten. Since I am sadly not doing much of anything in terms of programs these days, I am going to use my blog instead. It makes me feel like I still have purpose, and if I can share anything that might help parents, caregivers, and kids then that is a total bonus. So prepare yourself for an array of kindergarten readiness themed posts featuring ideas for activities that you can do at home to support things children typically learn in kindergarten.
Before I get into all that, I want to highlight some of the typical benchmark things that children are expected to learn in kindergarten. While the curriculum can vary wildly from state and state, the basic foundation is pretty similar. Since I am not a teacher and since I work with families who have a range of school experiences, I like to keep things pretty general and basic. I don't like getting too technical because that just isn't me. I like simple. It works. Plus with everything else going on in the world, a little simple is a blessing.
Skills kids should know by the end of kindergarten:
- Know basic colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, brown, black, pink) and be able to identify the word for each.
- Identify uppercase and lower case letters and be able to match them.
- Able to identify and write numbers 0 - 20.
- Know their address and phone number.
- Know how to spell their first and last name.
- Count by ones and tens to 100.
- Identify basic shapes (square, triangle, circle, rectangle.)
- Be able to cut along a line with scissors.
- Understand concepts of time like yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
- Be able to pay attention for longer stretches of time (15-20 minutes.)
- Be able to follow multi-step directions.
- Learn how to correctly hold a pencil for writing.
- Able to calculate basic addition and subtraction problems with numbers 0-10.
- Be able to retell main points of a story.
- Understand the relationship between letters and the sounds they make.
- Be able to express a thought or opinion by drawing, writing, or speaking.
- Be able to identify basic sight words (https://sightwords.com/)
- How to tie shoes.
In true Miss Jen fashion, I have lots of fun ways to include learning these skills into my storytime programs. In previous posts, I have shared some concept book suggestions that I use that would be great for reading and sharing together at home. For colors, I like to have the kids play a matching game. I put up a picture of a color shape (I get double duty out of things!) and ask them to identify it. Then I ask them to find the word that matches the color. We talk a lot about how the word sounds and what letters we think it has before trying to find it on the board. It's so simple, but they absolutely love it. Another game we like to play I got right from the sight words website I linked above. It's called sight words fly swat. I break the kids into small teams and give them a fly swatter. All around the room I have fly cards with a word on them. When I say the word, they have to find it and swat the fly. Hilarity and magic ensue. I've had to provide a disclaimer to my co-workers before I do this in my programs so they know what all the noise is coming from the story room! The cool thing about these simple activities is that they all can be fun little games to help supplement things they are doing in school. And if it also means busting out some playdough to make letters and shapes, well that's just a happy bonus! I had fun with the concept of multi-step directions with my kids. I issued directions like challenges, like "Okay, Juli. I want you to go in your room, take the clothes out of your hamper, and then put them in the laundry chute. Ready. Set. GO!" They wanted me to keep adding more things to the list! Sadly, they quickly figured out my ulterior motive with that game, but hey, they got the concept down!
These are just some basics to get you started. I will post more ideas related to specific subjects and developmental areas in future posts. Just have fun with things. Be your own game show host! Much like their mother, my children thrive on some good competition!
Yes, it is going to be a crazy, unconventional back to school this year, and my heart is with you parents of kindergarten rock stars. Think of it this way though, this is the first kindergarten class in recorded history that is taking on school like no one else has before! They are pioneers! They are warriors! They will be able to tell future generations just how tough they were when they were just in kindergarten! Their first year will truly be memorable. Kids are resilient, amazing little creatures. As long as we continue to love them, support them, challenge them, and believe in them, they will be just fine, and so will we as the ones who love them most!
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