728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Preparing for Kindergarten › Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?

Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten?

Determining if Your Child is Ready for Kindergarten

By Felicia Hodges

Pages:  1  2  3  4  

kids in school "Going from being able to nap or play whenever you want to a structured, full-day school day can be like an educational shock for a child. Most children need some prep for that," says Sanders. She recommends at least two days of half-day preschool for children a year away from starting kindergarten.

What Your Child Should Know
"Schools seem to expect the children entering kindergarten to know a lot more than their parents had to when they went to school," says Margaret Bodison, a family service and parent involvement manager with the Head Start Program in upstate New York. "From soup to nuts, they are expected to know certain things when they walk in the door. It's like they need to hit the ground running, not learn it once they get in." For example, although the children from her Head Start classes have until the last of December to turn 5 for kindergarten, Bodison says they are still expected to know their first and last names, their parents' names and their address for starters.

Some districts even test children before or shortly after the school year has started. Sanders says that in her district, all kindergartners are evaluated by the school nurse using the Press Test which screens a child's physical development, alphabet recognition and his or her knowledge of body parts, colors and shapes. "It is just one indicator of their physical and cognitive development," says Sanders. "They ask basic things that a 5-year-old child should know."


Pages:  1  2  3  4  


Want to see more?