This question gnaws at many parents whose kids may be starting kindergarten in the fall. Is my child ready? How will I know if they are? How will I know if they aren’t? What can I do to make sure my child is prepared to enter school?
I decided to go to an expert with these questions—a kindergarten teacher! Maria Householder, an 18-year kindergarten veteran in the Central Valley School District, kindly offered to answer all of my questions, and I’ve compiled what she had to say. There’s a ton of useful information here, and I think some of her comments may surprise you. It’s good reading for anyone who’d like to learn more about early childhood education.
Also--please remember when reading this article that the factors Mrs. Householder reviews here are generalities. I’ve chosen not to turn the comments section on under this article in order to cut down on the “Well, my son was young and small for his age and couldn’t do anything that your article talks about but he was fine in kindergarten and he just graduated from college!” comments. We all know that every child’s an individual. This article is provided simply to offer guidance for parents, if they’d be interested in hearing from a veteran kindergarten teacher. It’s not here to offend; it’s here to educate because this is an important topic.
I've split this up into two parts:
Part 1: Factors to consider when deciding if your child is ready, questions and answers
Part 2: What a typical Kindergarten day looks like, what children are tested on in Kindergarten, more questions and answers.
