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May 17, 2008
Starting School
A question that comes up quite often in my preschool parent workshop is “What happens in first grade?” There’s usually an anxious tone in the questioners voice and a look that says, “Is my baby going to be okay there?” Oh, and there’s an underlying question of “Am I ready for this?”
The answer to the last question is NO, we’re never ready for letting our babies go out into the world, but school is a normal of transition that tries to make it easier for mom and child. But that transition usually happens in kindergarten.
These days a great deal of what used to happen in first grade happens in kindergarten. Much of what used to be taught in first grade is now being taught in kindergarten. The state English-Language Arts Content Standard for Concepts in Print at a kindergarten level calls for a child to: 1.6 Recognize and name uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet. The kindergarten standard go on the ask children to ben vowel-consonant sounds to make words and to read simple one-syllable sight words. Pre-reading and reading skills begin in kindergarten now.
For some of us kindergarten wasn’t even available when we started to school so there might be a tendency to think it doesn’t count. These days it does and many parents are surprised by homework, reading, counting and even addition and subtraction. I know what is the world coming to?
The question for any preschool parent today is not what happens in first grade, but how do I get my child ready for kindergarten. An answer to both questions is to have conversations, read, and play with your child.
Conversations build vocabulary. When children know and can mentally picture words as they are said, words that are written on pages take on more life and meaning and are easier to recognize. If I say the word “parakeet” and a picture of a charming little bird pops into your head the same will happen when you see the word in writing. If you see the word “trove,” you might be able to sound it out phonetically but there might not be a picture that relates to it. Too many of those words in a sentence and there is no meaning to what is written on the page. Vocabulary development for children makes the transition to reading easier. So talk and read a lot.
Playing games builds both vocabulary and concepts. Concentration is a great game for matching pictures. Dominos matches numbers. Go Fish matches numbers. I have a new favorite game for all ages-Blokus Blokus is a great strategy game, requires no reading, and allows kids to adults to see patterns, shapes and strategize ways to win. Just be careful of the vocabulary that might develop when adults lose to six-year-olds.
Posted by Dr Joni at May 17, 2008 05:06 PM