Kindergarten Secrets

Oh, it’s time for kindergarten. If this is your first kindergartner, you may not know what to expect. Kindergarten varies from school to school, but here are some general principles that apply across the board.



Kindergarten assessment is done before your child begins school. The teacher will do some testing to see where your child is at as far as learning. As you watch this take place, you might feel like you are being put under the microscope. “You didn’t teach your child the shapes for oval and rectangle? He doesn’t know what the J sound makes? Try not to take personally the responses that your child gives. Everyone learns at a different rate.



Assessment will review colors, shapes, letters, writing, more & less, and other skills as applicable to the teacher. Remind yourself that this is just a help for the teacher, and a way to gauge what your child has learned since they began. During parent teacher conferences, the teacher will refer to the assessment to see where your child has progressed.



Prepare for homework. Your child will have homework assignments, probably on a daily basis. You will have to help with these. Think of it as after school learning, and you are the teacher. This is also a good time to start collecting magazines or newspapers, because you can be sure that you will have to start clipping out pictures that begin with the letters of the alphabet.



Kindergarten is a great time for your child. They will learn and grow so fast during this year. They will make new friends and begin to discover more of the world around them. With your help, this can be a successful year for them.