What Should My Son Know Pre K?

Hi R. - I am a teacher's assistant with Head Start and am also going to CMCC for Early Childhood Education. I didn't really read too much of the responses you've already gotten, but I do agree that there is a major push on academics and I am not sure that's a good thing. In Maine there are two great publications that tell just what is expected of children. It's the Guidelines for Learning & Development for Infants & Toddlers and Early Learning Guidelines for preschoolers. Here are the links to them:

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs/ec/occhs/learning.pdf

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs/ec/occhs/infantstoddlers.pdf

Those should help you out a lot and you may find that your child is right where he should be!

2 moms found this helpful

Hi R.,

ABC's and 123's should develop nicely in preschool. I'm sure you will receive many responses about reading books to your son. And that's great. Additionally, there are many opportunities you can provide, which will increase his ability to benefit from formal education. The first is family mealtime. Research indicates that conversation at mealtime is the best faciliator of expressive language for young children. It is so important to provide many opportunities to develop large and small muscles through outdoor play and small motor play. Outside play should include running, climbing, hopping, tossing and catching large balls, kicking balls, playing in sand and water, etc. Small motor play should include playdoh, finger paints, crayons and markers on an easel, glue and odd junk pieces for gluing, etc. Additional, daily experiences with music would be very helpful. A variety of music is best, as each type excites and energizes a different part of the brain. Have fun!

1 mom found this helpful

Hi R.,
Of course the basics will come with each level. The main purpose of preschool is to teach social skills. To make sure our children are socially as well as emotionally transitioning from a class of one to a class of many. My suggestion is to have fun with him. Make sure he is able to interact with other children on a semi regular basis, museums, parks etc. This is coming from a former Pre-school Teacher and more importantly a Mom.

T. G.

Hi R.,
I couldn't agree more with Rose's post. Read a lot, talk all day...even narrate...they understand more before they can express it, play with your whole body..jump, climb, run, play with your fingers....chalk, playdoh etc. Enjoy your time together and love one another.

You should look at the Core Knowledge series: What Your Preschooler needs to know and What your Kindergartner needs to know. These follow the Core Knowledge curriculum and break down what students should be learning each year (they go through high school)in the various subject areas. Additionally, you might want to look at the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, which also cover all the major subject areas for grade level.

I agree with many of the suggestions...and just want to stress that social skills are a really important part of what kids need to learn early on. How to cooperate, how to share, how to take turns, how to respect others feelings, and how to express their own feelings in appropriate ways. Your son will learn all of those things from you, from what you model, and from time with other children, with you and other adults intervening when need be. For many kids it takes much patient repetition before they have enough self control to do these things - some kids learn earlier, some later. But these kind skills make children responsible community members, able to respect themselves and others, and more able to focus on academic skills later. Have fun and good luck!

honestly, he should be having many opportunities for group play and socialization. It's much more important than the facts of school. He needs to believe in his ability to figure things out and take pride in what he accomplishes. Give him lots of opportunities to play independently with non-structured things that allow him to create and explore, preferably with other children.

I know you want your son to be the best and brightest and he will be..but he is 7.5 months old and you should be focusing on his current development and what he should be doing now to develope the skills he will need later.
He does not need to know some of these things now..they are for when he is past 1 and older. Look at a few developmental charts for babies his age..is he babbling, is he crawling, crusing? this is what needs ot be worked on now
My son was delayed due to being a preemie, I so wanted him to be on those charts! lol
If you skip past some of his needs now to help him for later he may miss out on what he needs now..pre-k is a few years away still do not miss out on his babyness by looking forward too far. Find a moms club and meet other moms with babies his age and help him learn baby social skills too.

Don't worry about academic readiness. Preschool and kindergarten programs have different standards, but if he goes knowing how to get along with others and respect authority, he'll be ahead of the game.

Play with your son, talk to him, breastfeed if possible. Arrange playdates once in a while when he gets to be preschool age.

I just heard recently that children should be able to put on their own coats/boots, etc...AND zipping and buttoning for themselves is suggested.

I am reading a very interesting book called Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax right now that may be of interest to you. It talks about how the changes in education over the last twenty years or so are, in part, causing boys to be less motivated. Part of what he writes is the fact that boys brains develop differently from girls and that they may not be ready for today's kindergarten as early as girls are, which is why so many parents keep their boys home for one more year in many areas. I am only on chapter three of the book but so far it is interesting and matches my experience. NOt really the answer you were looking for, but a consideration on the topic. Students from Finland consistantly scores highest among developed nations and the single thing they do differently is begin formal schooling at age 7, not earlier. Also, just getting out and playing in the dirt and experiencing different things in nature are very important for development. Just food for thought.

My daughter is in kindergarten this year in Ledyard, and I was surprised at what they didn't expect her to know! I figured she'd need to know her letters and numbers up to 20, colors, and shapes. So we prepared her very well and she was even starting to sound out basic words when she started last fall.
Boy was I surprised when I found out they were starting off with tracing letters and letter recognition! They didn't even start writing numbers until just last month! They started math with patterns and counting blocks.
I think they really want children to know how to follow directions from adults besides their parents, take turns, be able to sit and listen quietly, raise their hands and walk in line. They should have an awareness of how to hold a book, a pencil and of the written language- basic alphabet awareness but not necessarily recognizing all the letters and sounds. Social skills are important, making friends and being able to tell the teacher if they need to use the bathroom.
I am happy that my daughter was so well prepared. But honestly she's quite bored. Today she brought home a sheet with the letters S, V, X, Y, and Z. She had to trace each several times and write each letter 3 times. It's stuff she's been doing for over two years now! It's frustrating- but that's where the other children are.
I sure hope this helps. I know preschools often hand out kindergarten readiness pamphlets- so you could probably contact your local elementary school and see if they have something like that for parents.
Kindergarten is fun!
-S.

Good manners, how to listen, how to respect other people, how to share, and how to ask for help.

by pre K if you mean kindergarten, then how about his full name, mommy and daddy's name, the street you live on, the town in which you live. maybe even your phone number. sharing, and being quiet when told to are also a plus.
enjoy your little one!!

A good preschool should not expect your child to know anything, except to be able to ask for assistance if needed. They will build on what he does know - usually through play. As far as kindergarten - in part depends on the teacher. My older daughter had a kindergarten teacher that was tough! She had to learn to read some very tough words - about 150 of them - things like "pretty", etc. - it was a tough year. Luckily, she already knew her phonics going on - but I had been told she didn't even need to know the alphabet at an orientation. I've volunteered in my younger daughter's kindergarten. Her teacher is a peach, and doesn't expect the kids to come in knowing anything. Some of them can read, and some don't even know the alphabet. It's easier for them if they do know the alphabet, numbers, color, shapes as you already know. You might try some of the phonics with him when he seems interested. And it would be very helpful if he learns to write his name by the time he is about 4 years old - usually the preschool works with them on recognizing the name and starting to write it. At 7.5 months you should not be worrying about any of this at all. Plenty of time, you can just throw these things in as you're playing and he'll get there fast. Enjoy!

preschool will teach him shapes and numbers and letters. Having prior knowledge helps, but isn't required. they will test him to see what he knows and will work with him.. preschool is mostly social and routine learning anyway. If he is a quick learner, then some sight words and simple reading and writing will come into it.