Kindergarten is an exciting new step in your child’s education. It is also a time of social and emotional learning.
Kindergarteners will learn how their family and school are part of a community. Kids will explore the world around them through science lessons that let their questions guide their exploration.
Social and Emotional Development
When kindergarten teachers were asked what was more important for kids entering school, they rated social-emotional skills higher than knowing letters and numbers. Many schools have seen students enter kindergarten knowing all their ABCs and 1-2-3s, but not being able to sit quietly in a classroom or use the bathroom on their own.
Social-emotional development includes children’s ability to experience and regulate emotions; develop close, satisfying relationships with peers; and engage in activities that promote learning. These skills are predictive of children’s emotional health, social skills and cognitive linguistic capabilities (Rhoades et al., Citation2011).
Developing these skills can be helped by having your child practice talking about their feelings with you and being able to take turns with other kids. You can also play with stuffed animals and pretend to have simple conflicts, such as sharing or someone cutting in line.
Language Arts
Children develop their language arts skills in a variety of ways, including listening, viewing, speaking, representing, and writing. All are essential to literacy development and work together to promote students’ critical thinking skills.
In kindergarten, language arts include learning about the alphabet and beginning sounds through fun phonics activities, and reading to build vocabulary and comprehension. They also begin writing to express themselves and their ideas.
At this age, they may be ready to start “copy work,” where they copy passages from scripture or literature to learn grammar & spelling. You can also begin teaching homonyms, synonyms and antonyms at this point. Research shows that many kindergarten students do not receive the amount and type of writing instruction that is necessary for developing strong phonological awareness and phonemic awareness, which are foundational to early reading success.
Math
In kindergarten math, children develop a basic understanding of addition and subtraction. They also learn to identify and describe basic shapes and patterns, and they practice using simple measuring tools like rulers or cups.
Kids build their number sense in kindergarten by learning to recognize numbers up to 10. They also start exploring numbers that come before and after them, the first step towards understanding place value.
Sorting and classifying are also important math skills in kindergarten. When your child organizes her toys into groups of boards, animals and trucks, she is building categorization skills that will help her understand more complex mathematical concepts. Students learn to recognize and describe basic shapes, too, which will prepare them for understanding data in science and other subjects.
Science
Early science exploration is a natural and critical part of children’s learning, especially when it involves hands-on, inquiry-based activities. However, many of the popular science topics that are often used in early childhood classrooms (like snails or light and shadow) do not meet the criteria for inquiry-based learning as they lack the opportunity for direct observation by young students.
Science shouldn’t be just another thing that teachers have to add into their already crowded early childhood curriculums. Instead, it can be the perfect opportunity to foster a wonder of nature in young minds and develop important STEM skills. NGSS-aligned science lessons and projects that cover big concepts like force/motion and engineering design can be done in bite-sized lessons to fit into the day for busy early learners.
Social Studies
Social studies helps children develop an understanding of the world and their place in it. This includes learning about diversity, historical events and traditions, basic geography, societal issues, civics, and the value of contributing to society.
Incorporating social studies into literacy instruction supports students in identifying context, an important aspect of reading comprehension. For example, using content-rich texts that feature maps, timelines, and diagrams can encourage students to interpret visual information in meaningful ways.
Social studies also allows kindergarteners to explore different cultures and traditions, fostering empathy and respect for others. Moreover, by examining difficult issues from the past and current times, students learn to be thoughtful citizens in their communities.