A child’s first year of school is a big deal. Kindergarten, for kids ages 5-to-6, is when they learn to follow directions and interact with peers in a classroom setting.
A well-rounded kindergarten curriculum focuses on children’s social and emotional development, as well as their foundational literacy and math skills.
Social and Emotional Development
Children need social and emotional skills in order to learn. These are the abilities that allow them to sit still for story time, follow instructions, and manage their emotions.
Teachers have noted that students who come to school struggling with social-behavioral skills are more challenging for them to teach. This may be due to the difficulty in focusing attention, following instruction, and managing behavior in the face of challenges.
A new registered report in Child Development highlights the strong evidence that SEL programs are effective. Read the report to see what works and why.
Language and Literacy
Children learn to recognize letters and sounds, understand words and stories, and make marks that represent objects and events. They’ll also begin to count, compare sizes and shapes, and understand basic addition and subtraction — skills that set the foundation for future math learning.
Children develop language and literacy in many ways, including playing with books and songs, talking about everyday experiences, and interacting with nature. They’ll also be encouraged to use their imagination and creativity, and will begin developing self-regulation abilities.
Froebel believed that children needed to be nurtured and cared for like plants in a garden. His kindergartens were filled with gifts and occupations that encourage children to explore, learn and grow.
Math
Many kindergarteners begin school knowing how to count and recognize basic shapes. But research suggests that teaching more advanced math concepts in this important year could help kids become more successful in later grades.
Children who practice recognizing patterns develop analytical thinking, an essential skill for understanding math. So when your kindergartener finds a pattern on their own, make it a point to praise them and encourage them to keep looking for more.
Some teachers worry that pushing children beyond rote counting and numbers will be boring or stressful for young kids, who have short attention spans. However, when kids are engaged in a fun activity and shown positive feedback on their efforts, they learn to enjoy math and stay interested.
Science
Young children are natural scientists, constantly observing and questioning their environment. With guidance, this curiosity can be turned into meaningful scientific explorations that lay the foundation for advanced concepts like cause-and-effect.
In movies and TV, scientists are often portrayed as randomly mixing chemicals in crazy concoctions, but real scientists are very organized and serious about their work. Kindergartners learn to collect information about the world around them through observations and experiments—and they also learn how to organize this information so they can answer a question.
For example, they might make a chart to show how many days were rainy this month by counting the number of check marks.
Creative Arts
Creative arts allow us to express ourselves in a variety of ways. A song can evoke memories, a painting captures the grandest of narratives, and a dance is more than just a sequence of body movements.
Art and music activities stimulate various areas of the brain, fostering cognitive development. Children build problem-solving skills and spatial awareness when they create.
Dramatic play is a form of creative arts that allows children to represent people and events in their environment symbolically and imaginatively. For example, pebbly sand might become the food for dolls to eat and stacked hollow blocks could stand in for horses on a range.
Technology
Educators can use technology to make lessons more engaging and fun for children. Educational apps and games help reinforce STEM learning, while digital drawing and storytelling programs foster creativity and imagination. Assistive technology provides resources for students with special needs, ensuring an inclusive learning environment.
Exposing kindergarteners to EdTech early on helps them develop vital 21st-century skills. Educators can use interactive whiteboards, smart boards, and tablets to enhance engagement and personalize learning experiences. Children can also practice digital literacy by searching library catalogues and using research tools on their own.
Social Studies
Early childhood educators need to receive social studies-specific professional development that emphasizes how to help young children build positive social skills, attitudes and dispositions in classroom environments and communities that are tolerant and inclusive. This issue’s articles highlight the importance of these topics, including the NCSS position statement on Powerful, Purposeful Pedagogy in Social Studies.
Teaching young students about the world, including their local communities and the United States, is a critical part of developing socially competent citizens. These lessons, which focus on the ways people are alike and different, help young learners explore their identities, cultures and traditions.