Kindergarten teaches young children cognitive, emotional and social skills to become open and collaborative learners. They also develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their world.
Kindergartners build on their counting and number sense by learning to add and subtract. They also learn about the weather and other aspects of science, such as identifying shapes.
Math
Math is one of the most fundamental academic skills your children will learn in kindergarten. It lays the foundation for other subjects like reading and problem-solving.
Kids will count objects and numbers, and learn to name those numbers in sequence. They will also begin to understand addition and subtraction as a “bringing together” process and a “taking apart” process. They will learn to solve problems involving real-life situations like if Juan and Michele each have 4 cookies, and they add 3 more, how many total cookies do they have?
Kindergarten math will also include early measurement concepts like length, weight and capacity. They will also start learning about 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional shapes. Pattern recognition is another important Kindergarten math skill. It allows kids to organize information in a logical manner and is an essential component of other subject areas such as language arts (rhyming, predicting text) and music.
Science
Science may seem like a topic reserved for college chemistry classes or high school biology, but early scientific experiences are critical to children’s learning. Kindergarten students will learn about things that occur in the natural world through hands-on activities and projects, such as sorting piles of objects, experimenting with materials and classifying items by their properties. They’ll also observe and compare changes in nature, such as watching snow melt or tracking the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly.
The first criterion of scientific exploration for young children is that the phenomena selected must be accessible through direct manipulation with materials and drawn from the environment in which they live. For example, studying snails is a great way for kids to build on their knowledge of objects that move through the water by comparing the motion of snails and earthworms. Likewise, a marble run is a great tool to help them better understand the principle of gravity.
Social Studies
One of the reasons it is important to teach kids social studies at a young age is that it teaches them how to be civil participants in a democratic society. It teaches kids how to communicate, how to think critically and how to respect the culture of other people.
This is especially true when it comes to learning about world cultures and traditions. Kids should begin with their own family’s traditions and values, but they also need to learn about the different cultures of the world so that they can value other people’s beliefs and customs.
Teachers can foster this kind of understanding by embracing the natural interests of kids and planning open-ended explorations that build students’ capacities for civic engagement. They can provide opportunities for students to participate in research, debate, discussions and projects of all kinds. They can use a variety of resources and materials that are accessible to kids and that have been chosen with equity in mind.
Language Arts
At the kindergarten level kids are learning that their words have meaning and can be put together to make sentences. They have a great imagination and want to learn more about their world around them. Language arts teaches them how to use their imaginations in reading and story telling.
They are taught the alphabet and beginning phonics through drills, songs, games, activities and large worktexts. They are also able to print their names and some words, as well as follow simple directions. They can write in a journal-like format and draw pictures to create meaning.
Kids at this age start to realize that they can ask questions about their school and classroom experiences. They can communicate with others in small and larger groups using different strategies to reach understanding. They can compare and contrast with a friend and are more likely to play games that have rules. They can identify long and short vowels, r-controlled and l-controlled sounds, as well as syllables, consonant digraphs and blending.