Kindergarten
readiness is a difficult thing for one person to know everything about. Every child is so different and many
educators have differing views of what it means to be ready for kindergarten. Some educators believe that the more time a
child is given to mature the more ready they will be to enter school and
succeed, while other believe that all children are ready to learn and need to
be taught at their own level (Diamond, Reagan, & Bandyk, 2000). While educators discuss readiness of a child
there is a distinction made between the kind of readiness; such as readiness to
learn and readiness for school (Diamond, Reagan, & Bandyk, 2000). All children are naturally ready to learn,
however not every child is ready for school.
As children grow and develop they are hungry for knowledge and
experiences, and there comes a point in a child’s development when formal
education will help them to achieve even more than they are engaged in at
home. There are three skills that
pertain to the readiness of school and can be singled out for each child;
listening, feeling confident, and following directions (Diamond, Reagan, & Bandyk, 2000). Every child will rank differently in each of
those skills. If your child is not a
good listener, then school could cause challenges however listening skills is
something children can learn in school.
If your child has a difficult time trying new things and allowing
themselves the chance to succeed at something unknown, again school can be a
struggle. School is full of new
experiences, new people, and new information and if a child is not comfortable
enough with themselves, those new experiences, people, and information will
cause more stress than learning.
If
early childhood theorists were asked about whether a child is ready to start
kindergarten most would have a defined set of goals to meet before thinking a
child is ready. Most instruments used to
assess school readiness look for an array of academic, social and motor
behaviors (Frey, 2005). Even though the American Academy of
Pediatrics and the National Association for the Education of Young Children do
not recommend the use of screening tools to decide if a child is ready to enter
school, many schools and districts still use such assessments (Frey, 2005). While expectations for kindergarten have
certainly changed from exploration and play to a much more academically
rigorous curriculum (Frey, 2005)
the need for an answer to the questions about school readiness have evolved.
When
I think about your son and starting kindergarten in the fall there are many
things to consider and address. First is
looking at his birthday and comparing the average age of an entering student. Your son’s birthday is in October so he will
be starting school as a four year old, while other students will be five and
have been for a possible 10 months to a year.
Maturity it something that is very different for every child and
especially at the ages we are talking about there may be a two year difference
than his peers. Some students may start
the school year five almost six years old and with those extra years of
experience can come a higher maturity with a greater understanding of the rules
associated with school. One thing to ask
yourself is if your son is socially ready?
Does he trust other people? Can he play in a group with others (Fishaut & Olson, 2009)? Your son will come in contact with multiple
adults who have differing roles in his education. If he does not do well with new people or
does not like playing and sharing with other students, he could have problems
in school with his behavior.
Another
area of development to ask yourself about has to do with if your son is emotionally
ready. Can your son have a sense of
being independent (Fishaut & Olson, 2009)? Can he wait his turn and does he have self-control (Fishaut &
Olson, 2009)? Is your son willing to try new things (Fishaut &
Olson, 2009)?
Your son’s language development would be another area of development that
might help you figure out if he is showing enough signs of being ready. Can your son follow directions when they are
given or be able to express his needs to an adult or other child in the
classroom (Fishaut & Olson, 2009)? Can your son share ideas, thoughts, and
feelings in complete sentences (Fishaut & Olson, 2009)?
Is your
child physically ready is also something to think about (Fishaut & Olson, 2009). Can he take care of
his basic needs on his own (dress, eat, use the bathroom) (Fishaut & Olson,
2009)? Can he run and jump (Fishaut & Olson, 2009)? Does he have a sense of personal space? Can he manipulate small objects in his hands (Fishaut & Olson,
2009)? Can he hold a pencil properly (Fishaut & Olson,
2009)? All of these things are things he should be
able to do with no trouble before starting school. The only thing that could be lacking is
holding a pencil properly, but he should be able to hold a pencil and put it to
paper without any trouble even if it’s not properly.
The last
area to look at would be if your son is intellectually ready. The following questions can help you to
determine if your son has a good base of knowledge for success in school.
The more questions that can be answered
with a yes the better the chance your child is ready for kindergarten.
1. Does
your son have an idea of the difference between letters and numbers?
2. Does
your son know some of his letters?
3. Does
your son know how to count to ten or higher?
4. Can
your son spend time working on something he enjoys without disruption?
5. Can
he listen to stories without interruption?
6.
Can your son recognize rhyming sounds?
7.
Can he pay attention for short periods of time to adult-directed tasks?
8.
Does
he understand that his own actions have consequences, whether good or bad?
9.
Does
he have an understanding of general times of day like night time, lunch time, dinner time, school time, or play time?
10. Can he cut with scissors? Trace simple shapes?
11. Can he feed himself with no help? Use the bathroom with
little to no help?
12. Can he separate
from you without a meltdown?
13. Can he speak
understandably and complete sentences using five or six words?
14. Does
he know any common words such as stop, go, I, the?
15. Can he
sort objects by color, size, or shape?
Your
son is four years old and will be five in October. He cannot write his name and does not know
any letters or numbers. He can count to
10 but no further. According to you your
son has trouble conforming to socially acceptable behaviors and norms, meaning
he has no trouble acting out in front of others or throwing temper tantrums
regardless of who is around or where they are.
This kind of behavior would be considered more pre-conventional in
Kohlberg’s stages of moral development.
Most children entering kindergarten with a readiness to learn and
succeed, are in the conventional stage of moral development with the understanding
there is a time and a place for certain behaviors while seeking out the
approval of those around them when it comes to their actions (Crain, 1985). For the reasons above I would say your child
is not ready to enter kindergarten, but would probably benefit from a preschool
program like a Young 5’s, or Head Start.
If I were to look at Jean Piaget’s stages of development your son would
fit within the third stage of development which many beginning students in
kindergarten are. The third stage is the
beginning of what Piaget called operations; meaning an understanding of an
action in all its parts going forward and backward (Gauvin & Cole, 1997). Because your son has reached the third stage
of development in Piaget’s stages, I would say he would be a perfect candidate
for a preschool or pre-kindergarten program of some kind. You have also shared with me that he loves to
read books and is always tell you stories out of the books. Whether is story he tells is exactly as it is
in the book or not, he is reading. He
has reached a great stage in his reading development. However he does enjoy playing more than
sitting and focusing on the task put in front of him. I would again recommend that he waits one
more year for kindergarten and enters into a pre-K program of some kind.
Your
son might be labeled as a typical young boy displaying “boy” behaviors and with
that some may tell you he will grow out of it and be fine which may lead you to
believe that he should start kindergarten and not wait. The opposite may be true though. As children are given more time to mature,
their rate of success will likely go up, at the same time you do not want to
just let him be to learn and grow on his own.
Society accepts different behaviors from boys than from girls, but that
does not mean you have to accept them.
On the flip side of that, just because someone tells you he needs
another year to mature and grow, does not mean anything is going to
change. You come from a family full of
girls and many times, but not always girls are ready to enter school earlier
than boys. Make sure you are making your
decision based only on your child and not comparing him to his sisters or
cousins.
School readiness is a very hard thing to decide for
anyone. Every child is different and
every child reaches developmental milestones at a different time. My best advice for a parent of a child whose
birthday is in the fall is to do what you think is best for your child. You know if they are ready or not, and if
there is a doubt talk to your child’s doctor and see what they think, talk to
your child’s prospective teacher, talk to family members who are in contact
with your child, and maybe the decision will become easier to make with more
input from others. If you decide not to
start your child in kindergarten there are other options instead. Make sure you enroll your child in a young
5’s class or maybe a preschool group at the local YMCA, or even a Head Start
program in the area. Do not shy away
from school because you do not think your child is ready, but help them gain
the skills they will need to succeed.
There are always options and even enrolling your child in a gymnastics
or dance class, maybe a karate class or some kind of physical activity group
will help your child learn some of the social skills they may be lacking. Try not to make school a chore or something
that has to be done, but something more fun and game like. Children need to be excited to be involved in
school because it will be a very large part of their young lives.
References
Crain, W. (1985). Kohlberg's stages of moral
development. In W. Crain, Theories of Development (pp. 118-136). Upper
Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Diamond, K. E., Reagan, A. J., & Bandyk, J. E.
(2000). Parents' conceptions of kindergarten readiness: Relationships with
race, ethnicity, and development. The Journal of Educational Research,
93-100.
Fishaut, E., & Olson, K. (2009, July). University
of Minnesota Extension . Retrieved May 24, 2012, from University of
Minnesota Extension School and Learning Resources for Parents:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/familydevelopment/00132.html
Frey, N. (2005). Retention, social promotion, and
academic redshirting: What do we know and need to know? Remedial and Special
Education, 332-346.
Gauvin, M., & Cole, M. (1997). Readings on the
development of children. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.
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