Getting Ready for Kindergarten

I taught both of my kids to read before they were 4 and it didn't involve them sitting still. Everywhere you go there are tools to teach reading. Signs on the road, signs in stores, labels on food at the supermarket, etc. The secret is that they don't know they are being "taught", they just enjoy that you are giving them attention and interacting with them. To them it's extra mom time and for you it is an opportunity. Try it and see if it works for him even if his first words to read are Taco Bell! :)

Have you been reading to him? Library books and garage sale, second hand store are good ways not to spend alot of money. Has he been in preschool? Also, my son has V-smile game, hooks to the TV just like a regular vidio game, (he thinks its just a game). It has many games (little cartidges) for learning letters, number, colors, groupings. Just pick one of the tv character he likes, we have cars and wiggles. They don't expect him to know all of letters or alot of words, going into kindergarten, just by the end of the year. Alot of kids this age get b,d,p,q mixed up to some degree. They also might get numbers and letter mixed up (5,S). Don't expect him to be smartest in the class, just tell him to do the best he can. Read at least a few times a week and let him play a game like this. One more thing, I was told my oldest son, now 12, wasn't "listening" in kidergarten and first grade but by 3rd grade his teacher had him tested for being "gifted". He is now above grade level for math, and reading, but he has a hard time with creative,essay writing. So, don't stress out so much, if there is really a problem talk to the teacher.

You need to turn learning into a game setting. Boys are active and expecting them to sit still is asking alot all at once. You can use music to work on his attention span as well. Simply play music in the background softly and let them know that they can get up after the song is finished. Not only is the music calming but it is a great tool for increasing attention span. Each time you sit to work with him you can increase the ammount of time he is working. Hand exercises are a great way to get him ready to write. Playing with play dough, spin art, finger painting- these activities grab their attention because they are fun which you will find he will participate longer which will also increase his attention span. This will also build the strength in his hands which will help him be a better writer. Poor writing abilities have alot to do with low muscle tone. Finger painting and learning their letters together is what I call fun learning.

Make sure he is using large size crayons when writing because younger children's hands are not strong enough to hold a regular size pencil like older children. As far as reading you're better off using a program that works, reading is phonics based regardless of what many say. Hooked on Phonics is a awesome program and you can teach him to read within weeks not if days. Hope this helps and I wish you great success. Course if you get him to prepared he will be bored in school because he will be ahead of everbody else and have nothing to do..

Blessings, C.

I wouldn't worry about getting him excited to learn to read and write. Recognizing simple sight words is something that not all K students do at the END of K, as is developmentally normal. I would not worry about him sitting still at this point -- it's amazing what a K teacher can inspire that mom can't so easily! I concur with the poster who suggested reading to him. Relax and enjoy the next four months with your little boy!

Hi S.,
I am sorry to hear that you are a widow at such a young age.....prayers to you and your son. As far as school goes, you may want to try the angle of him having a lot of friends around to play with. He is to young to be excited about real learning, besides once he starts to realize that he can read and write he WILL be exicted, it will just happen. I have one daughter in the 2nd grade and my other daughter is starting kindergarten this year. My little one is just excited that she will get to carry a back-pack. Find out what he thinks would be cool about going to school and play on that. I am sure he will do very well and adjust fine to school.
Best Wishes,
L.

It sounds like your son is pretty normal for his age but if you think he needs more encouragement I have a few ideas I have tried for my son who is also starting kindergarten in the fall. I have found a great website: www.kindersite.org that has many online games that helps him learn phonics as well as how to use a computer. I also got him some beginning reader books from Scholastic (I purchased these books through his preschool but I'm sure that you could also get them on www.scholastic.com) that have 2-3 simple words per page so that he doesn't get frustrated.

I agree that it should be fun and if it is fun then my son is the one who asks for chances to learn. If it seems like too much for him we call it good and try another time.

S.~ all the advice you have gotten so far is great so I won't jump in with anything but...DON'T WORRY! When my son started Kindergarten he could care less about letters and writing and reading. I was worried they might call me and ask me to keep him home another year. Guess what?! He got through Kindergarten, learned to read, his favorite thing to do was journal and now he is in the 3rd grade and loves school! Don't worry, those kindergarten teachers know how to make letters, reading and learning FUN!!! :)

I think everyone who's already posted has made some really great suggestions. The only thing I can think of to get him excited about starting school is to go to the school he'll be attending in fall and ask to sit in on their kindergarten class for a few minutes with your child. Maybe by seeing other kids doing fun stuff he'll get amped up about learning himself.
N.

My daughter is 4 1/2 and will also be statring Kindergarten in the fall. She has the same issues about recognizing the letters. My suggestion is to read to him nightly, with lots of enthusiasm, and also I bought one of those books that has the special lined paper to help teach them how to write the letters this might help him recognize them if he can write them.

With my son, we started on car trips to keep him entertained and started with the sounds. I would say, "Let's think of words that start with a b, that makes the buh sound, like ball." We would take turns so that he started understanding that the letters meant something. Then we added to it and I showed him what the letters looked like, and started trying to find letters on street signs. Since we were in the car, I had his undevided attention, and it was a special game that we played together. He took to it very well, and was actually reading very quickly. Hope this helps!!

I work in a kindergarten class as well as I have my own son whom began Kindergarten last fall and a lot of children didn't even know letter recognition let alone sight words when they started out. The curriculum will go through the alphabet and send home pre-decodable and decodable books that will have many sight words for your child to learn. Each child is different (obviously), and they learn at different paces, but in my experience, positive reinforcement usually motivates the children I work with. The other thing I did with my own son is, I bought him a "getting ready for kindergaten" workbook and he really enjoyed that. Well, I hope this helps!

Hi S.,

I am an elementary reading teacher... I work w/kindergarteners thru 6th grade. The best thing you can do to get your little guy excited about reading is just read to him! Take him to the library and let him pick out the books, then read every night at bedtime for 10-20 minutes. Ask him questions about the story and pictures as you go, then ask him what was his favorite part afterwards. Keep it entirely positive. Another excellent activity to promote reading readiness is to ask him what sound he hears at the beginning of words. For example, if you say "fish," see if he can tell you it starts with "fffffff" (the sound... don't worry about letter names yet.) Practice over and over with just beginning sounds. If he masters that before kindergarten starts, ask him what ending sounds he hears. If you say "cat," see if he can hear the 't' sound (again, sound, not letter name.) And if he masters that, try middle sounds.
Good luck and please contact me if you need more suggestions!
P. :)

Does your son go to preschool? Kids all learn in diiferent ways. As for knowing all the letters, that is not nessesary for kindergarten. And certainly not sight words. My daughter was so not into goingto school! She is in first grade now. But in 3 year old preschool she spent a lot of time hiding under the table. If I didn't know the teachers as well as I did, I would not have kept her there. She came around, but I really worried about kindergarten. But there is something magical. I swear! If you get a really good teacher, it will make a world of difference. Anna's teacher was the BEST! She was older, and not burnt out, SHe had won teacher of the year 3 years earlier (when my son was in her class)

So, I think you should look at your scool options, check out the teachers, do a little research and not worry too much!

I wish you the best!

A.

I am a kindergarten teacher and I wouldn't worry about your son not being very excited yet, don't push him to hard now just read to him often and make letters and reading fun. Chances are that next year when he starts school he will get more excited when he is around the learning every day.

Dear S.,

If you feel your son's freedom will be stifled in kindergarten I strongly encourage you to have him skip it or let him attend on a part-time basis. Another option is to enroll your son in a quality pre-school/day care or let him be at home if you are at home also.

In Finland kids do not start formal schooling until they are seven! Up until that time they do go to kindergarten like settings where they can learn in a playful/experiential manner. BTW Finland kids consistently score at or near the top in reading on international tests. They know what's good for their children!

See my posting about how currently there's is no more time for play in kindergartens! I can tell you that if my kids were of kindergarten age I would NOT subject them to that. I have witnessed the proceedings in three different K classes and am appalled! The needs of these kids go totally unheeded. Because of the scripted reading program there is no time for the teacher to respond to children's comments and questions during that 90 minute (!!!) time frame.

Go see what the kindergarten looks like that your son would be attending. They should allow you to sit in and watch. I highly recommend all moms do that. Do not trust that schools do what's right for your little ones. Kindergarten has changed into academic bootcamp!