What Does Preschool Children Need to Learn Before Going to K.? Corona, Ca.

Hello T.,

Your best bet is to contact the school he will be going to and set an appointment with one of the kindergarten teachers. They will be happy to go over the kindergarten program with you and give you the information you require. They may even give you the assesment they perform for incoming kindergartners. I have found the teachers at my boys school to be very helpful when I communicate with them. Teachers love parents that are involved. I also reccomend that you help out in the classroom as your schedule permits. Your child will love it that mommy is a healper, and you get vauable insight as to how your child is doing in class. You can observe him and his peers, and their interaction with the teacher. You will get a sense of where in the "pack" your cild is. This helps gauge your expectations of your childs academic performance and behavior. Good luck!!

P. W

Keep in mind that preschool is not a requirement so many children start Kindergarten without the foundation that your child may have. When my kids started, I was told that they should be able to:
Recongize colors & shapes
Recognize & write numbers 1-10
Write first name
Recognize the alphabet - upper & lower case (out of sequence)
Color inside the lines - for the most part
Know the left from the right
Be able to count objects and tell you how many there are

Site words start in Kindergarten.

Hope this helps!

I have an almost 4 year old boy too.
If you go to the school's website, (i.e. Orange Elementary) there is a section there about preparing your child for Kindergarten.
Good luck.

Well,
great question- They learn how to interact with other children, they learn about rules and that they must follow them. They learn about what happends when they dont follow the rules. Children are taught the begining stages of school structure. My friend asked the same thing- when her son went to preschool he had moments when he didnt want to share, and so he would hit. My friend cried everytime she picked him up, she couldnt understand, and she tought that he would be kicked out., but he wasnt and they worked on this behavior. He doesnt hit anymore., he has learned new ways of communicating. It really is good., even if it is 2 or 3 times a week. Kids love it, after they get over the seperation anxiaty. It makes the whole kindergarden thing easier right away...they can start focusing on learning. Otherwise it takes about 3-6 months to get them over it all

It really depends on the kindergarten readiness for your area. I am a preschool teacher in Laguna Niguel, so I'm not sure if the Orange County standards are the same. Our standards include upper and lowercase recognition, color and shape recognition, being able to write their name, being able to count to and write to twenty and count by tens to one hundred. I hope this helps.

In addition to the items Michele listed out, my son was asked about his birthdate, address and phone number. Be sure he can spell his name (first and last) properly-upper case first, the rest lower case. Be sure he can hold a pencil correctly and use scissors. Though not a requirement, the teacher would love it if her could tie his own shoes!