What Your Child Needs to Know Before Kindergarten
I found this amazing post about the 71 Things Your Child Needs to Know Before Kindergarten. The post itself is fantastic as is the PDF "How-to" guide on how to actually teach them all the kids all these things. The list is long and intense. If you're used to the idea of kindergarten being "coloring and naps" as one comment stated, you'll be a little shocked by what's expected of kids.
As a teacher, I can tell you that this is where the "achievement gap" begins to show. Kids knowing their letters and numbers--and even how to read--before going to kindergarten is not new. It's simply that some parents are pushing for this at home and others are not.
As a KG1 student in Egypt, I had written addition homework every night--at least 20 problems. My grandmother was already making sure I knew my letters and was a beginning reader. As a 1st grader in America, I learned new letters and was reading in a second language by the end of the year, catching up easily with my new peers.
I have to be honest: I hated my homework in Egypt and loved my sweet American teachers. But isn't there a balance? I want my daughter to be exposed to everything early AND I want her to believe learning is fun for as long as possible. I think that's my responsibility as a parent, to find a balance that's right for her.
The most important lesson is that learning is lifelong. As I tell my ninth grade students, "If you're not learning, you're dying." Start the education early, but pair it with love and joy. I want my daughter to be relaxed and happy and confident as she climbs on that school bus for the first time.
-----------------
As a P.S. one of the comments was a little angry that all these demands were being placed on tiny students when, as he claimed, "one in ten" students had a learning disability. My response to this is simple. If you're not focused EARLY on how and whether your child is learning at a reasonable pace when compared with others, then you will not be able to discover the learning disability until very late. Most (I want to say ALL) children with learning disabilities are super sharp, if given the tools to learn that support them where they need it as soon as possible.