KINDERGARTEN Educational Milestone ( Age 5-6)

Source:  Getting Smart/AchievetheCore/Great Schools/ Dreambox

Kindergarten Math

Math Main Topics: Numbers, Addition, Subtraction, Place Values, Problem Solving Skills, Objects, Shapes

As a kindergartner, here are some of the things that your child will be learning during the school year. They will begin to know the names of numbers and their order. Then, when given objects, they will learn how to count how many there are. They will compare numbers to see which is bigger and which is smaller. Your kids should begin to understand that Adding means “combining objects” while Subtracting means “taking away”. They should be able to Add or Subtract numbers that involve 1 to 5 in their heads. When you ask them later on, they might begin answering these math questions quickly from their memory. They will also learn how to solve simple word problems with numbers 1 to 10 and know whether they should add or subtract. At this point, they may use objects, their fingers, or things around them to solve problems. For more advanced math topics, students may begin to identify and describe the shapes of different objects. 

Math Goals:

•  Know the names of numbers and their order

• Count to tell the number of objects

• Compare numbers

• Understanding the idea of addition and subtraction

• Know numbers 11-19 and the meaning of place values

• Classify and Identify shapes

KINDERGARTEN ENGLISH: 

Reading Main Topics: Alphabet, and Phoneme 

Did you know? A Phoneme is the sound that is made by a speaker when they’re talking in their own language. 
 Your kindergartener will begin to understand that certain letters match to certain sounds. When looking at letters in simple words, they will begin to sound out words even if they had not seen it before.    Kindergartners will be able to retell stories from a book that they had just read. When you ask them a question about what they read, they should be able to answer questions and show you how they got their answer using examples in the book.  When they begin to read, they should be able to read through more simple words and know different punctuation marks and what they mean. They will begin to know that a “?” is different from a “.”. When looking at new words that they have not seen yet, they should be able to look at clues in pictures and words. They should be able to know that a glossary is a good resource when trying to understand a new word. 
Reading Goals:

•  Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book  

• Identify characters, setting (where the story takes place), and all the major events in a story. 

• Self-correct mistakes they’ve made

• Vocabulary Learning

• Recognize punctuations

• Understand what they’re readin

Kindergarten Action Steps For Parents:

•  They still need help and support, but with your help, they can begin to answer questions about important details in what they read. 

• Ask them to retell stories of what they just read about and ask questions about key details. 

• Help your kids learn numbers through everyday chores. When you’re doing laundry, ask your child for help sorting out the clothes by color. Even when you’re out getting groceries, there’s plenty of ways to help your child polish their math skills. Ask them for help counting the fruits that you take out. Ask them how many apples the family should buy.  Help them count the change you need to pay when you are out in the store. Let them organize what you bought by common shapes like a box of cereal is a rectangle. 

• Find fun ways to teach math: Play with a toy cash register together. Ask them to look for five toy cars that they may have around the house. There’s also fun board games that help them count such as Chutes and Ladders. 

• Practice writing and sounding out their names. Just an additional tip, practice writing both uppercase and lowercase letters when writing their name. Also practice the standard capital letters first then lower letters. Ex: Practice JOHN, john, and finally John. 

• When you’re out shopping or going to the grocery store together, practice pronouncing out signs. For example “T-A-R-G-E-T sounds like Target”

• An exercise that can help your child practice their math skills is to count out snack items and put them into groups. For example, if you have 6 grapes, count 3 in one group, now count another 3 in another group, and finally, count the total number of grapes. This helps your kid build their math skills. But also, don’t forget that they are just kids. Let them play with their snacks: let them make faces and let them make towers.