Hellobee Boards

Letters and Sounds:
-Enjoys being read to and can retell a story
-Recognizes letters (upper and lower case) and some letter sounds
-Repeats the first sound in a word
-Speaks in complete sentences
-Prints his or her first name

Math:
-Counts in order from 1-20
-Recognizes numbers and quantities to 5
-Names and sorts items by color, shape and size
-Understands concepts such as more, less, same, above, below, big, small

Social:
-Settles in to new groups or situations
-Can concentrate on a task for 5 minutes
-Follows simple directions
-Shows kindness and concern for others

I remember looking at all that and thinking "easy peasy" but we ran into issues with his fine motor pretty fast. His teacher clearly expected him to be a better writer than he was. It has improved, but it's just worth noting that kids can struggle even if they tick off all these boxes!

Cognition & General Knowledge: Logic & Reasoning/Mathmatics
A. Demonstrates Curiosity in Approaches to Learning
- Attempts trial and error responses
- Uses technology skills (e.g. click and drag, scrolling, on/off, touch screen)

B. Remembers and Connects Experiences
- Tells about experiences in sequence, providing details, and evaluates the experience based on applied knowledge from memory

C. Uses Classification Skills
- Groups objects by one characteristic; then regroups them using a different attribute and indicates the reason

D. Uses Symbols and Images to Represent Something not Present
- Plans and then uses drawings, constructions, movements, and dramatization to represent ideas
- Interacts with two or more children during pretend play, assigning and/or assuming roles and discussing actions; sustains play scenario for up to 10 minutes

E. Uses Number Concepts and Operations
- Verbally counts to 20; counts 10-20 objects accurately; understands the value of a whole number; tells what number (1-10) comes next in order by counting
- Shows beginning understand of numbers and quantity; understands which set has more than, less than or equal to; counts to answer how many
- Identifies numerals to 10 by name and connects each to counted objects (one to one correspondence)
- Explores operations to solver mathematical problems

F. Explores and Describes Spatial Relationships and Shapes
- Begins to appropriately use positional words indicating location, direction, and distance
- Describes basic two- and three-dimensional shapes by using match vocabulary; recognizes basic shapes when they are presented in a new orientation

G. Demonstrates Knowledge of Patterns
- Extends and creates simple repeating patterns
- Sorts objects into subgroups that vary by one or two attributes
- Recognizes and extends simple patterns and duplicates them

H. Compares and Measures
- Uses multiples of the same unit to measure; makes comparisons among objects
- Creates pictograph for quantities up to 10
- Knows the purpose of standard measuring tools
- Develops a sense of time (yesterday, today, tomorrow, days of the week and seasons)
- Attempts to make quantifiable predictions

Approaches to Learning
A. Creative Arts Expression and Music
- Explores and recognizes beat, rhythm, and a variety of musical genres
- Participates in creative movement and singing
- Explores principles and elements of art on its most basic level
- Responds to artistic creations or events
- Uses a variety of art materials for tactile experience, exploration and expression
- Engages in dramatic play

B. Approaches to Learning
- Sustains work on age-appropriate, interesting topic of studies
- Approaches activities with flexibility and inventiveness
- Plans and pursues a variety of challenging tasks
- Seeks guidance to continue learning

C. Cooperative Learning
- Establishes and sustains positive interactions with peers in small and large groups
- Participates cooperatively and constructively in group situations, shares and takes turns

Physical Development & Health
A. Health Knowledge
- Performs self care tasks independently
- Follows basic health and safety rules
- Practices healthy personal hygiene habits (washing hands and blowing nose)

B. Balance and Control
- Demonstrates fundamental motor skills and body and spatial awareness
- Coordinates movements to perform simple tasks

C. Demonstrates Fine-Motor Strength and Coordination
- Uses small, prescise finger and hand movements
- Shows beginning control of writing, drawing and art tools

@Bao: He did go to preschool, but it was a private preschool not affiliated with the school district. Preschool isn't offered universally in my state.

I really wonder what would have happened if I sent him not being ready, especially considering this is an interdistrict magnet school.

@looch: @Bao: our assessment takes place during the first 4 weeks of school to figure out where each child is doing well or needs help - from there are put into groups or put into all-day K which is what happened to my DD

@Bao: no - its a half day program - but full day for kids that need a little extra help

@looch: that's actually my main concern about starting all day kindergarten. I think it's totally normal, but my kid cannot sit still for more than 5, MAYBE 10 minutes at a time. He can't even sit through dinner without getting up! He also can't stay quiet- like when we went to kindergarten info night, he was singing or asking questions, etc during the entire presentation (less than 20 minutes). So I can definitely imagine that in a room of 18-25 kindergarteners- there's going to be a huge adjustment period as these kids learn how to sit, listen, focus, etc.
I can absolutely see my child acting out or getting "in trouble" because he has energy needs.

@Bao: absolutely! Especially for kids who didn't have daycare/preschool previously. Mine has been in daycare since 2.5 but the structure is so different. He is only in preschool 2.25 hours, three days a week. And even with that- his first month he was so exhausted and falling asleep at 5-6pm! So I definitely agree.

@travellingbee: Our Kindergarten Readiness pamphlet addresses that in the FAQ:

1) How will we know if children are prepared for kindergarten?
The only way to know if children are ready to begin the work of kindergarten is to assess their skills. The Department of Education recommends that children are assessed for kindergarten readiness by a highly qualified teacher, at the start of the school year, at their local elementary school. Children who demonstrate readiness begin the kindergarten curriculum. Children who need additional help receive support to prepare them for their kindergarten work. All children are welcome in public kindergarten programs.

I work in a high poverty school so kids come to us with very limited academic readiness. Usually none are reading, a few can maybe write their name and count to 10 or maybe 20. I wouldn't worry at all about even what the district says they should be able to do by kinder because with a good teacher they will go so far!

Their evaluation in kindergarten is different than readiness. Adira's list sounds like kinder eval.
So anyway, this is on our state website for readiness BEFORE kinder:
Ongoing health care, which includes prevention and treatment
A safe, nurturing environment
Appropriate rest, nourishment and clothing
Opportunities for physical activity
Consistent love, affection and care
Positive self-concept
Appropriate social behavior
Autonomy
Reading, writing and viewing as natural daily activity
Language development
Development of thinking

@Bao: @Mrs. Pen: I can only go off of my very limited experience, my son was in a preschool program that was very part time, like less than 4 hours per day and a lot of it was spent outdoors. They would go on trail walks for at least an hour a day. The class also only had 11 kids with late in the year birthdays and two teachers. None of the kids were considered disadvantaged and everyone had a lot of resources at their disposal.

So going to kindergarten, which had 20 kids, 1 full time teacher, 1 aide, kids ranging from 4 to 6 years old, some of them economically disadvantaged (free lunch, living in public housing, DCFS cases), from 9:05 to 3:15 is a different ball game. It's extremely academic, kids are expected to sit in learners position for long periods of time. The teachers do the best they can, providing time for them to get up and get their wiggles out, but the expectations are high.

The way I looked at it was like this: I could send my child to school at the time when I decided it was good for him. I wanted his experience to be a good one, meaning, I wanted him to be able to do the work that was required with as little intervention as possible, as well as him not needing a lot of assistance or causing interruptions to other students. That was really my measure of readiness.

I actually don't think our town has any guidelines or suggestions. At least, I'm not aware of any and none were made aware to me at registration. They conduct an assessment of each child at the end of May in order to make sure all of the classes are evenly distributed amongst abilities. That's all I know!