I ventured into Walmart yesterday and maneuvered through aisles already filled with bins of back-to-school items. I passed them as quickly as possible; I want to embrace summer for as long as I can!
However, when reality sets in next month, we want our children to be ready. A few months ago, I found these questions in the 2012-2013 Curriculum Catalog for My Father’s World and thought they might be helpful for parents whose children are officially beginning their schooling.
Is My Child Ready for Kindergarten?
- Is he ready to sit down and do 20-30 minutes of written work each day?
- Does he have the manual dexterity to begin writing letters and words and is he interested in doing so?
- Is your child taking time to sit down to draw and color on his own initiative?
- Is he excited about starting school?
Is My Child Ready to Begin First Grade?
- Does he/she know the 26 letter sounds (consonants and short vowels)?
- Is your child generally able to print alphabet letters correctly? Is he generally able to place letters accurately on kindergarten-sized lined paper?
- Can he/she easily read short words such as hat, pig, and men without help or accompanying pictures? Was he taught how to blend sounds, not just memorize words?
- Is he able to sit long enough to copy 4-6 short words on kindergarten-sized lined paper without complaining or becoming tearful?
- Is your child mature enough to sit cooperatively for 20-30 minutes at a time for structured school activities?
Whether you’re homeschooling or sending your child off to school, these are some practical ways to gauge his or her readiness for the coming year.
Great points! I'm the same way – I've been ignoring all the school supply items, although I did stock up on Crayola at Toys R Us big sale this week 🙂
I'm actually buying school supply items (because I don't want to pay big bucks for them later, plus it's a great time to stock up on tape for wrapping Christmas presents, brown paper lunch bags for crafts, etc…). But I am so glad we don't start school until after Labor Day. And this reminds me that I need to have my soon-to-be-first-grader do some more writing this summer.