Kindergarten Curriculum Guide

Updated: October 6, 2020 by MomsWhoThink Staff | Leave a comment

Your Child's Kindergarten Curriculum

During your child's first year of school you will see them learn and grow by leaps and bounds as their world expands once again.

In order to properly prepare your child for this experience, you will want to familiarize yourself with the curricula that they will be expected to follow in school.

Knowing what's on the horizon for your child will also help you to provide the proper support for lessons at home.

Although the specifics of the curriculum vary between schools, states, and teachers the details remain the same By the time your child has completed their kindergarten year of school, they will be expected to be familiar with the following:

Kindergarten Language Arts

Recognize and write all of the letters of the alphabet in upper and lowercase forms
Write his first and last name
Learn sounds corresponding to vowels and consonants
Use initial consonant sounds and sound patterns to read words (for example, f + an = fan; r + an = ran)
Identify several sight words, including names of colors
Recognize and use rhyming words
Retell a story including details
Put events of a story in order
Write simple sentences using sight words and phonics skills

Kindergarten Listening and Communication

Listen attentively
Raise hands or wait to speak
Act on instruction and repeat spoken directions
Engage in question-and-answer dialogue with classmates and teachers
Work as a team on projects or problem-solving

Kindergarten Math

Sort and classify objects using one or more attributes
Recognize and write numbers to 30
Count orally by ones, five, and tens
Name ordinal numbers first through tenth
Add and subtract using manipulatives (Cheerios, candy or other objects that can be picked up)
Understand spatial relationships (top/bottom, near/far, before/behind)
Compare quantities by estimating, weighing, and measuring
Use graphs to gather information
Recognize patterns and shapes
Tell time to the nearest hour
Count coins
Recite the days of the week and months of the year

Other skills for Kindergarten

Art and music: Experiment with different materials and methods
Health and physical education: Learn essentials about nutrition and functions of the body
Social studies: Identify major religious and civic holidays and historical figures; appreciate similarities and differences across individuals, families and traditions; understand different roles in communities
Science: Use all senses to observe and experiment with plants and animals, weather and temperature

You can work with your child at home on some of these concepts if you choose. This will help you to stay involve in your child's learning and to reinforce those lessons at home. Good education begins with the foundation that you lay in the home after all. Don't be afraid to continue the lessons and the practice as a part of your day-to-day life.

The more you connect with your child over their scholastic material, then the better your relationship and their academic performance will be.