Kindergarten is an exciting time for any child, an opportunity to learn basic skills and concepts and to start their formal education off on solid footing. As a parent, knowing what the average kindergarten curriculum is like will ensure your child is well prepared for the academic challenges that await. Here is a brief overview of a typical kindergarten curriculum.

Reading

Most kids start to recognize letters around age three or four. This is an important part of preschool education and provides a solid foundation for the more rigorous language lessons taught in kindergarten. 

Students learn how to correspond letters with the appropriate sounds, how letters are linked together to form words and words linked to form sentences, and the basics of punctuation and capitalization. By the end of kindergarten, students are usually expected to read very basic words.

Writing

Writing, of course, goes hand in hand with reading. As a student learns about letters and their sounds, they will also learn to print letters in both uppercase and lowercase. By the end of the school year, most kindergartners know how to write their full names and the entire alphabet.

Math

A kindergartner's math education is similar to reading and writing, as it involves an introduction to the basics. Kids learn number names and how to count in sequences up to 10 or 20. Rudimentary addition and subtraction are common parts of the curriculum. 

The child will also discover different shapes and symbols and the process of sorting like items. Some teachers use math class to teach kindergartners how to tell time by reading a clock and calendar.

Science

Kindergarten science classes teach students to better identify and understand the world around them. They are introduced to simple concepts about the natural world, like the five senses. 

Social sciences may also be a part of this, but the concepts are largely centered on the self, like learning one's address and phone number, understanding family relationships, and discovering how to share information with others.

Preschool reading classes will give your child a leg up on their kindergarten education. Reading in Preschool offers private, in-home tutoring to students in Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Hamptons, and Los Angeles, as well as virtual tutoring to students around the world. They provide reading programs for preschool, kindergarten, first, and second graders. Call (917) 723-1159 to sign up or visit them online for more information.