Getting ready for Kindergaten

California kindergarten teachers use the following standards to write their curriculum and to assess student's success. While many of them are developmentally inappropriate for a three-year-old I will use these standards as a guide when I write my curriculum to lay the foundation for these skills. Children who have attended Discovery Learning Home Preschool will have an advantage the first day of kindergarten.

CALIFORNIA KINDERGARTEN CONTENT STANDARDS

Language Arts
Reading
1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development
Students know about letters, words, and sounds. They apply this knowledge to read simple sentences.
Concepts About Print1.1 Identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book. 1.2 Follow words from left to right and from top to bottom on the printed page.1.3 Understand that printed materials provide information. 1.4 Recognize that sentences in print are made up of separate words. 1.5 Distinguish letters from words. 1.6 Recognize and name all uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet.
Phonemic Awareness1.7 Track (move sequentially from sound to sound) and represent the number, sameness/difference, and order of two and three isolated phonemes (e.g., /f, s, th/, /j, d, j/ ). 1.8 Track (move sequentially from sound to sound) and represent changes in simple syllables and words with two and three sounds as one sound is added, substituted, omitted, shifted, or repeated (e.g., vowel-consonant, consonant-vowel, or consonant-vowel-consonant). 1.9 Blend vowel-consonant sounds orally to make words or syllables. 1.10 Identify and produce rhyming words in response to an oral prompt. 1.11 Distinguish orally stated one-syllable words and separate into beginning or ending sounds. 1.12 Track auditorily each word in a sentence and each syllable in a word.1.13 Count the number of sounds in syllables and syllables in words. Decoding and Word Recognition1.14 Match all consonant and short-vowel sounds to appropriate letters.1.15 Read simple one-syllable and high-frequency words (i.e., sight words). 1.16 Understand that as letters of words change, so do the sounds (i.e., the alphabetic principle).
Vocabulary and Concept Development1.17 Identify and sort common words in basic categories (e.g., colors, shapes, foods). 1.18 Describe common objects and events in both general and specific language.
2.0 Reading Comprehension
Students identify the basic facts and ideas in what they have read, heard, or viewed. They use comprehension strategies (e.g., generating and responding to questions, comparing new information to what is already known). The selections in Recommended Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve (California Department of Education, 2002) illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students.
Structural Features of Informational Materials2.1 Locate the title, table of contents, name of author, and name of illustrator.
Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text2.2 Use pictures and context to make predictions about story content. 2.3 Connect to life experiences the information and events in texts. 2.4 Retell familiar stories. 2.5 Ask and answer questions about essential elements of a text.
3.0 Literary Response and Analysis
Students listen and respond to stories based on well-known characters, themes, plots, and settings. The selections in Recommended Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students.
Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text3.1 Distinguish fantasy from realistic text.3.2 Identify types of everyday print materials (e.g., storybooks, poems, newspapers, signs, labels).3.3 Identify characters, settings, and important events.
Writing
1.0 Writing Strategies
Students write words and brief sentences that are legible.
Organization and Focus1.1 Use letters and phonetically spelled words to write about experiences, stories, people, objects, or events. 1.2 Write consonant-vowel-consonant words (i.e., demonstrate the alphabetic principle). 1.3 Write by moving from left to right and from top to bottom.
Penmanship1.4 Write uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet independently, attending to the form and proper spacing of the letters.
Written and Oral English Language Conventions
The standards for written and oral English language conventions have been placed between those for writing and for listening and speaking because these conventions are essential to both sets of skills.
1.0 Written and Oral English Language Conventions
Students write and speak with a command of standard English conventions.
Sentence Structure1.1 Recognize and use complete, coherent sentences when speaking.
Spelling1.2 Spell independently by using pre-phonetic knowledge, sounds of the alphabet, and knowledge of letter names.
Listening and Speaking
1.0 Listening and Speaking Strategies
Students listen and respond to oral communication. They speak in clear and coherent sentences.
Comprehension1.1 Understand and follow one-and two-step oral directions. 1.2 Share information and ideas, speaking audibly in complete, coherent sentences.
2.0 Speaking Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)
Students deliver brief recitations and oral presentations about familiar experiences or interests, demonstrating command of the organization and delivery strategies outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0.
Using the listening and speaking strategies of kindergarten outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0, students:2.1 Describe people, places, things (e.g., size, color, shape), locations, and actions.2.2 Recite short poems, rhymes, and songs.2.3 Relate an experience or creative story in a logical sequence.
MATHEMATICS
Number Sense
1.0 Students understand the relationship between numbers and quantities (i.e., that a set of objects has the same number of objects in different situations regardless of its position or arrangement):
1.1 Compare two or more sets of objects (up to ten objects in each group) and identify which set is equal to, more than, or less than the other.1.2 Count, recognize, represent, name, and order a number of objects (up to 30).1.3 Know that the larger numbers describe sets with more objects in them than the smaller numbers have.
2.0 Students understand and describe simple additions and subtractions:
2.1 Use concrete objects to determine the answers to addition and subtraction problems (for two numbers that are each less than 10).
3.0 Students use estimation strategies in computation and problem solving that involve numbers that use the ones and tens places:
3.1 Recognize when an estimate is reasonable.
Algebra and Functions
1.0 Students sort and classify objects:
1.1 Identify, sort, and classify objects by attribute and identify objects that do not belong to a particular group (e.g., all these balls are green, those are red).
Measurement and Geometry
1.0 Students understand the concept of time and units to measure it; they understand that objects have properties, such as length, weight, and capacity, and that comparisons may be made by referring to those properties:
1.1 Compare the length, weight, and capacity of objects by making direct comparisons with reference objects (e.g., note which object is shorter, longer, taller, lighter, heavier, or holds more). 1.2 Demonstrate an understanding of concepts of time (e.g., morning, afternoon, evening, today, yesterday, tomorrow, week, year) and tools that measure time (e.g., clock, calendar). 1.3 Name the days of the week. 1.4 Identify the time (to the nearest hour) of everyday events (e.g., lunch time is 12 o'clock; bedtime is 8 o'clock at night).
2.0 Students identify common objects in their environment and describe the geometric features:
2.1 Identify and describe common geometric objects (e.g., circle, triangle, square, rectangle, cube, sphere, cone). 2.2 Compare familiar plane and solid objects by common attributes (e.g., position, shape, size, roundness, number of corners).
Statistics, Data Analysis, and Probability
1.0 Students collect information about objects and events in their environment:
1.1 Pose information questions; collect data; and record the results using objects, pictures, and picture graphs. 1.2 Identify, describe, and extend simple patterns (such as circles or triangles) by referring to their shapes, sizes, or colors.
Mathematical Reasoning
1.0 Students make decisions about how to set up a problem:
1.1 Determine the approach, materials, and strategies to be used. 1.2 Use tools and strategies, such as manipulatives or sketches, to model problems.
2.0 Students solve problems in reasonable ways and justify their reasoning:
2.1 Explain the reasoning used with concrete objects and/ or pictorial representations. 2.2 Make precise calculations and check the validity of the results in the context of the problem.
HISTORY-SOCIAL SCIENCE
Learning and Working Now and Long Ago
Students in kindergarten are introduced to basic spatial, temporal, and causal relationships, emphasizing the geographic and historical connections between the world today and the world long ago. The stories of ordinary and extraordinary people help describe the range and continuity of human experience and introduce the concepts of courage, self-control, justice, heroism, leadership, deliberation, and individual responsibility. Historical empathy for how people lived and worked long ago reinforces the concept of civic behavior: how we interact respectfully with each other, following rules, and respecting the rights of others.
K.1 Students understand that being a good citizen involves acting in certain ways.
Follow rules, such as sharing and taking turns, and know the consequences of breaking them.
Learn examples of honesty, courage, determination, individual responsibility, and patriotism in American and world history from stories and folklore.
Know beliefs and related behaviors of characters in stories from times past and understand the consequences of the characters' actions.
K.2 Students recognize national and state symbols and icons such as the national and state flags, the bald eagle, and the Statue of Liberty.
K.3 Students match simple descriptions of work that people do and the names of related jobs at the school, in the local community, and from historical accounts.
K.4 Students compare and contrast the locations of people, places, and environments and describe their characteristics.
Determine the relative locations of objects using the terms near/far, left/right, and behind/in front.
Distinguish between land and water on maps and globes and locate general areas referenced in historical legends and stories.
Identify traffic symbols and map symbols (e.g., those for land, water, roads, cities).
Construct maps and models of neighborhoods, incorporating such structures as police and fire stations, airports, banks, hospitals, supermarkets, harbors, schools, homes, places of worship, and transportation lines.
Demonstrate familiarity with the school's layout, environs, and the jobs people do there.
K.5 Students put events in temporal order using a calendar, placing days, weeks, and months in proper order.
K.6 Students understand that history relates to events, people, and places of other times.
Identify the purposes of, and the people and events honored in, commemorative holidays, including the human struggles that were the basis for the events (e.g., Thanksgiving, Independence Day, Washington's and Lincoln's Birthdays, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day).
Know the triumphs in American legends and historical accounts through the stories of such people as Pocahontas, George Washington, Booker T. Washington, Daniel Boone, and Benjamin Franklin.
Understand how people lived in earlier times and how their lives would be different today (e.g., getting water from a well, growing food, making clothing, having fun, forming organizations, living by rules and laws).
SCIENCE
Physical Sciences
Properties of materials can be observed, measured, and predicted. As a basis for understanding this concept:
Students know objects can be described in terms of the materials they are made of (e.g., clay, cloth, paper) and their physical properties (e.g., color, size, shape, weight, texture, flexibility, attraction to magnets, floating, sinking).
Students know water can be a liquid or a solid and can be made to change back and forth from one form to the other.
Students know water left in an open container evaporates (goes into the air) but water in a closed container does not.
Life Sciences
Different types of plants and animals inhabit the earth. As a basis for understanding this concept:
Students know how to observe and describe similarities and differences in the appearance and behavior of plants and animals (e.g., seed-bearing plants, birds, fish, insects).
Students know stories sometimes give plants and animals attributes they do not really have.
Students know how to identify major structures of common plants and animals (e.g., stems, leaves, roots, arms, wings, legs).
Earth Sciences
Earth is composed of land, air, and water. As a basis for understanding this concept:
Students know characteristics of mountains, rivers, oceans, valleys, deserts, and local landforms.
Students know changes in weather occur from day to day and across seasons, affecting Earth and itsinhabitants.
Students know how to identify resources from Earth that are used in everyday life and understand that many resources can be conserved.
Investigation and Experimentation
Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will:
Observe common objects by using the five senses.
Describe the properties of common objects.
Describe the relative position of objects by using one reference (e.g., above or below).
Compare and sort common objects by one physical attribute (e.g., color, shape, texture, size, weight).
Communicate observations orally and through drawings

Advantages of a Home Preschool

• Small groups-Every teacher you talk to will say that there would be so much more she could do if she only had a smaller group. The home preschool will allow a maximum of 5 children. That ratio will ensure that each child gets the personal attention that he or she needs and deserves.
• Cleanliness- Anytime a large group of children are together germs are everywhere. Children tend to get sick often. With a group of five children I can make sure that the children wash their hands frequently. Toys that are used by everyone can be washed after each use. I will be able to prevent the spread of germs everyday.
• Specific Individualized Curriculum and Assessment- Your child will be able to take a leading roll in the creation of his or her knowledge. Children learn best when they are searching for their own knowledge. With a small group I can base my curriculum around the students interests and needs.

Meet Mrs. Robin

Hello,

Creating this preschool has been a dream of mine for many years. I received my Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Akron in 2001. While I was in school I worked in a child development center and wrote curriculum and taught children at my church. After graduating, I got the job of my dreams as a third-grade teacher. I loved working for the Garfield Heights School District and it was hard for me to give that job up, but I was glad to do it when I met my first daughter, Julia. While Julia was a baby I worked on my Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Reading. Now Julia is three years old, thrives on social interaction, and I am ready to use all that I have learned to begin her formal education. I would love to invite your three-year-old into our home for a unique preschool education. Not many children this age are educated by a master's level teacher. I would love to give your child the same advantage that I am giving my own.

I look forward to meeting you.

Mrs. Robin

3-year-old Achievement Standards

The following objectives have been created by the state to help teachers prepare their students for the achievement tests they will take in the future. These objectives were designed specifically for three-year-olds. Discovery Learning Home Preschool uses these and similar objectives as a basis for writing curriculum.

Language, Vocabulary, and Early Literacy Development
Language is a systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of
conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures, or marks having understood meanings. Language is the most important mental achievement of early childhood. Language allows a child to express his or her needs and feelings and enables an adult to respond appropriately. Language allows a child to learn about and express ideas and thoughts related to the environment in which he or she lives. Language allows a child to clarify his or her thinking and extend it imaginatively. A child learns language as he or she interacts with responsive adults and peers and experiences language use in meaningful context.


Exhibits developmentally appropriate receptive language
1.1 Listens to others with understanding (particularly in one-on-one situations)
1.2 Listens attentively to a short story and especially to stories about himself or
herself
1.3 Recognizes environmental sounds
1.4 Listens to music and the sounds produced by musical instruments
1.5 Understands and follows simple one or two step directions
2. Exhibits developmentally appropriate oral language for communication purposes
2.1 Shows an increase in vocabulary with the majority of words spoken being
understood by the teacher/caregiver
2.2 Identifies common objects and pictures
2.3 Uses language to express actions
2.4 Uses language to express emotions and ideas
2.5 Uses language to recall a sequence of events
2.6 Becomes aware of the structure of the language
3. Demonstrates phonological awareness
3.1 Recognizes sound patterns and can repeat them
3.2 Sings short songs and repeats portions of simple rhymes
4. Demonstrates an awareness of print
4.1 Turns pages of a book, looking at each page and picture
4.2 Tells a story following the pictures in a book







Mathematical Concepts Development
Mathematics is everywhere and relates to almost every experience in a young child's life.
Mathematics is interrelated with other subjects such as science, art, language, physical
movement, and music. Most of what a young child learns is a combination of different concepts. Mathematics must be taught using connections to the child's real world instead of using isolated skills and procedures. When connections are made to real life objects, people, places, and experiences, mathematics is easier to understand and provides many opportunities for a young child to construct and extend his or her understanding and knowledge in a meaningful way.

1. Number sense, number operations, and number relationships
1.1 Matches, one to one, pairs of objects that are alike and pairs of objects that are
related but not alike
1.2 Rote count (e.g., counts to five or beyond from memory)
1.3 Rational count (e.g., counts from three to five objects in a group to determine “how many”
objects are in the group)
2. Patterns and relationships
2.1 Copies, creates, and extends auditory, visual, verbal, and physical movement patterns
3. Compare, classify (sort), and order
3.1 Makes size comparisons between objects using language (e.g., big/small, short/tall,
full/empty, etc.)
3.2 Classifies (sorts) objects into categories (e.g., size, shape, color, etc.)
3.3 Orders objects based on size, weight, length, or height
4. Geometry and spatial sense
4.1 Recognizes and identifies shapes such as squares, circles, triangles, and rectangles
4.2 Uses positional words to indicate where objects are in space (i.e., in, out, under,
beside, between, on, etc.)
5. Parts and wholes
5.1 Identifies the missing part of an object or picture of an object (e.g., the wheel piece is missing
from the truck puzzle).
5.2 Recognizes that the amount of a whole remains the same when divided into two parts (e.g.,
when an apple is cut in half (two parts) it is still one apple)






Scientific Investigation
A young child’s natural curiosity about the world in which he or she lives demands a hands-on approach to the study of science. A young child’s exploration and investigation becomes meaningful when there is a caring and knowledgeable adult present to explain and talk about a concept or principle. Conditions must be favorable for observation, exploration, and investigation of scientific concepts using materials in the child’s classroom or specimens from the natural world outside the classroom.


Acquires scientific knowledge related to life science
1.1 Begins to observe, explore, and describe a wide variety of live animals and where
they live
1.2 Begins to notice individual characteristics of self and living things
2. Acquires scientific knowledge related to earth science
2.1 Begins to recognize characteristics of different seasons and describe weather
2.2 Begins to develop an understanding of time-related vocabulary
3. Engages in simple investigations using science processes
3.1 Begins to identify materials by texture (smooth/rough, soft/hard)
3.2 Recognizes basic colors (e.g., red, blue, green, yellow, etc.)
3.3 Begins to demonstrate understanding of the five senses as related to body parts
3.4 Begins to compare, sort, classify, order, ask questions, use patterns, and engage in
simple investigations using tools and objects
4. Develops an understanding of rules and routines related to health and safety
practices
4.1 Demonstrates growing independence in hygiene, toileting, nutrition, and personal
care
4.3 Begins to follow rules and respond appropriately during emergency drills
4.4 Begins to recognize dangerous situations








Social/Emotional Development
A child's early relationships with parents, teachers, caregivers, and peers are the foundation for social competence and emotional security. A solid base of social competence and emotional security enables a child to participate fully in learning experiences. A child's future achievement and experiences are more productive and positive when he or she has a sense of personal wellbeing grounded in stable, caring relationships in the early years. An unhappy, angry, stressed, or fearful child is preoccupied and unable to give his or her full attention and engagement to learning experiences.


Engages in different kinds of play in various settings
1.1 Engages in solitary, parallel, and onlooker play in various settings
1.2 Engages in creative, imaginary, dramatic, and musical play in various settings
2. Develops self-help skills
2.1 Shows interest and curiosity in different activities and begins to make choices
2.2 Shows flexibility, inventiveness, and interest in solving problems
2.3 Begins to complete common tasks independently and seek help with more
difficult tasks
3. Develops social awareness and participates in a supportive classroom community
3.1 Transitions with ease and follows established classroom rules and
routines
3.2 Responds to simple requests, helps with simple housekeeping tasks, and shows
respect for classroom materials
3.3 Begins to show an awareness of and care for living things
3.4 Begins to “take a turn,” show an interest in communicating and sharing
information with others, interact with others during group time, and understand
that toys and materials can be owned by others
4. Develops self-discipline and a positive self-concept
4.1 Begins to express frustrations and anger without harming self, others, or property
4.2 Begins to understand that families are different and multicultural
4.3 Begins to express “personal space boundaries”
4.4 Begins to show preferences and express wishes
4.5 Begins to offer and accept affections and encouraging words from other children
and adults









Physical Development
Physical movement is the center of a young child's life. A three year old child needs the
opportunity to participate in experiences that foster fundamental motor and movement skills. Physical movement activities are critical for building a foundation in cognitive abilities, emergent literacy and mathematics. Further, social and emotional development is strengthened through movement. Physical movement enhances a child's growth, cognitive development and self-awareness.


1. Develops sense of body coordination and explores moving in space
1.1 Begins to develop sense of balance and body coordination
1.2 Begins to move in rhythm to songs and music
2. Develops gross-motor skills
2.1 Begins to develop large muscle coordination and greater control in movement
2.2 Begins to participate in group activities involving movement
3. Develops fine-motor skills
3.1 Begins to develop small muscle coordination using manipulative materials that
vary in size, shape, and skill requirements
3.2 Begins to experiment with a wide variety of writing tools and drawing materials
3.3 Begins to show interest in technology