What to Look for in a Pre-K Curriculum

Lots of parents are starting to think about getting their kids ready for kindergarten these days. As the Spring months approach, you know that a firm foundation will be critical to getting your child off to a good academic start, and making sure your child has a sense of the fundamentals of reading and writing will be critical to this. So, if you like many others are looking for a curriculum to use during the process, keep the following tips in mind:

- Early learning (well, any learning, really) should be fun. It takes time to learn to read, and you want your child to be able to hang in there until the amazing light bulb of understanding goes off! Try to find a program or materials that will keep your child's interest. If it doesn't seem like fun to you, it probably won't be for your little one…

- Be sure to introduce all of the preschool fundamentals to your little one. Reading and writing are, of course, critical skills. But don't forget that there's a host of other things your child will need to learn to be ready for kindergarten. Try to find a curriculum or materials that will introduce counting, colors, even concepts like the days of the week and the months of the year if you can. Check out funetics.com for an example of one program that covers these preschool concepts and many more.

- Ask your kindergarten for a list of their entry expectations. Many schools can give you a list of skills they expect students to have mastered upon entry into kindergarten. You can use this as a guide to what your curriculum should cover. If your child's school doesn't have any entry guidelines, ask them for the kindergarten standards, and what your child will know at the end of kindergarten, You can use this to predict somewhat what skills would be necessary at the start of the year. You can also find standard on the Internet, although schools vary widely on what they expect.