Kindergarten: Are Our Children Prepared?

Kindergarten! Has it become too demanding?

Research shows that children learn best when they are able to interact with their peers in a "nonstressful" learning environment. It is vitally important for children to view their first formal, educational years in a positive light. Why? Simply because if a child meets with repeated frustration in trying to learn, it may well result in a pattern of failure and self-doubt.

It goes without saying that today's children are far more advanced, educationally, than any generation before them. Big business has not missed their opportunity to benefit from this fact, eagerly producing "toys" that are both engaging and educational. Is this bad? No, I don'tbelieve so. In and of itself, to have fun opportunities available for our younger children to both play and learn from, is ideal. Leap Frog and Fisher-Price are but two manufacturers who market quality learning products for young children.

Kindergarten - Then and Now!

Many of us can probably remember more about our Kindergarten experience than any of the other primary grades we attended. It was a big milestone in our life. We were suddenly one of the "big kids", old enough to go to school. It was a time of basic learning - to be quiet while the teacher read us a story, to share toys, to follow directions and participate in simple learning experiences.

Kindergarten today, however, is a whole new world! Somehow the fast-paced, high-tech society we live in has filtered it's way down to those who are just beginning to learn. Today's Kindergarten student often has homework assignments, many which require a parent's help or watchful eye to complete.

Many skills that were once taught in first grade are now part and parcel of the Kindergarten curriculum. There is understandable concern by child-development experts that children of this age not be exposed to undue stress, thus making them feel inadequate. If there is one thing that I believe is essential for these little ones to experience in Kindergarten, it can be summed up in one word - SUCCESS!

School Readiness