After seeing my kids K class, they really need to go back to having all of the non-English, first generation immigrant kids in another class by themselves where they can learn English and basic cultural norms, like behaving in a class. These kids simply don't know and should be able to learn comfortably.

and in the long run how does it help your child to be so advanced when starting K?

What I found was most valuable was letting them pace their own learning, discover that learning is fun, and not place artificial barriers in front of them. MCPS has its own definition of what kids should and shouldn't do in each grade. Fine for them but it just doesn't develop any child interest in learning and doesn't map to kid's capabilities.

MCPS doesn't introduce instrumental music until 3rd or 4th grade yet lots of kids take piano or other lessons much earlier. What's the point of allowing your child to play an instrument before some admin at MCPS deems it age appropriate? Ridiculous question right? Same goes for reading , math and science.

Anonymous wrote:can someone pls tell those of us who don't know what the red zone/green zone is?

http://www.gtamc.org/resources/links---montgomery-county/red-zone-green-zone-mcps-focus-and-non-focus-schools

can someone pls tell those of us who don't know what the red zone/green zone is?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Around here? They can already deconstruct the atom (but have no social skills because of it). Go, Kumon-obsessed parents!

Lol!

If the kids really can do Kumon, I think they will at least be able to sit through 10 minutes of circle time and follow basic directions, no?

Anonymous wrote:Around here? They can already deconstruct the atom (but have no social skills because of it). Go, Kumon-obsessed parents!

Lol!

Anonymous wrote:Some parents are telling me that they don't need to know much, just shapes and colors. No letters or writing.

Others parents tell me their kid (and a lot of other kids in the class) could read and do upper grade level math.

It just confuses me. I'm not freaking out about it. I don't need my son to be a super star at the top of the class. I'd just like to make sure he has the basic skills that most of the other kids will have so he doesn't start off feeling behind. So what is that exactly? Recognize letters and numbers, write his name?

Any other info you can share with a FTM with DS starting kindergarten in the fall at MCPS would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

In K, basic skills are:

1. hold a pencil/crayon
2. sit still and be quiet on the rug/chair for at least 10 min
3. follow directions/do things when asked the first time

Nice to have:
1. Know your letters - not necessarily how to write them
2. Know your numbers - same as above
3. Know your shapes - same as above

Everything else is gravy. Yes, most of the kids in MCPS seem to have abilities beyond the nice to haves, but the K teachers are used to broad abilities. The basic skills are the true musts. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how many K can't do any of the basic 3s. It makes teaching 20+ kids that much harder.

Anonymous wrote:Your kid should know parents full name and phone numbers.

Knowing home address is a good thing too.

I couldn't agree more with this. Because DD managed to take the bus on a day when she wasn't supposed to and was wandering our neighborhood alone....

Anonymous wrote:I'm not OP, but we are red zone and my younger DD was reading at a 2nd grade level when she left pre-K and doing single digit addition. Paid for private pre-K. Worth every cent.

and in the long run how does it help your child to be so advanced when starting K?

I find it odd how the anti-academic parents connect Kumon and Montessori. These systems are complete opposites in how they teach kids. Montessori doesn't allow worksheets and focuses heavily on independence skills.

The OP asked what kids should know going into K and what kids do know going into K. I agree with the teacher that the only real requirement is the ability to sit quietly and listen for instructions. For this age group, this is the biggest challenge because there is is so much more seat time and work quietly time compared to either Montessori or play based programs. They also need to learn what to do when they are bored. In both Montessori and play based programs, the kid can go on and doing something when they are done. In MCPS K, they need to learn to sit quietly, or draw or write something on the back of the paper.

In terms of what kids know going into K it is a range. At our Montessori school, multiplication and division wasn't a problem for all kids that stayed through K. Some, not all, of the 4-5 years olds also did this easily. It wasn't a big deal and they enjoyed it. I don't understand the negative reaction some parents have toward kids enjoying or learning math. Many kids were chapter books before K too. My kids weren't but I'm not going to start attacking the parents whose kids loved reading and excelled at it.

Half the kids in our school are not even from this country let alone have preschool experience. They can't even speak English. Be prepared to basically homeschool as your kid in the middle and top will be ignored. Barely meet for reading groups, boring busy work. My child went to a play-based preschool and was bored as the teacher's focus was on non-English kids.

I agree with most of this but what's the point of criticizing parents who send their kids to Kumon or other academic program? They obviously care about their child's development and so what if you don't think that should include academic work at this age but they do? Also, I don't think any kid could go to Kumon and come out with advanced math skills. A lot of children just aren't developmentally ready to think that way. The kids that are doing this and are learning a lot are very bright. That isn't to say that your kids aren't bright because you didn't send them to a similar program and they don't have these skills but it sounds very insecure when you make comments like "any monkey can be sent to kumon for a summer and come out with advanced math skills."

Signed,
A mom who is NOT sending her kid to Kumon and agrees with everything else you said

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the point of knowing multiplication and division. They don't get to that till 3rd grade. By that point your child would have forgotten or been bored for 3 years.

Learning to be self sufficient, empathetic, develop good social skills, take risks is far more valuable. Any monkey can be sent to kumon for a summer and come out with advanced math skills. The other stuff if harder.

Or let then learn an instrument or sport which helps teach all of the above. Bragging about math and reading skills after putting your child in an environment whose sole purpose is to work on those skills is just silly