Before entering kindergarten, millions of children in the U.S. will attend some type of preschool, Head Start, or daycare program (Snow, 2011). “The quality of settings across the early care and education spectrum varies widely, as do the reasons parents’ choose specific programs and their expectations for the types of experiences programs provide to children” (Snow, 2011, p. 7). Unfortunately, licensing standards vary from state to state along with the quality of learning experiences that early childhood programs provide (Snow, 2011). It has been recognized by The National Education Goals Panel that the concept of school readiness has been based on the assumption that there is a predetermined skill set that all children need before going to
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We design our lessons so that our students learn from every experience. As the director of ABC Preschool, it is my responsibility to ensure that our program’s mission and vision are reflected in our curriculum which includes meaningful experiences in the content areas of language and literacy, math and science, social studies, art, music, drama, movement, and technology (Freeman, Decker, & Decker, 2013). Along with my staff, many hours are spent making sure that we follow developmentally appropriate practice so as to meet young children where they are developmentally and help each child meet challenging and achievable learning goals through activities that promote active engagement and learning (Freeman, Decker, & Decker, 2013). Assessments that include multiple sources of evidence, especially reports from parents and teachers, are important so as to identify children's skills, abilities, and needs (Deyell-Gingold, 2008). That is why we observe and document children’s learning and analyze our observation notes to identify where more support should be given. It is understandable that parents and caregivers may be concerned about their child being prepared academically for kindergarten. But, kindergarten readiness reflects a range of dimensions, “such as social and emotional development, approaches to learning, language and communication skills, and cognitive and general knowledge,” (Deyell-Gingold, 2008, par. 5). At ABC Preschool, we strive to follow all of NAEYC’s Developmentally Appropriate Practice guidelines so that all of our students will not only be kindergarten ready, but prepared for more challenging content when they enter kindergarten (Freeman, Decker, & Decker,
We design our lessons so that our students learn from every experience. As the director of ABC Preschool, it is my responsibility to ensure that our program’s mission and vision are reflected in our curriculum which includes meaningful experiences in the content areas of language and literacy, math and science, social studies, art, music, drama, movement, and technology (Freeman, Decker, & Decker, 2013). Along with my staff, many hours are spent making sure that we follow developmentally appropriate practice so as to meet young children where they are developmentally and help each child meet challenging and achievable learning goals through activities that promote active engagement and learning (Freeman, Decker, & Decker, 2013). Assessments that include multiple sources of evidence, especially reports from parents and teachers, are important so as to identify children's skills, abilities, and needs (Deyell-Gingold, 2008). That is why we observe and document children’s learning and analyze our observation notes to identify where more support should be given. It is understandable that parents and caregivers may be concerned about their child being prepared academically for kindergarten. But, kindergarten readiness reflects a range of dimensions, “such as social and emotional development, approaches to learning, language and communication skills, and cognitive and general knowledge,” (Deyell-Gingold, 2008, par. 5). At ABC Preschool, we strive to follow all of NAEYC’s Developmentally Appropriate Practice guidelines so that all of our students will not only be kindergarten ready, but prepared for more challenging content when they enter kindergarten (Freeman, Decker, & Decker,