The Parent's Guide to First Grade

We've got the answers to your burning questions about first grade! Explore developmental milestones. Learn what to expect in reading and math this year. Or roll up your sleeves and engage your child's brain, with dozens of fun, hands-on learning activities.

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Our Essential First Grade Gift Guide

We've looked high and low for the best toys, books, games, and gadgets to make gift-giving easy. Check out our gift guide for top picks that combine learning value, staying power, and major kid-appeal!

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Encourage your kid to draw on the walls! At least the walls of this house... Large enough for friends to play inside, too, this easy-to-assemble cardboard farmhouse is like a hopped-up version of the playing-in-the-discarded-refrigerator-box idea.

These carpet skates can provide some great gross motor exercise when going outside just isn't an option. Carpet skating is like sliding on a hardwood floor in your socks, but better. Strap on these plastic planks, clear a safe space in your hallway or living room, and let the games begin!

From sliding down sewers, to watching what happens when a toilet flushes green dye, to riding a roller coaster for over an hour in order to understand the physics behind loop-de-loops, this fantastic DVD series culls the best episodes from Discovery Channel's now defunct television series.

This modern house courts boys and girls alike, with its cool modular construction possibilities. Pieces can be clicked together in whichever way your young architect chooses, simply by sliding small pegs into holes and stacking or swiveling at will.

Sometimes, it's the simple things that give us the most pleasure, and do the most good for our brains! This game is a cross between a three-dimensional word-search puzzle and the classic strategy game Connect Four, with quirky dogs, Toot and Otto, as the game's mascots.

Attach this simple birdhouse to a window and breathe some life into what your kid's learning in school. The solid wood house has a clear plastic panel at the back for easy viewing. A sure way to stoke a love for science and give your first grader a bird's eye view of the natural world!

Set the hands of the move-able clock, put out the chalkboard marquis, and part the velvet curtains...it's showtime! This well-made wooden theater offers hours of imaginative play. Perfect for developing storytelling skills, and turning a day cooped up inside into a dramatic adventure!

If you think long lines at the airport can never be fun, think again. This set turns check-in into a super cool adventure, with a sleek counter, swiveling computer monitor, and moving luggage belt, so kids can watch suitcases wind all the way from the attendant to the plane.

Think Sudoku is too advanced for your first grader? Think again. This is a kid-friendly version of the popular puzzles. In this version, the 48 playing cards only contain the numbers 1-4, and children must place the color-coded tokens on the cards to complete the challenge. Kids, we've got your number!

Where do dolphins sleep? How do birds steer? Kids are bursting with curiosity and this magazine, courtesy of the National Wildlife Federation, is full of amazing facts, hands-on activities, and photography of the world and the creatures that call it home. Each month, they'll run for the mailbox!

With 444 pieces, this baby will keep your kid scrambling around the rug for hours. Where to start-- the cargo ship, the patrol tower, or the dock? Because it comes with three separate models to build, it's easy to convince a child to put down the pieces and save some for later.

This strategy game is made of bamboo-- a fast-growing, earth-friendly raw material, and it's colored with non-toxic, water-based paint. A bit like a 3-D version of the age-old game of Dots and Squares, Castella forces kids to think ahead, building their strategy skills in the process.

Cesar Takes a Break

by Susan Collins Thoms, illustrated by Roge

Cesar is the class pet in Ms. Lee's second grade room, and the luckiest iguana on the planet until disaster strikes...Spring Break! His 25 best friends race for the door and Cesar finds himself alone for the week. He's a puddle of sadness until Cesar decides to take a vacation of his own.

Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles

by Rupert Kingfisher

Full of incredibly creative ingredients and fairytale characters, this book reminds us of early Roald Dahl. And, just as with books like Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it makes a wonderfully delicious read-aloud for first graders who are inching towards chapter books.

Harris Finds His Feet

by Catherine Raynor

This is not a book to be rushed through in the mad dash for bedtime. Though it's short, with only a few lines of text on each page, this is a book that should be savored. Beautiful watercolor illustrations sweep across every page, bringing to life the story of Harris, a wild hare with enormous feet.

School and Academics

Writing: It Takes Practice

For many children, first grade is the time when they begin to learn academic skills such as reading and writing. It’s also the time when differences between their own work and that of their peers start to become apparent. Some children learn certain skills faster and some seem to learn them ...

First Grader: Cracking the Code of Words

The number of words your first grader can read and spell increases dramatically during this year. Children achieve this through lots of practice, at school and at home. Here's how to help your first grader "crack the code" of written language.

First Grader: Listening Milestones

Your first grader learns more new information from listening than from reading books. First graders are expert listeners, but just beginning readers. Here's how parents can help hone those listening skills!

Parent-School Reading Compacts: Activity Sheet

Look at the following sample list of commitments that parents can make to form a strong Compact for Reading. Rank in order of importance each of the following commitments that you want to add to your Compact for Reading. You may add new commitments to this sample list as ...

Reading Homework Tips for Parents

1st Grade Math: What Happens

1st Grade Reading: What Happens

First Grade Books to Grow With

What to Expect in 1st Grade

See all articles »

Social and Emotional

Social Graces: What to Expect in 1st Grade

Your first grader is now able to hold a pencil, write simple sentences and follow more complex directions, so why not try teaching him how to butter his bread, write a simple thank you letter, and answer the phone?

First Grade Math at Home

In first grade, kids move from object-based, hands-on math, to more standard pencil-and-paper scribbling. Here are some things you can do at home, to help your child make the leap.

How a 1st Grader Child Thinks

Your rambunctious first grader is always curious and asking questions, but how much actually gets through? Here's what the experts have to say on the topic.

Teach Problem-Solving

Children are impulsive. And to avoid mishaps, parents often resort to simply telling children what to do. Yes, it may be simpler. But it removes the opportunity for a valuable lesson: teaching kids how to make effective choices. Clinical psychologist Erik Fisher says most first graders understand ...