School and Academics
Don't Cover the Pictures!
Emerging readers love to boast, "I can read!" Sometimes they sneak looks at the pictures to give them clues about the text. To worried parents, this can look like cheating. But it's a normal stage in learning to read. Here's how and why to encourage it.
Lay the Groundwork for Reading, with Concepts About Print
Want to begin teaching your child to read, but don't know where to start? Begin at the beginning, with something teachers call "concepts about print". If you can get your child comfortable with this ever-important skill set, she'll be ready to roll when school begins.
Reading: What Happens in the First Few Months of Kindergarten?
Wondering what's in store for your kindergarten child this Fall, when it comes to reading? While all teachers take different routes based on the needs of their students, there are some foundational reading skills that every kindergarten teacher teaches in the first trimester of school.
Math: What Happens in the Early Months of Kindergarten?
By the end of kindergarten, kids may count to as high as 50, and solve addition facts through 10. But what happens at the beginning? The early months of kindergarten center around recognizing numbers. Once counting is in place, kids move on to patterning, grouping, shape recognition, and time.
Social and Emotional
Defiance: Why it Happens and What to Do About it (Age 5)
Unlike a younger child, your little rebel probably won't have a fit when you ask her to do something she dislikes. But she may pretend she didn't hear you or respond very s-l-o-w-l-y to your request.
Peer to Peer Problems and Playground Politics
While it's heartbreaking to see your kindergarten kid distraught over one of his first friendship dilemmas, it's not all bad. Teaching kids early how to deal with conflict, sets them up for less bumps on the road ahead.
Working with School-Age Children: Promoting Friendship
The Importance of Friendship Friends are vital to school-age children's healthy development. Research has found that children who lack friends can suffer from emotional and mental difficulties later in life. Friendships provide children with more than just fun playmates. ...
Alternatives to "No!"
What to expect at this age Your grade-schooler knows what "no" means, and most of the time she's obliging. But once in a while she ignores your decree, or retorts with an annoying "Why not?" or even an infuriating ...
Milestones and Development
The 6 Biggest Parent Worries About Kindergarten Milestones
Just because your kid has conquered rookie jitters doesn't mean you may not have Major League anxieties of your own. Here are six questions we hear a lot, about reading, math, attention, speech, hand-eye coordination. Read what experts say about what's on track and what's not.
Backwards Letters: Could It Be Dyslexia?
When kindergarteners and first graders reverse letters, are they just hitting a natural bump, or is there something else at work? There's lots of misinformation out there when it comes to dyslexia. Here's advice from two experts on what you should worry about, and what you shouldn't.
Child Development Guide: Five to Six Years
Developmental Tasks To learn to distinguish between reality and fantasy. To become comfortable with own gender. To make connections and distinctions between feelings, thoughts, and actions. To solve ...
Gender Differences: Kindergarten
According to popular lore, by age five, girls are studious junior academics while boys are rough and tumble little terrors. That's an exaggerated view, but not a complete tall tale.
Recent Questions
Our Essential Kindergarten Gift Guide
Tip 23: Have your kids picked up a pen since summer started? Brush up on writing skills with a few fun activities. Try this sentence scramble game: Have your child write words on small slips of paper, and place them in a bag. Take turns drawing them until you have enough to make a whole sentence. Instant writing practice!
Childhood Immunizations
Learn about recommended vaccines and the latest immunization schedules for your child.
Fun Learning Ideas
Activities Photo Contest
100 Winning Photos in 100 Days
Yours could be among them. Upload to win!
- Too Much Pressure On Young Kids
- Enjoy Winter Sports Indoors!
- Reading: What Happens in the First Few Months of Kindergarten?
- A Parent's Guide to Phonics
- Math: What Happens in the Early Months of Kindergarten?
- Characteristics of Social Play
- Recent Research on All-Day Kindergarten
- Academic Preschools: Too Much Too Soon?
- Math for Kindergarteners: Getting to Know Numbers
- Kindergarten Cooking: What Kids Learn
Finder
Click on the categories below to expand
- Activity Finder
Find an activity
- PBS Book Finder
- PBS Development Tracker
- SchoolFinder
