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.
Kindergarten Science: What to Expect
With State and Federal standards for language arts and math getting tougher, science is a subject that sometimes gets put on the back-Bunsen Burner. Still, kindergarten teachers manage to weave science into subjects that are truly under the microscope. Here's what to expect from science this year.
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.
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 ...
Alternatives to Threats (Age 5)
With a defiant 5-year-old, we all snap and make threats, but you'll probably regret them later. Here is a handy chart of what you want, and how to say it better.
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.
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.
Kindergarten Cooking: What Kids Learn
When kindergarteners help out in the kitchen, they're learning math, science, and reading. But they're also learning social skills, by working together to make the meal, sitting down together, and helping to clear their plates when they're finished.
Recent Questions
Our Essential Kindergarten Gift Guide
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!
- Math: What Happens in the Early Months of Kindergarten?
- Reading: What Happens in the First Few Months of Kindergarten?
- Math for Kindergarteners: Getting to Know Numbers
- Body Image At Age Ten
- Lay the Groundwork for Reading, with Concepts About Print
- Kindergarten Cooking: What Kids Learn
- A Parent's Guide to Phonics
- Academic Preschools: Too Much Too Soon?
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