According to Judy Molland, author of
Straight Talk about Schools Today, many skills that were once taught in first grade are now being introduced in kindergarten. You will still find the small chairs and finger-painting, but in general, there is more formal learning going on in kindergarten classrooms than a generation ago.
Here is a sampling of what your child might be expected to know by the end of kindergarten:
Reading: Students know about letters, words, and sounds. They apply this knowledge to read simple sentences.
Writing. Students write words and brief sentences that are legible.
Listening and speaking. Students listen and respond to oral communication. They speak in coherent sentences.
Number sense. Students use estimation strategies in computation and problem solving that involve numbers using the ones and tens places.
Measurement and geometry. Students identify common objects in their environment and describe the geometric features.