Pre-Kindergarten Standards
These are a list of standards, which are general statements, that identify what children should know or be able to do before they begin Kindergarten. Because normal development varies greatly from child to child, these standards should be used as a flexible guide in describing each child's individual progress. Although children develop in generally similar stages, their individual life experiences are reflected in greatly diverse patterns of behavior, learning, and attitude. Such differences are normal and must be respected in order for children to maintain a sense of pride and personal value. These are the areas we work on daily with the children in our program. Our curriculum is based on these areas.
Art
Recognize various art forms.
Create a work of art that expands on an experience, such as after a field trip, or as part of a cultural event.
Use a variety of art supplies such as paint crayons, pencils, markers, chalk, clay, play dough, or other materials as means to express their feelings.
Dramatic Play
Act out a role observed in his/her experiences
Direct peers and or follow directions from peers in creating dramatic play schemes.
Act out roles that involve another children in a related role, for instance mother and baby, grocer, and shopper.
Use available materials as either realistic or symbolic props as part of dramatic play.
Use dress-up clothes or costumes and other props in dramatic play.
Differences between pretend and real.
Geography
Identify direction and location (up/down, above/below)
Share information about their family practices, customs and culture.
Health
Demonstrate personal hygiene skills.
Identify basic body parts.
Identify healthy foods.
Identify some safety rules.
Demonstrate basic disease prevention skills.
Recognize community health and safety helpers
Identify and express basic feelings
Identity potential hazards at home, school, and community.
Seek adult assistance when injured and or ill.
Literacy and Reading
Identify the front of the book and know how to turn the pages when reading.
Ask questions or make comments pertinent to the story being read.
Use pictures to aid comprehension.
Listen and respond to rhyme or rhyme.
Predict what will happen next in a story and respond.
Retell a story with the aid of pictures, props, and or a book.
Respond to or ask a question about an event, text, or picture.
Listen with increasing attention span.
Listen and respond appropriately to stories and group discussions.
Listen to and follow a two to three step oral direction.
Recognize environmental print and symbols.
Identify letters in their own name.
Demonstrate an awareness that print carries a message.
Literacy/Spoken Language
Speak with increasing clarity, ease, and accuracy.
Use and expand vocabulary to communicate ideas.
Initiate conversation and respond to others.
Use language to repeat simple stories, songs, or rhymes, or relate experience.
Relate experiences and retell stories
Speak in complete sentences, using at least three to eight words.
Ask and answer simple questions.
Engage in dramatic play to convey experiences, feelings, ideas, or stories.
Letter recognition and letter sounds.
Phonological awareness
Literacy/Writing
Experiment with writing tools and materials.
Dictate words, phrases, or sentences to an adult recording on paper.
Share drawings with others.
Attempt to spell first and last name.
Trace and progress to copying basic shapes.
Math Activities
Demonstrate an understanding that numbers represent quantity.
Count to 30.
Recognize and read numbers 0-10.
Match the number of objects to the correct numeral 0-10.
Use concrete objects to combine and separate groups up to 10.
Estimate the number of objects in a set to 5 and verify by counting.
Sort objects by similar size, shape, and colors.
Recognize simple patterns.
Compare sets of objects, which has more or less.
Compare sets of objects, which is smaller or bigger.
Identify all shapes.
Identify positions.
Music and Movement
Make a variety of sounds with their voices.
Create and sing chants.
Recognize and select a variety of simple songs, finger plays, musical games, and musical activities alone and with others.
Play and identify a variety of musical instruments.
Accompany simple music with rhythm instruments or clapping.
Improvise simple songs and rhythmic patterns using voice, body, or instrument.
Identify simple elements of music such as loud/soft and fast/slow.
Demonstrate a preference in music.
Move in a variety of ways to music.
Move with and without music using a variety of props, such as scarves, balloon, hoops, etc.
Physical Development
Identify the basic vocabulary of simple movement patterns.
Demonstrate a basic form of walking, running, climbing, jumping, hopping, and walking up and down stairs.
Perform a variety of large motor skills, such as throwing a ball.
Balance on one foot for at least 5 seconds.
Participate actively in outdoor play, games and other forms of exercise.
Demonstrate turn taking and cooperation during physical activities.
Interact positively with others regardless of personal differences.
Demonstrate skills in eye-hand cooperation.
Demonstrate the muscle strength, dexterity, and control needed to manipulate items in their hands.
Use fingered or tripod grasp with drawing, painting, or writing instruments.
Science
Observe and ask questions about their world.
Share ideas with others.
Identify humans, animals, and plants.
Observe and describe animal attributes.
Use the five senses to explore and investigate the natural world.
Identify the basic need for air, water, and food.
Explore and identify weather from day to day.
Identify familiar weather conditions.
Identify measurement skills.
Social Development
Separate easily from parents.
Move through routines and activities with minimal adult teacher direction.
Demonstrate self help skills.
Use toys and materials with care.
Clean up or put away toys and materials when finished.
Identify a range of feelings.
Express feelings, needs, or wants in appropriate ways.
Demonstrate awareness of feelings of others.
Express common courtesy to others.
Respect rights and belongings of others.
Demonstrate problem solving skills.
Be able to say and respond to first and last name.
Be able to say parents name.
Play independently.
Play in pairs and small groups.
Engage in dramatic play.
Initiate play, or enter into play with a group of children already playing.
Participate in cooperative groups to complete a task.
Take turns with adult help, and share with their peers.
Demonstrate understanding that money is exchanged for goods and or services.
Demonstrate the role of consumers through dramatic play.