Home / What Do Children Learn in a High-Quality Kindergarten?
Your child continues to develop a wide range of skills in kindergarten, including physical, social, emotional, language and literacy, and thinking (cognitive) skills.
Physical development is the way your child moves her arms and legs (large motor skills) and uses the small muscles in her fingers and hands (small motor skills). Playing outside and taking physical activity breaks during the day help children build healthy bones and muscles, focus better, and feel less stress. Doing puzzles, writing, drawing, and working with clay are some activities that develop children's finger and hand control.
Social development helps your child get along with others. Teachers support children's social skills by helping them work together, include each other in activities, make and keep friends, and resolve disagreements.
Emotional development lets your child understand his feelings and the feelings of others. Teachers help children recognize, talk about, and express their emotions and show concern for others. They also support children's development of self-regulation—being able to manage their feelings and behavior.
Language and literacy development includes understanding language and communicating through reading, writing, listening, and talking. Literacy is a big focus in kindergarten. Your child will use these skills throughout his life.
Thinking, or cognitive, skills develop as children explore, observe, create, ask questions, do new tasks, and solve problems. Teachers help children plan what they're going to do, encourage children to discuss and think more deeply about ideas, and include children when making decisions.
Every state has learning standards that describe what children need to know and be able to do at a certain age. Teachers use these standards to balance what children need to learn with their knowledge of how children learn best.
Whether they are helping children write thank-you letters to a library they visited, decide what material would best support the cardboard bridge they are making, or brainstorm solutions to keep the lettuce in the class garden from wilting, teachers connect learning across subject areas to give children a deeper understanding of a topic.
Math. Math is all around us! When your child's class is learning about patterns, for example, she might discover them on the kitchen tile at home, on a butterfly's wing, and on her striped shirt. Teachers use math concepts during everyday activities and encourage children to solve real problems, like using rulers to measure the plants they are growing. They ask questions to extend your child's thinking and encourage children to explain their answers.
Science. Teachers provide materials and activities that encourage children to be curious (as they naturally are!) and to make discoveries: building and taking apart things, examining objects, thinking about why certain things happen, and explaining what they find out. Teachers help children think like scientists—to predict what will happen, test their ideas, come up with solutions, and record (document) their learning through pictures, graphs, writing, and photos.
Social studies. In kindergarten, children learn how their family and their class are part of the school and local community. Teachers offer lots of opportunities for children to share their opinions, listen to others, resolve disagreements, and learn about their languages and cultures. Long-term projects in geography and history connect skills and concepts to events children are familiar with.
Creative arts. Children express their feelings, ideas, and creativity in many ways—by exploring different art forms, inventing and telling stories, dancing, making music, and combining materials to make something new. In a high-quality kindergarten, your child might act out a story, learn about painting and architecture, and learn to appreciate the art of many cultures. Creating helps your child imagine, focus, and think about problems in a new way.
Technology. Computers, tablets, smartphones, digital cameras, and other technology are available in many classrooms. Children use them to find information, solve problems, create, and learn at their own pace. When children use technology together, they learn to cooperate, consider different ideas, and make group decisions.