What should my DS know before he turns 3?

NewFamily09 · November 2011

My kids don't go to daycare or preschool and probably won't. I used to teach kindergarten, so I have a good idea of what they need to know before they enter school. I'm just not so sure about really young kids. If you work in a preschool or have had kids in preschool, what kinds of skills should I be working on with my 2 year old? I'm trying to come up with goals. So far I have things like identify colors, learn shapes, how to sing ABCs. What else? I don't want to forget something important.

MegGary · November 2011

Since you have a background in kindergarten you'll probably already teach them how to identify letters & numbers. Start to trace shapes w/ a pencil or crayon. Also how to recognize their name and trace that as well.

cbwm · November 2011

Things DS has learned in pre-school:

(no, I'm not bragging or exaggerating. he can really do all of this.)

Spelling and reading colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, white, black, gray)

Days of the week (can spell/recognize 4/7)

Months of the year (can spell/recognize 9/12)

Matching a color object to the written color name

Weather stuff (cloudy, sunny, foggy, windy, rain, snow, etc)

Emotions

Spelling his name, we're working on writing it

The sounds that each letter makes

[DISCLAIMER: DS went into preschool knowing all of his colors, shapes, letters and numbers. He has/had a pretty severe speech delay (the improvement in a year is astounding), so when he wasn't speaking, he was focusing on learning all of those items, and was ahead of a lot of his classmates in that respect.]

NicoleWI · November 2011

I don't think kids NEED to learn all that stuff (post above) by age 3 as they will pick it up quickly when it's taught later. But if you WANT to work on it, have at it! This is just my opinion--I'm not real concerned w/ pushing my daughter to learn "academic" type stuff in any more than a very casual way. As long as she is reading books, doing puzzles, using her imagination and exploring the world that's good for now.

Smores730 · November 2011

NicoleWI:
I don't think kids NEED to learn all that stuff (post above) by age 3 as they will pick it up quickly when it's taught later. But if you WANT to work on it, have at it! This is just my opinion--I'm not real concerned w/ pushing my daughter to learn "academic" type stuff in any more than a very casual way. As long as she is reading books, doing puzzles, using her imagination and exploring the world that's good for now.

I totally agree with this. I'll be more proactive as she reaches 4 with academics, but for now I feel her social and reasoning skills are far more important. I used to teach pre-k (4 year olds) and the curriculum covered the letters, sounds, numbers, learning to write, math concepts, more/less, patterns etc. It also focused on vocabulary with comparing things. What's long, short, tall, small. Just to give you an idea

C-Charm · November 2011

NicoleWI:
I don't think kids NEED to learn all that stuff (post above) by age 3 as they will pick it up quickly when it's taught later. But if you WANT to work on it, have at it! This is just my opinion--I'm not real concerned w/ pushing my daughter to learn "academic" type stuff in any more than a very casual way. As long as she is reading books, doing puzzles, using her imagination and exploring the world that's good for now.

Seriously! It will happen without the academic boot camp.

I'd add that you can focus on self-care--helping brush his own teeth (I always brush DD's afterward 'cause she can't do a good job yet), putting on clothing items, choosing his own snacks from a designated shelf in the pantry or fridge.

I think that encouraging creativity and self-expression are good and fun, too--making music, finger painting, doing collages, etc.

ss+el · November 2011

Our pedi asked if he could sing his ABC's properly, use scissors, brush his teeth with help. They didn't ask about shapes, but their eye chart for this age had shapes instead of letters.

RHitch · November 2011

My DD has learned a ton of things in PS and she has only been going since August. With that being said, here are the things that I feel are invaluable:

1. Independence: She is learning how to put on her coat, go to the bathroom, etc... by herself. Although I push these things at home, it is so easy for me to give in and help her. When she is at PS, she wants to do them herself like the other kids (she is the youngest person in the entire school -- PS thru 12th grade).

2. Social Skills - DD never went to daycare, so this is her first time interacting with children outside of her family (other than church). Going in, she had no desire to socialize with the other kids. Now, she is starting to interact with them more, and it is helping her to come out of her shell a little bit.

3. She is learning how to wait her turn, how to share, how to clean up behind herself, etc... Again, I go over these things at home, but it seemed to stick once she got into PS.

She has learned a lot academically, but it wasn't forced (I dont' think it should be). Most of the stuff that I think she "needs" to know for Kindergarten, she learned at home. Here is a list of the things she know and has learned over the past 3 months.

Things she knew going in: Colors, Shapes (including octagon and pentagon), ABCs (sight and sounds), Numbers, Counting, Her Birthday, Recognizing her own name, Spelling her own name

Things she has learned over the past 3 months: Days of the week, months of the year, weather, writing her name (still working on this), left vs right, big vs small, several scriptures (she goes to a Christian school), how to pray by herself, how to use scissors, how to paint (we don't let her paint at home)

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