Benchmarks of learning for preschoolers?

Question

Hi, I am thinking about putting my child in private school, he's 4, and I would like to know what the educational benchmarks are that he should be at. He knows his colors, shapes, a few letters, number identification, and so forth.

Is he above or below average? What should he know for someone his age? Is there an online site that has this information or does anybody know? I tried a few places but I didn't find what I was looking for.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Most quality preschools will help your child prepare for Kindergarten, but a parent is the child's first teacher. There are many every day activites that can be turned into a learning experience. Practice and train yourself to look for these opportunities. As mentioned you want to make sure that your child can count (I like my class to count to 30) have had some learn to count to 100 before kindergarten. Know basic colors and color blending (learned from experience), have appropriate social skills, be culturally respective, visually recognize upper and lowercase letters, be able to write first and last name as well as visually recognize, know basic shapes plus add more (diamond, star, heart, octogon, trapazoid, Rhombus, hexagon), have visual recognition of numbers 1-10, know spatial relationships (up, down, under, above, on tope of, etc.), be able to do some simple addition and subtraction problems, know colors, have good small and large motor function, and there are so many more but I will stop here. The list may seem undaunting but really the majority of these things will be learned through everyday living. Make it fun and repeat until mastered then keep reviewing so as not to loose what was gained. This website has a list of what a parent should look for in thier child for Kindergarten readiness. http://www.familyeducation.com. Choose your child's age and it will take you to the site that features the readiness list. Have Fun!

Answer 2

I'm sorry, I don't know any online sites- but it sounds as though your son is doing very well- continue to work with him.  Reading with your son will do amazing things for him as he grows.  You should continue with letters and numbers, helping him to print his name, etc.  I wouldn't worry- he sounds like he's doing fine.

Answer 3

Check this web site.  It gives a great summary of developmental markers for children:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/actearl...

Also, remember that all children learn at their own pace.  If he knows his colors, just move on.  Keep going with letters and numbers.  Help him to recognize upper and lower case letters, and written numerals.  Practice counting things.  Let him write his name.  If he recognizes and writes his name, time to learn other words that are meaningful to him, like m-o-m, d-a-d, c-a-r, etc.  It sounds like he is right on track for his age.  Just keep moving ahead, and make it fun!  If everything is fun and works like a game, he will love it and will just continue to progress.  Play I Spy.  "I Spy Matthew's M!  Can you find it on this newspaper/sign/grocery label?"  or "Help me match these socks and count how many pairs!"  or "Let's count these stairs as we go up...1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8."  And don't forget to run and play outside.  Ride your bikes, play catch, learn to play hop scotch and jump rope.  Physical development is very important too, and oxygen improves learning ability!