Can preschoolers and kindergarteners be together?

Question

Can preschoolers and kindergarteners be together?

Answer 1

no because preschoolers are more free than kindergarteners.

besides kindergarteners learn more

Answer 2

Yes, I feel that it could be beneficial to both groups if the situation was handled properly and the teacher had a good grasp of child development. I know of a family whose school does Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten and the Junior Kindergarten is "preschool-age". They have great success with it.  Every child learns at a difference pace.  The comment that was made regarding Kindergarten and learning the letters in their name and such... well...a preschool program should be encouraging that as well.  We try hard to incorporate many different aspects of literacy, numeracy, sciences, social studies, the arts...etc.

Answer 3

Yes.  That's how Montessori schools do it and they provide excellent results.

There is also strong evidence to support peer tutoring, which tends to happen when students are together in various age groups.  A few examples:

The Brown and Kane study (1988) looked at 3-year-olds and the effects they have on learning something when they must teach it.  The students were presented with stories that had a problem that must be solved.  The students who were told they will teach it to a Kermit the Frog puppet came up with the solution to the story twice as frequently as those students that did not have to teach the story.

Want and Harris (2001) show that 2-year olds can imitate ways to use special tools after observation of someone else using the tool.  This is also true behaviorally.  When children observe older children, they act similar to those behaviors.

When people say they cannot be because the kindergarteners are learning different things, I really wonder what's going on and why teachers are not meeting the needs of every individual student in their classroom, where every student is learning different things.  Or should be.

Matt

Answer 4

I wouldn't recommend it actually.  

These days, kindergarten is a time of learning letter names and sounds as a prerequisite for reading, whereas pre-school is a time to go on field trips and acquire background knowledge for understanding books later on.  

Also, preschoolers would be so out-classed as a rule by the older K students, and may be a bit bullied or made to feel inferior by the slightly older kids.  That isn't the goal of pre-K, it's to make kids feel more confident in their world and learn social skills and getting along.

Answer 5

I would not suggest it.  Kindergarten and first grade yes!  Kindergarten is a requirement in every state.  There are standards that are set by every state on what a child needs to master before s/he can move on.  Kindergarten is the stepping stone to the formal education world.  It is a child's first experience at a "real school".  It is also a time when a lot of formal education takes place.  It is very important for this to be a positive time in a child's life.  It is also the first time that a teacher is reqired to be degreed (in most cases, with the exception of public school preschool and head start programs).  I personally as a teacher and as a parent would not send my child to a school that had a preschool/ kindergarten combination.

Answer 6

YES!!! there is not a problem!!!It is a good idae because it can help the pre-schoolers learn to make friends so that it is easier for them at school.

Answer 7

Sure...there are many successful multi-age classrooms.  Search multi-age classrooms and you will find a lot of ideas for this age group!

Kindergarten is NOT a requirement in all states...believe it or not.  Students in California are not required to attend Kindergarten. This is for "Nicole" who wrote the post below.

Answer 8

YES,  THAT IS THE WAY MONTESSORI STRUCTURES THEIR CLASSROOMS.  THE OLDER STUDENTS ACT AS ROLE MODELS FOR THE YOUNGER STUDENTS.  IT MUST BE A TEACHER (ADULT) CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT.  I DON'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT.  VISIT A MONTESSORI CLASSROOM TO OBSERVE.

Answer 9

Of course!  It is great to have kids of different ages together.  

I'm not sure from where the idea that kindergarteners learn more comes, but it is completely contrary to any child development research.  Humans learn more from 0-5 than ever thereafter.  

:D