amma

This is pretty close to what they want the kindergartners to know here too.

C.Cal Quilt Girl

Wow 7 here it's 5 by Oct or Nov. some in Kindergarden at 4, with numbers and alphabet, Little one I know recently just started knowing how to read. Sad part is some fall further and further behind, or get bored because too smart for the class. and sometimed a hard thing to regulate with larger class sizes, parents definately have to be involved.

ilovequilts

Having worked in Kindergarten for 3 years specifically and then several grades this year, I think a realistic standard is:
know letters (or at least a decent percentage of them, or knowledge of alphabet)
counting to 20(difference between numbers and letters)
basic shapes (circle, triangle, square, rhombus, oval, rectangle)
basic colors
write first name
knowledge of books (know that you read left to right, how to hold a book, etc.)

You'd be surprised how little some kids know and how much others do. They have to be taught things in kinder, however, a basic knowledge will allow them to succeed and be strong students.

granny_59

The problem seams to be the same all over the world! And I think it is useless to ask what they should know. You also could ask what the parents should do, there too many of them out there that dont care and even with a list they will not bother............

In switzerland visiting kindergarden is compulsive the year the child turns five. The two years before entering first grade the teachers try very hard to level out the differences and it is almost impossible as they have children that dont even have basic manners while others read the newspaper.
It is very sad and leads to private kindergartens for priviledged children.
And the margin is getting wider.

Granny

SuziC

I know they do assess the kids here. I think they should be concerned with kids relationships with others. Many of them do not know how to get along with their classmates and have not been taught the basics like sharing and listening. This generation has so many stimulations between tv and video games, they don't interact like the "old" times where neighborhood kids got together and played outside and learned "people" skills.

Panther Creek Quilting

AMEN! That is the first thing that popped into my mind. I think outside of the education criteria to join kindergarteners should also have a basic social skill set. Smart mouthed kids need to know that even though Mom and Dad tolerated it, the school system won't.

raptureready

I think that kids should know the basics, a little reading, the alphabet, numbers, name, address, etc. However with the number of spawning drug addicts, alcoholics, and general idiots this is just asking too much of parents. I mean, come on, they brought these kids into the world, their jobs done.

DD went to school several years with a little boy that couldn't read even in the third grade. His shoes were falling apart, his clothing filthy, his skin filthy. Oh, he had his ears pierced, and he had his hair dyed pink, purple, green or whatever color happened into his parents drugged up minds but soap and water never touched this boy. I played a game one day where we talked about differences between people and how silly prejudices were. I had all the kids take off their shoes and stand on a piece of paper so that I could draw around their feet. We then looked at the different shaped feet and talked about how silly it would be to not like someone because their feet were bigger, smaller or shaped differently than our own. Quite an elaborate ruse to get his foot size so that a pair of new tennis shoes could be left with his teacher for him. No, parents that won't provide a cheap box of crayons or a couple of pencils aren't going to worry about whether or not their kid knows the alphabet.

granny_59

"Quite an elaborate ruse to get his foot size so that a pair of new tennis shoes could be left with his teacher for him"

I think thats the only way how neglected children can get help. If each familiy raising their children the "propper" way takes care of a classmate like that, it would change the situation.
The less the parents of the classmate care, the less they will mind handdown cloth, weekends spend at your house etc.

Sadly most parents tell their children to stay away from classmates like that. Some of those children dont have a chance from the day they are born.............

raptureready

This is so true. When dd was in the third grade (8yrs old) one of her classmates would show up every night right after school at 3:15. Since she lived on the other side of town I asked if her mother knew where she was. She replied, "I have to be home at 7pm." I said, "Okay but does your mother know that you are at our house?" She said, "You're being silly, Mrs. Hopper, I have to be home at 7, until then I can go where ever I want to." I said, "Well, it can't be here. We have things to do and I'm not going to be responsible for you. I'm not a babysitter." If that child was ever abducted it would be almost 4 hrs before anyone knew. From central Illinois she could have been taken across state lines in any direction by then.

noveltyjunkie

I don't think you can proscribe what children should be able to do- they develop at different rates, and have different interests- for example some won't like colouring in and, if that is the case, I would expect the teacher to make an effort to direct them towards another activity that can develop their fine motor skills.

We all wish everyone would read to their kids and spend time teaching them things, but I doubt that a list like you suggest would make much difference if parents had not thought to do this by that stage.

I would emphasise things like being able to sit down and listen to instructions, take turns, put their hand up when they need to use the bathroom, etc.

In some countries they don't even start trying to teach kids to write until they are six. There is no hard and fast rule that children have to be able to write their name before they go to Kindy. I'd like them to be able to sit still and hold a pen though.