The “Readiness Debate” Revisited

Developmentally appropriate practices such as those we support in PreschoolFirst help preschool and prekindergarten children develop a broad range of characteristics associated with learning readiness – which goes way beyond “school readiness.” These basic characteristics provide the scaffolding for children to be successful learners in more restricted primary grade classroom environments.

"Readiness" must be apparent in all the domains of a child's development. It isn't just something we look for in a child's ability to count or say the alphabet, it includes self-help skills such as being able to independently use the bathroom, wiping a runny nose, even knowing how to ask for help when its needed.

A child should have the gross motor skills to run smoothly, skip, and jump with both feet off the ground. His or her language and speech should be easily understand by adults, and the child should be able to listen to and follows simple directions as well as tell a story in the proper sequence.

A child who is ready for kindergarten has the fine motor control to hold and use a drawing implement, copy basic letters such as X, H, V, D, O from a sample, and draw a human figure, and the coordination to cut around simple shapes. Social/emotional skills should include being able to use words to resolve conflicts, sitting for 5–10 minutes to focus on a story or task, and completing simple tasks.

What do you think? We'd like to hear your experiences.

Sources:
E.M. Lewit & L.S. Baker, Child indicators: School readiness, The Future of Children 5 (2): 128–39. Online: http://www.futureofchildren.org/information2826/information_show.htm?doc_id=71010

Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools, Starting school for kindergarten parents, 2005. Online:www.fcps.k12.va.us/start/kready.htm.