What Does Your 4 Year Old Know?

As a K teacher (as well as parent of a K student) I'd say they can learn a lot of reading, writing, addition, subtraction, etc when they get to K IF they are ready to learn. Most do know their letters, shapes and numbers when they arrive but more important that they are ready to learn, which means sitting still listening, taking turns, following directions. focusing on their work,sharing things with peers. I never homeschooled and always thought the hardest part of homeschooling would be Pre K and K at home as it is so much about adapting to being in a group of many children, sharing, not calling out, taking turns, being more independent. It is expected they are taking care of zippers, buttons, bathroom needs and are able and willing to communicate their needs to the teacher ie "I need a new pencil , I don't feel well, I need to use the bathroom now, not in ten minutes," etc. and that they can separate from Mommy without a Long crying jag.
You can help prepare them by reading to them and talking a lot about the stories, predicting, comparing, giving opinions, relating the story to own life or to another book. You can play games that require following directions, taking turns and losing and winning gracefully. Also attending library story times and other activities where there are other children would be great.

Hi SH, I think kindergarten is less about what the ALREADY know/can do, and more about their 'teachability'.

In fact, the MORE they know, the more likely they'll be BORED and possibily disruptive.

What they know is DRAMATICALLY different and doesn't really start to level out until 2nd grade or so.

So if he's really clingy maybe keep him home one more year, or consider the jr (hopefully pt) kindergarten...

This is just my opinion, of course, I've had three very different kids all at very different level of skill excel in kindergarten....

Course I also like to STRETCH out those baby years as long as I can. Didn't last long, sigh, oldest away at college, a jr in hs and an 8th grader..

Seriously I'd kept them home longer, sigh

:))

My middle son turned four in Dec. He does attend a 3/4 aged preschool class 2 a.m.'s per week.

- counting - he can count to 12, beyond that he mixes up the numbers
- numbers and recognition - he knows them to 10
-ABC's and recognition.... or reading? - he knows them but isn't reading. Working on sounds for each letter.
-colors - knows them
-shapes - knows most (missed rectangle)
-simple addition with fingers - can do 2+2 and counts up to 5 on his fingers
- dressing and undressing by themselves - can do all this himself
- wiping by themselves when pottying or for poop - not yet doing this
- tracing - can trace simple shapes
- writing.....their name or other alphabets.... - can write his name and a few other letters
- knowing their address, phone numbers etc. - knows his address (but not phone)
- Sitting for long periods - can sit for 1/2 hour or so doing a puzzle, reading, coloring, etc.
-concentration - does well.
-following directions well - when he wants to, he can follow lots of directions
-cooperation - when he wants to he can be very cooperative
-talking well/communicating - he talks very well

Since my son has a Dec. birthday, he'll be in a year of preschool (3 a.m.'s per week) next year, then start Kindergarten the following.

J.

My son turned 4 in August. He currently goes to preschool, and we think we will wait until he is 6 to send him to Kindergarten since he is a late summer baby. Here is what he knows:

-He can count to 100 when given the initial "number" after 29. For instance, once I tell him 30, he counts to 39 and then waits for me to say 40. We can do this all the way to 100, but he counts to 29 on his own.

-He recognizes all numbers up to 20. He may know more, but that's what I am consciously aware of.

-He knows all of his letters, can recognize all of them, and can write most of them. No real reading yet, but he is slowly getting there.

-He knows all his colors.

-He knows all his basic shapes. Still has some issues with pentagons, hexagons, etc.

-Gets basic addition and a little subtraction. Nothing crazy, but he definitely understands that 2 + 1 = 3 and things like that.

-He can do some dressing, but hates doing his pants (I think because he always gets the crooked). We are currently working on this one.

-Can wipe himself, but doesn't always do a great job.

-He can trace very well, but that's something they work on a lot a preschool

-He writes his name perfectly, and does most of the alphabet as well. He is beginning to write words out.

-Our address is insanely long (i.e. our street address has almost 30 letters in it, and you can see our town is Fuquay Varina, North Carolina), so he says that he lives in North Carolina. We haven't worked much on the phone number, so I can't say it he would or does know it. He does know 911 though.

-He can sit for extended periods of time if he is interested in something. Otherwise, he is a typical boy and moves about!

-Same thing goes for concentration. If he is interested than he definitely can concentrate, otherwise his mind starts to wander...

-He is pretty good about following directions, although sometimes I think he purposely tuning me out!

-Same goes for cooperation. He can be cooperative, but he can also be a pain in the rear end...it just depends on his mood!

-He speaks and communicates very effectively. He has a fairly large vocabulary, and his peers and teachers always seem to understand what he is saying.

I hope this helps you figure things out...it is so stressful to decide when they should go. We have a friend who is a teacher and she is livid that we are keeping him back another year. She says he would be just fine in kindergarten next year, but he's a boy, and boy does that make me worry! :) Good luck!

My son turned 4 in August.

- counting - Can count to 100 with minimal help
- numbers and recognition - Yes
-ABC's and recognition.... or reading? - knows full alphabet and can recognize all lettsrs, he is beginning to read.
-colors - knows all of them and knows what colors make certain other colors
-shapes - knows the common shapes
-simple addition with fingers - Yes
- dressing and undressing by themselves - since he was 2
- wiping by themselves when pottying or for poop - yes for a year now
- tracing -yes since he was 2 1/2
- writing.....their name or other alphabets.... - for a year now
- knowing their address, phone numbers etc. - we are working on this now
- Sitting for long periods - yes
-concentration - yes
-following directions well - we do three step directions at home and it really works
-cooperation - yes
-talking well/communicating - has since he was 22 months

My son will be a very young Kindergartener, his birthday is August 21. We are also working on learning to tie shoes.

DS turned 5 a week ago. At 4
counting - yes, up to 100 by 4-1/2, also counting by 10s, writing all numbers since 3-1/2 or so

Letters - writing all since 3 to 3-1/2, started actually reading 4 yrs 10 months

Colors - for years, since at least 2
Shapes - same as colors
Simple addition - since 3-1/2 to 4 (he has an abacus)
Dressing/undressing - able to do it but rarely does at home. Can at school
Wiping - reliably 4-1/2 (sort of pathetic swipes not actually involving touching anything since 3 or earlier)
Tracing - for years
Writing name - since 3
Knowing phone number - since 2 but occasionally forgets it
Sitting for long periods - what is a long period. We might not be there yet.
Following directions well - since 2 - they would line up to go outside and come back in at preschool
Cooperation - at school - always, since 12-18 months,
Talking well/communicating - for years