Educational and Social Benchmarks for Your Pre-K Student
Pre-K:
Math: In pre-kindergarten, children ages 3-5 develop a basic understanding of numbers and counting, and connect both to the idea of “how many.” Pre-k math tips work on recognizing, grouping, and comparing objects of different sizes, colors and shapes, and identifying patterns.
Language Development:
Understand and use new words.
Expressing ideas and needs. Use language to express a variety of ideas and needs, like telling a story, explaining, or making a request.
Complex sentences - Understand and speak in increasingly complex ways; for example, use longer sentences, and understand and ask questions with words like who or what.
Conversational skills - Engage in classroom conversations, and use conversational skills like taking turns speaking, and responding to what a friend has to say.
Reading and Writing:
Exploring sounds - Explore sounds; for example, detect the beginning and ending sounds of familiar words and names, or listen for words that rhyme.
Learning letters - Learn about letters of the alphabet; for example, recognize and name letters, understand that letters are associated with a sound or sounds, and name some of those sounds.
Appreciating print - Appreciate print and understand that it carries meaning. Recognize common print, such as familiar signs and logos.
Understanding print - Understand the way print works: that it moves from left to right and top to bottom, and that letters are grouped to form words.
Enthusiasm for books - Show enthusiasm for books; for example, pretend to read a book, or listen to stories read aloud. Ask and answer questions about a story, or retell information using words, pictures, or movement.
How books work - Understand how books work; for example, how to hold a book correctly, turn the pages from front to back, and recognize features such as the title or author.
Engage with a variety of texts - Actively engage with a wide variety of rich texts including stories, poems, plays, and informational books read aloud.
Exploring writing - Explore writing and recognize that it’s a way of communicating. Experiment with writing tools; use scribbling, shapes, letter-like forms, or letters to represent ideas.
Writing letters - Copy, trace, or independently write letters.
Social Development:
Connect feelings with words.
Validate your child’s feelings.
Teach your child that it’s O.K. to ask for help.
Talk to your child about perseverance.