Online Resources Library

• Disabilities
  • - Autism
  • - Deaf-Blindness
  • - Developmental Delay
  • - Emotional Disturbance
  • - Hearing Impairment
  • - Mental Retardation
  • - Multiple Disabilities
  • - Orthopedic Impairment
  • - Other Health Impairment
  • - Speech or Language Impairment
  • - Specific Learning Disability
  • - Traumatic Brain Injury
  • - Visual Impairment including Blindness
• Regulations
  • - Federal
  • - State
  • - Special Education
• Education
  • - Child Development Services (CDS)
  • - Department of Education (DOE)
  • - Maine Department of Education (MDOE)
  • - Maine Special Education Administrators (MADSEC)
  • - Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)
  • - UNC Chapel Hill (National Center for Early Development and Learning)
  • - USF Florida Parental Information and Resource Center (Florida Partnership for Parent Involvement)
  • - Maine Advisory Council on the Education of Children with Disabilities
• Kindergarten
  • - Kindergarten Transition
  • - Kindergarten Curriculum
• News
  • - RSS Feeds
  • - Calendar
  • - eNewsletters
  • - Woodford’s News
• Facts & Stats
  • - Fact Sheets
  • - Glossaries
  • - Public Databases
• Blogs
  • - Special Education Blog
  • - Parent Blog
• Organizations
• FAQs
  • - For Parents
  • - For Educators
  • - Ask A Question

Special Education Blog

Feb 23, 2010

Posted in: Blog

If you participated in this project by reading the newsletter or attending a training, you have seen lists of things a new kindergartener should know how to do.  When confronted by these long lists of skills most parents begin to panic.  “My child can’t do all of this!” they wail.  Parents of children with disabilities may have the urge to wail more, especially after visiting a kindergarten class.

Please don’t wail, panic, or worry.  If you visit a school in the spring, remember that the children you see have already had months of instruction in academic and social skills.  These are definitely not the same children we had before us in September.

The lists of skills are created to represent an average.  These are what most 5-year-olds entering school can do.  These are what kindergarten teachers hope the children in their classes can do.  Yet, no child is “the average child.”  In September, kindergarten classes are made up of children with a wide range of skills and experiences.  Some have been in school programs since they were toddlers; some have never been anywhere that looks like school.  Some children know a few letters; others can read.  Some children can tell complete stories but can’t write letters; others can write but can only create a few sentences.  Few children have mastered all those skills.

And, that is alright.  All these children will learn together.  Those with skills will model for children who are just learning a skill.  Some children will be the “stars” in one area of skills; others will shine in another area.  None of the children will grow and develop at the same time and in the same way.  In schools, we expect our kindergarteners to be different from one another, to have different abilities, and to blossom at different rates.

When it is time to leave CDS or preschool and move to kindergarten, your child will be as ready as he or she is.  We will happily accept your child and work with you to help your child grow in many wonderful ways.

(Just, please remember, when you visit, don’t compare your child to those almost-first-graders you see before you.)

Return