By Donald H. Harrison 

An elementary school teacher and administrator met in seminar with parents and grandparents of pre-schoolers tonight at Tifereth Israel Synagogue in San Diego to discuss how we can tell if our children (or grandchildren) are ready for kindergarten.

Ready?

Back in my day, kindergarten was where it all began.  You didn't have to be ready.  You just had to be old enough.  Like being born.  Suddenly there was a big commotion, some crying, and presto, you were in a whole new environment.  Ready or not.

Things are a lot more sophisticated today.  Educators want to know whether your child  has developed an aptitude for learning—the kind of skills that will permit his or her easy adaptation to a classroom environment. Inasmuch as  I have a grandson, please permit me to use masculine pronoun in relating some of things the educators want a pre-schooler to do..  If you have a daughter, please substitute the feminine pronoun wherever appropriate.

The educators like to know whether a child has the right skills for kindergarten. These aren't academic skills.  To be frank, elementary school educators are not all that impressed if your pre-schooler knows his alphabet backwards and forwards, or whether he can count without using his fingers and toes.

More salient questions are: "Is he happy away from home?"  "Does he have a good sense of himself as an individual."  "Does he handle his personal needs (like going to the toilet)."  "Does he share with others?"  "Does he function as a member of a group?"  "Can he follow two and three step directions? "Does he follow rules?"

Reading this list I begin to worry if all the adults I know would be ready for kindergarten!

Does the child "maintain attention on adult-directed tasks for short periods of time?"  Is he able to "bounce and catch a ball?" "Can he run, jump, skip, hop, march, and walk on tiptoes?"  "Does he know colors?"  "Can he copy simple shapes?" "Can he color pictures?"  "Can he cut with scissors?" "Can he count to five?"  What? Only five?

"Does he recognize groups of five objects?" "Can he group objects on the basis of one or more characteristics?"   You know, which of the following doesn't belong?  Mouth, nose, toe, ear, eye. 

"Does he understand that material is read from top to bottom and left to right?"  "Does he understand that print carries a message?"  "Can he tell the meaning of common words?"  "Does he hear the differences between similar sounds?" "Does he carry on conversations with others?"  "Does he produce understandable speech?"  "Can he retell simple stories in sequence?  "Can he listen to short stories without interruption?"  "Does he appreciate rhymes, poems, stories and music?"

I breathe a sigh of relief; that list isn't too bad. Even I might have made it into kindergarten.  But it turned out the checklist wasn't finished.  There was another page in the set of materials distributed at the seminar.

Soon I  also learned  that a kindergarten-worthy child is one who listens to directions without interrupting.  He can listen to stories and poems for five to ten minutes without restlessness.  The child hears words that rhyme, and distinguishes words that begin with the same sound or those that have different sounds.  The ready child understands "the relationship inherent in such words as up and down, top and bottom, little and big. Furthermore the child can properly group words that refer to people, places or things. 

Our model pre-kindergartner speaks clearly, can stay on topic, can relate his experiences, summarize the main point of a story, give unique ideas and important details, provide reasons for his opinions, and adjusts to changes in routine or new situations without becoming fearful.  He can deal with defeat or opposition without crying or sulking.  He knows how to ask for help when necessary. He obeys classroom rules, the rules of the playground and the school bus, and he is prompt and quiet during fire drills.

The kindergarten-bound child  plays cooperatively with other children. He shares, takes turns, assumes his share of group responsibility.  He can run, jump, skip, bounce a ball with dexterity.  

He can work without being easily distracted.  He can follow directions.  He can complete each task.  He takes pride in his work. 

And if the child is not ready?  What then?  Hold him back?  Educators don't like that antiquated idea.  It's not "holding the child back;" it's "giving him the gift of another year" without pressure, another year when he's not competing, another year to develop the aptitudes that will make later learning enjoyable, rather than a source of unremitting tension.  

Too many parents want to fast-track their children to the Ivy League.  Better to let them be children for just a while longer, until they are emotionally, socially and academically ready for kindergarten.

Okay parents, how many of you wonder if, given the same set of criteria, any of us would ever have gotten there?