Kinder Summer
Early childhood education is very near and dear to my heart. It’s where I first started my career and where I continue to do most of my work with my day job as an assistant principal at the grade school level and at the collegiate level through a board I serve on. . That being said, I couldn’t help but think of all the five-year-olds that will flood the halls of elementary school in the next few weeks. I've also been thinking about how, on most occasions, everyone talks about third grade because that's when state testing begins here in Maryland. However, as someone who spent more than a decade as a kindergarten teacher and now serves as a school administrator, I have a deep understanding of just how crucial the summer before kindergarten truly is.
If you are the parent of a five-year-old or are part of the village of someone you know with a five-year-old, this blog post is for YOU! Even though school starts soon, there is still time to help support your child—or a child you know—in preparation for kindergarten. Schools begin evaluating and placing students with peers at similar academic levels as soon as they walk through the doors. This is not meant to pigeonhole students but rather to ensure that each child is met at their academic level. However, without a strong partnership between teachers and parents or caregivers, that placement could be where your child remains.
I know many people may still believe kindergarten is about eating cookies, making mud pies, and taking naps, but we are SO FAR away from that in 2026. Believe it or not, kindergarten students around the country will be expected to know how to read, comprehend, add, and subtract by the end of kindergarten. This may come as a surprise to you, but I also want you to use it as a point of reflection. How much time have you or your community invested in preparing your child for kindergarten or school in general? The good news is there is still time to prepare!
I want you to do a few things as we begin this school year...
Get to know the expectations for your child this school year. Google your state's kindergarten standards. Most standards outline what a child is expected to do by the end of the school year. They can be wordy. If you don't understand them, ask your child's teacher or other professionals at your child's school to help break them down for you. This could also be a job for Chat GPT, haha!
Talk to your child's teacher about how you can support your child at home. August and September begin with an onslaught of assessments. They should be able to tell you EXACTLY what your child needs to work on and how you can help at home.
Create a schedule and make it a priority to work with your child at home. Everything can't happen at school—educators NEED YOUR HELP! Reading, completing homework, and practicing skills at home can help fill in learning gaps or even help your child excel academically. Just because they are on grade level doesn't mean you should stop there. KEEP GOING!!
Ask for help! One of the reasons I created The Spark Collective was not only to support student learning through tutoring service but also to support parents and families in what can often feel like uncharted territory as they navigate their child's learning and academic needs.