Kindergarten: Fours and Fives Go to School

Schools for four- and five-year-olds are nearly universal today. These may be called kindergartens, pre-kindergarten, preschool, early enrichment programs, or some other name. Regardless of the name, more than 90 percent of all five-year-olds and more than 60 percent of four-year-olds in our nation attend kindergarten. Kindergarten is found not just in America but throughout the world, including England, Europe, the Far East, South and Central America, and some African nations. Kindergarten programs may be half day or full day and everything in between. Full-day programs are popular because they offer children more learning time and respond to parents' needs for full-time schooling for their children. Today more than 56 percent of five-year-olds attend a full-day program, and about a fourth of all four-year-olds attend full day. A new kind of teacher, one who is highly skilled and knowledgeable of four- and five-year-olds, their families, and the community in which they live and of the process of teaching curriculum content, is called for. This book,Kindergarten: Fours and Fives Go to School,was written to enable students to become effective teachers of four- and five-year-old children, whether they will teach in preschool, pre-kindergarten programs, or kindergarten for four- and five-year-olds. Because the text offers current, up-to-date views of readiness and deals with continuing issues in kindergarten education, in-service teachers will find the text a valuable resource as well. FEATURES Comprehensive Kindergarten: Fours and Fives Go to Schoolis a comprehensive guide to teaching in today's kindergartens or preschool programs for four- and five-year-olds. Part I places the kindergarten in historic perspective and presents current issues surrounding today's preschools and kindergartens. Part II includes chapters on the growth, development, and learning of four- and five-year-olds, and how to prepare classrooms, schools, and teachers to work with four- and five-year-olds. Part III presents chapters on planning and assessment and the integrated content areas of art, music, literacy, mathematics, and the life, physical, and earth sciences. Focus on Child Growth and Development Based on theories and principles of child growth, development, and learning,Kindergartenoffers teachers a solid foundation on which to develop teaching skills. A separate chapter illustrates the growth and development of four- and five-year-olds and children with special needs. Throughout the text the principles of growth and learning, which guide the curriculum and teaching, are made clear. Specific experiences or ways of including children with special needs are found throughout the text as well. Special attention is given to children just learning English. Integrated Kindergarten: Fours and Fives Go to Schoolviews learning as an integrated whole that involves schools, families, and the community. Thus, there is a focus on working with administrators, aides, supervisors, resource persons, and others within the school as well as with families. Likewise, the curriculum is presented as a whole entity. How to plan for thematic, project learning is the focus of one chapter. The curriculum areas of art; music; the language arts; the life, physical, and earth sciences; and mathematics, although appearing as separate chapters, are presented in a way that forms an integrated, whole curriculum. Assessment and evaluation are not separate from the curriculum. Authentic evaluation techniques, which are integral to learning experiences, are advocated. Standardized testing and its merits, as well as its detriments, are explained. Active Children, Active Experiences Four- and five-year-olds, as all humans, learn through their physical, mental, and social activity. Thus, this text presents experiences that require children to be active. Specific suggestions fBarbara Wasik is the author of 'Kindergarten: Fours and Fives Go to School', published 2001 under ISBN 9780130148353 and ISBN 0130148350.