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Quality preschools and childcare programs should be teaching all of the skills that are necessary in Kindergarten. Some preschools use a holistic curriculum that includes social skills, emotional regulation, physical development, science, math, and language literacy.
Social skills are necessary to function in society and around other people. Examples of social skills are conflict resolution, active listening, taking turns, telling others what you need, respecting personal space, sharing, etc.
Example for telling others what you need…
Emily climbs into a box.
She whines.
I ask, “Are you stuck?”
Emily shakes her head and says, “Don’t know how.”
I repeat, “You don’t know how to get out of the box. I will help you.”
I define life skills, also called adaptive behavior, as skills that you need to function at your personal best. It is a type of social skill. It includes things like accepting change, making decisions, empathy, respect, accepting the word NO, managing money, being independent, developing positive self-esteem, etc.
Example for independence…
Emily shows me that she spilled some milk on accident.
I tell her, “Let’s clean it.”
She goes to get a paper towel and cleans the mess.
I remind her to throw the paper towel away.
Emotional regulation is naming your emotions and learning how to deal with them in a positive way. Emotional regulation is a life skill. Hitting and revenge are negative ways to deal with upset emotions. Walking away and taking deep breaths are positive ways to manage anger and sadness.
Example for taking deep breaths…
Leon is whining about a problem.
I look at him and take a deep breath.
He copies me by taking a deep breath.
Then he begins to talk calmly so we can solve the problem.
REFLECTION – Many times we adults expect children to automatically know these social skills. However, just like babies do not come with instructions. Kids do not automatically know how to perform appropriate social skills. They learn it through experiences and copying what they see others do.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Physical development is learning how to control your muscles. It uses gross motor skills or arm and leg movements. It includes balancing, kicking, swinging, bending, reaching, pulling, etc. Strengthening gross motor muscles helps children to stop falling down so often.
Physical development also includes fine motor skills or finger and wrist movements that are necessary for eating and writing. Fine motor skills include using scissors, ripping, folding paper, using a spoon and chopsticks, peeling stickers and paper off crayons, picking food up with your pointer finger and thumb, etc.
Example for balancing…
Ruth and Leon are balancing cups on the back of their hand while walking around the room.
SCIENCE
Science is an enormous category. It includes living things (example: people, animals, plants) cause and effect (example: technology and engineering), observation, any “why and how” question you can think of, etc.
Example for cause and effect…
Aaron keeps turning the light switch on and off. Toddlers do this because they are learning that the light is connected to the light switch. Giving them toys with buttons will teach them about science and redirect their misbehavior from the light switch.
MATH
Basic math is necessary for many jobs. Math skills include colors, numbers, patterns, shapes, sorting, etc.
Example for one-to-one correspondence counting…
Put some crackers on a plate during snack. Point to each cracker as you count it. Many children will start to count along with you.
LANGUAGE LITERACY
Language literacy is anything with letters, including sign language, braille, and spoken words. You can improve your child’s language literacy by having conversations and looking at books with your child. Communication is part of language literacy it is extremely important for children to be able to communicate their feelings effectively and be listened to. Communication includes expressive (talking) and receptive (listening) skills. Communication can be auditory language, sign language, body language, etc.
Some examples are…
An adult talks to his infant. She looks at him then smiles.
A toddler reaches for his cup, but it is too high to get. He looks at you and points to his cup.
A preschooler learns how to identify upper and lowercase letters.
A kindergartner learns what sounds letters make and how to read basic sight words.
Example for environmental print…
When you are driving ask your child to find the first letter of their name. They can find it on street signs, buildings, in the car, on a license plate, etc.
