The framework
This page follows the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework for ages three to five, and the Common Core State Standards for kindergarten (used, with variations, by most states). It is a plain-language guide for parents, not an official document; schools and regions differ in the detail.
| Class | Age |
|---|---|
| Preschool | 3–4 |
| Pre-K | 4–5 |
| Kindergarten | 5–6 |
| First grade | 6–7 |
The areas of learning, with games that fit
Approaches to learning
Curiosity, persistence, attention, and the self-control to wait, take turns and follow directions.
Social and emotional development
Relationships with adults and children, naming and managing feelings, a sense of identity.
Language and literacy
Vocabulary, conversation, rhyme and sounds in words, the alphabet, and early writing.
Cognition: mathematics and science
Counting and cardinality, comparing, shapes, measurement, patterns; observing and asking questions.
Perceptual, motor and physical development
Running, jumping and balancing; pencil grip, scissors; health and safety habits.
A typical day, and what helps at home
A kindergarten day is usually a full school day: a morning meeting, a literacy block with phonics and shared reading, a maths block with counters and number lines, recess, specials such as art, music or PE, and centres where children choose. Pre-K is shorter and built mostly around centres and play. At home, reading aloud for twenty minutes a day is the single most recommended thing, and teachers ask for one more: let your child practise zipping their own coat, opening their own lunch and asking an adult for help in words.
By the end of the preschool years
Broadly, the framework hopes a child leaving the last preschool class:
- Names upper- and lower-case letters and gives the most common sound for each consonant and vowel
- Blends and reads simple consonant-vowel-consonant words, and reads common high-frequency words by sight
- Counts to 100 by ones and by tens, and counts up to 20 objects accurately
- Compares two numbers between 1 and 10, and adds and subtracts within 10 (fluently within 5)
- Understands the numbers 11 to 19 as ten and some more ones
- Names flat and solid shapes and describes where things are: above, below, beside, behind
These are expectations for a whole year group, not a test for one child. Children reach them over a wide range of ages, and a child who is younger in the class, or learning in a second language, should be given more time, not more pressure.
Good questions to ask a preschool
How much of the day do children choose what they do? How long are they outdoors? How do you handle a child who is upset or who hits? How will you tell me how my child is doing — and is it a conversation or a report card? May I see the room in use? In every country on this list, a setting that answers these well is a better sign than one that promises early reading.
What is different here
American kindergarten expects more reading by six than most countries do, and "kindergarten readiness" worries many families. Readiness is mostly not academic: teachers consistently rank being able to follow directions, manage the toilet, separate from a parent and get along with other children above knowing letters.
Using this site alongside school
Fifteen minutes of Golu's Day covers every area above in rotation: a story, two games, something to move or sing, something to make and a thinking game, chosen for your child's age. For reading and number, the reading ladder and maths ladder put the games in teaching order, so you can find the first stage that is not yet easy and start there. Everything speaks thirty-four languages, which matters if your child's school language and home language are not the same.
If you are moving between countries
The class names change more than the children do. Compare ages, not labels, and expect a settling-in term before judging anything. See all seven systems side by side on the curriculum by country page, and what is typical at each age on the milestones pages.
Now do it for real
When the screen goes off, do something with your hands. Try 🎨 Make a new colour — an easy science experiment for ages 2-6, with every step read aloud in your language. You will need three glasses of water, red, yellow and blue colour, two empty glasses; nothing that needs a trip to a shop.
There are 56 more on the things to do at home page, and free printable worksheets if you would rather have something on paper. Ten minutes on a screen and twenty minutes off it is a good shape for a day at this age.
Parents also look for
- Japanese hiragana for kids
- Ukg syllabus cbse
- Colors and shapes activities for kids
- My home and family activities for preschoolers
- Feelings activities for kids
- How to stop.toddler hitting