Teacher, Teacher, What do you see?

 
 
 
 

Preschoolers 3’s 4’s and young 5’s

YOU SEE: Trouble separating, they don’t like it.

WE SEE: A cautious child looking for safety.  They still needs a trusted adult near by (please know we support you as you support your child).

YOU SEE: Running all over or not participating during sharing time.

WE SEE: someone who doesn’t know where the authority is - energy is diffuse What they’re saying  through their behavior is “I don’t know what to do or who to listen to, I need to know who is in charge”

WHAT WE DO - gather with a RE-UNITING RITUAL.

YOU SEE: Interrupting

WE SEE: A child needing to use language / share ideas / be noticed and assert themselves as a valuable part of the group.

WE SEE: A child who hasn’t mastered Audiation. (thinking and not saying)… They are working on this but it will take a few more years to master.

WHAT WE DO: Offer Opportunities to learn and opportunities to practice waiting and taking turns.

YOU SEE: My child is ignoring or not listening to the teacher

WE SEE: A Child who may be overwhelmed, Did we go too fast?

WHAT WE DO: Take a breath and refocus ourselves so we can approach the child energetically to help them manage overwhelm and focus on our next task.

When is my Young Preschooler ready for Level 4?

Children ready for Level 4 show many of the following characteristics:

Physical

  • Can jump forward many times in a row, hops, gallops, is learning to skip

  • Demonstrates control of pencil or marker

Cognitive

  • Is eager to learn

  • Has developed classification skills (i.e. can sort things that have a single common feature) and can sort by size, color and form

  • Counts to 20; recognizes numerals 1-10

  • Recognizes some letters of the alphabet

Emotional

  • Has emerging and developing impulse control

  • Exhibits self-confidence and reliability

  • Has a growing sense of right and wrong

  • Is beginning to see things from other’s perspective

Language

  • Speech is nearly 100% intelligible (exceptions may include children with hearing and language delay)

  • Uses grammar correctly, including past and future tense

Social

  • Enjoys friendships and group activities

  • Shares, takes turns, plays cooperatively

  • Is affectionate and caring

  • Follows directions

Musical

  • Sings a whole song

  • Begins to match pitches consistently

  • Is developing the ability to match to group steady beat

When is my older preschooler ready for Level 5

Children ready to participate in Level 5 (Kindermusik for the Young Child) classes show many of the following characteristics:

Physical

  • Good fine motor control

Cognitive

  • Pre-reading skills – understands that writing moves from left to right, and from the top of the page down

  • Good abstract thinking skills – “How do you think a composer can make music sound like a thunderstorm?”

  • Eager to learn

Emotional

  • Developing self-motivation – can work for short periods toward a set goal

  • Continuing development of impulse control

Language

  • Speech is 100% intelligible (exceptions may include children with hearing and language delay)

  • Uses grammar correctly, including past and future tense

Social

  • Exhibits self-confidence and reliability in a classroom/group situation

  • Follows directions reliably

  • Can participate in an activity with groups doing different things simultaneously

Musical

  • Can sing whole songs

  • Developing a good sense of pitch

  • Can pat a steady beat