A Parent’s Guide to Kindergarten Success

A child’s kindergarten school year sets the stage for future educational success. If a student obtains a strong foundation beginning in kindergarten he can develop confidence and skills that will prove essential to obtaining outstanding academic achievement that will impact the rest of his life.

A critical factor in determining a successful kindergarten year is a student’s love and desire to learn and succeed. As a result of this, it is essential to provide a safe and nurturing educational environment that will foster and enhance a love of learning and drive to succeed. Individualized and/or personalized instruction is crucial to developing these characteristics.

The U.S. Department of Education defines personalization as instruction that is paced to the educational needs of each learner, adjusted to meet learning preferences, and addresses the specific interests of all students. Educators often refer to this as individualized education. The concept involves:

No busy work. Individualized instruction encourages a student to advance through curriculum as soon as he is ready.
Provides additional support and practice for challenging concepts as needed.
Student may advance in one subject while staying on grade level in all others depending on readiness and ability levels.
Encourages students to delve deeper into curriculum.
Instruction may include hands-on techniques, visual, auditory, kinesthetic approaches, or a combination of these approaches depending on the child’s individual preference.
Learning is tailored to personal interests. For example, a child who loves bugs could transfer this interest to math by counting and comparing bugs, reading books about bugs, or writing a paper about a bug.
Students develop a deeper understanding of concepts, internalize and apply this knowledge to a variety of situations.

Children are unique and their education should be also. When a personalized education is provided beginning in kindergarten, it puts a child on the path to succeed and accomplish greatness not only in school, but in future jobs, interactions, and in all aspects of life.

In addition to preparing your child for kindergarten and practicing learning activities at home, these are important considerations as you plan for your child’s year in kindergarten. K12 provides individualized instruction programs for students from preschool to high school. Kindergarten enrollment is currently under way. For more information, please call or visit us online.

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