One of my parent friends on Facebook posted this list of Kindergarten academic requirements from some unspecified US school district. This prompted a collective rant among other parents on Facebook, saying that it was ridiculous and put too much pressure on kids and parents.I feel a bit nonplussed over this reaction. Yes, "soft" skills like self-control, patience, and listening are much more important than learning your letters early. I'd rather my kid's preschool let them spend time playing and learning how to share and cooperate than doing worksheets. That said, in the five years of time you have before your child starts kindergarten, why wouldn't you spend a few minutes every other day or so practicing letters and fine motor skills with them? As a stay-at-home mom, I have so many hours a day to fill that writing practice and scissor-work seems like an almost inevitable direction to go in finding new things to do with them. Even when I was working (the first two years of my older daughter's life), I still read to her and taught her letters and numbers in the evenings. To me, that's just what you do.I get that parents with little education, money, and time might struggle to teach these things, but almost everyone complaining is a stay-at-home-mom... via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2avDwjC
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