What does your child know thats starting Kindergarten 2012 NSW?

We have very recently decided to send our DD to Kindergarten next year when we were previously waiting until she was 1yr older. As its been a very recent decision we have not done what we would have through out the year to prepare her Academically. So I am just wondering what othe children who are starting next year know.
Can they write their name? My daughter can
Count to 20 or above? My daughter counts to 12 before getting muddled up (ie 13, 15, 14 etc)
Alphabet? She doesn't know the song but recognises 20 and knows how to write the letters both small and Capitals without copying them or needing hints (she see's d's as b's and q's as p's she does get very confused)
Shoe laces? No we haven't tried that one yet.

i have a nearly 5 yr old...who is @ kinder...well now ocming to the end of his time

He couldnt write his name before he started....within the first week he could.

He still cant do up shoelaces so i wouldnt worry.

My son could count to 13 then get confused but now he can count to 20.

You will be very surprised at exactly how much they learn in short space of time.

ive noticed alot and when they send home his portfolio....just how far he has come is very evident.

As for the alphbet song....thats something you can both do together...and they do learn it at kinder.

Sounds like she will be fine

are you talking 5 yr olds? my almost 5yr old is starting prep next year (i assume thats your kinder??) shes in 4 yr old kinder now
she can right own name (could do in 3 yr old kinder)
count to 100
knows her alphabet
can spell and is starting to read

Yes Olive. Not sure the difference between states but kindergarten as the first year of schooling in NSW. My DD born April 07 is currently in the 3yr olds preschool (and enrolled in 4yr preschool for next year) but a few things have happened in the past few weeks hence the decision now not to hold her back.

DD1 is nov 06 baby
DD2 is feb 09 but wont go to primary school (prep) until 2015

As a teacher and a mum to a May 07 kid let I would say she will be fine and there is a lot more to starting school than just the academics TBH.... Can she follow instructions and concentrate? Motor skills as far as holding scissors, glue pens etc.? How is her socialisation/sharing skills with other children? Can she dress/undress/ toilet herself? How will she cope with being away from you for long periods at a time?

My DD can write her name, most letters, can count up to 60 with a few prompts and about 35 alone, does simple equations adding etc. however socially she isn't ready to start - and luckily she can't start until the following year anyway(in Vic) and will do 4 yr old kinder next year.

Good luck making a decision!!

If you think she will cope socially etc then send her - as Tanstar said, there is more than just academic stuff that means they are ready. There will be kids that are up to 12mths older than her that would only be at that stage too. Once she starts school she will leap ahead pretty quickly.

Miss J is starting school in Jan 2012, she can sing the alphabet and knows the letters, can draw some letters and writes her own name. She can trace all letters and words, she can count to about 30 or so more if prompted. Can dress herself, toilet trained and is really good socially. No shoe laces though...

My Nov 06 baby is starting school next year. Her kindy (four terms before school) have in the curriculum, heaps of things to prepare the kids for school. They are all being taught how to recognise their name written down, encouraged to copy their own name (but not how to form the letters), following instructions, understanding when to be quiet, following instructions, hygiene, taking turns, turning pages, taking responsibility for their belongings, using scissors, negotiating with playmates, saying STOP i don't like that - when in a situation they don't feel safe in etc.

My DD has been tt-d for years, but still has issues wiping herself after toiletting. She wants to undress to go to the loo, she uses HEAPS of loo paper, and gets upset about "still feeling wet" when i'm positive she has dried herself plenty. I can't imagine her going to the loo at school by herself, but she copes at kindy (all day) just fine. I never send her in dresses/skirts, as she cannot hold the clothing AND go to the loo at same time.

I also can't imagine her coping with the food aspect of school - eating the recess and lunch that i will be sending in her school bag. She barely eats anything at kindy (all this year).

I'm dreading her going to school actually. Like me, she will most likely be the most physically small/short in her class.

But she is so looking forward to it, keen to learn, interested in books, very sociable. Can count to 12 then jumps a few numbers to 20. Writes her name well (we have worked on it together, i wanted her to know how to FORM the letters). Can hold brief conversations with people other than her parents. She doesn't "read" story books, but her memory is so good, she says the gist of the story so well, sometimes i wonder if she IS reading. Does 100 piece jigsaws with me. Colours in, within the lines. Does detailed drawings (like knobbly knees on the Gruffalo). Can dress herself. No shoe laces. She loves making knots with craft cord, threading cotton reels thru shoelaces. She doesn't have any shoes that do up with laces, maybe i should do something about that, ha ha.

As others have said, academics is the least important. No doubt there will be a WIDE range of literacy and numeracy skills there but TBH I really don't care about any of it. As long as she is learning and not playing catch-up all year long.
DD is starting next year and they are doing bits and pieces of basic literacy & numeracy at pre-school which she enjoys but I am very happy to let her go at that stuff at her own pace - we are not doing any homework!

What's important IMO, is that she can communicate well, make friends, recognise her name/property, is happy to be away from me during the day, can go to the toilet by herself. I'm confident that she'll be fine - some of these skills have only come about in the last 3-4 months so I know that with another 3-4 months still to go she will be even more socially "ready".

Shoe laces... nope. Not here either! We won't be having lace-ups next year ;)

My 06 big boy is off to school next year....

he knows alot of words about 20, can write his name, etc like most of the ladies have said here.

Im dreding it aswell....cause iknow he be picked on :o(

mildez apparently they do a kindergarten readyness assessment the last year of preschool and will tell you if they think your child is ready of not. thinking back dsd did have this done and we were told she wasnt ready however her mother chose to send her and she was/still is extremely far behind the other kids, but in saying that she has a lot (5 out of 22) of snc in her class and only 1 aid to help the teacher so the class has always right through from kindergarten to now year 3 been a very disrupted and disjointed affair and i feel this contributed greatly to what was already an issue for her. I think if you feel your dd is ready and after talking to her preschool teachers they agree then she should be fine. You could ask about the readyness assessment at her preschool if you are concerned (from memory it included counting to 20, the alphabet, write first name, correct holding of a pencil, social skills, knowing the basic colours and shapes) hth

Don't expect shoe laces for a while!

My 2006 "baby" is off to prep next year as well, he turned five a few weeks ago.

He can write his name, his counting is pretty good, he can solve any jigsaw puzzle or build anything to plan with lego that you want to shove under his nose...so I have no worries about his analytical skills.

He can't tie his shoelaces (mainly because none of his shoes have laces :lol: ), but he can go to the loo alone, recognise his stuff and keep it in his bag, and he copes fine with separation.

Probably my biggest concern is his pencil grip (which is bizarre, quite frankly) and his lisp - which he's about to start speech therapy for. My main concern with that is that it will become a social issue so I want to nip it in the bud.

im a tad sad abt him going to school....he is still my baby....

i think the show lace tying wont be for a few years yet lol