Top Ten Signs Of A Good Kindergarten
1. Children are playing and working with materials or other children. They are not
aimlessly wandering or forced to sit quietly for long periods of time.
2. Children have access to various activities throughout the day, such as block building,
pretend play, picture books, paints and other art materials, and table toys such as legos, pegboards, and puzzles. Children
are not all doing the same things at the same time.
3. Teachers work with individual children, small groups, and whole groups at differnt
times during the day. They do not spend time only with the entire group.
4. The classroom is decorated with children's original artwork, their own writing
with invented spelling, and dictated stories.
5. Children learn numbers and the alphabet in the context of their everyday experiences.
Exploring the natural world of plants and animals, cooking, taking attendance and serving snack are all meaningful activities
to children.
6. Children work on projects and have long periods of time (at least one hour) to
play and explore. Filling out worksheets should not be their primary activity.
7. Children have an opportunity to play outside every day that weather permits.
. Teachers read books to children throughout the day, not just at group story time.
9. Curriculum is adapted for those who are ahead as well as those who need additional
help. Because children differ in experiences and background, they do not learn the same things at the same time in the same
way.
10. Children and their parents look forward to school. Parents feel safe sending
their child to kindergarten. Children are happy; they are not crying or regularly sick.
Individual kindergarten classrooms will vary, and curriculum will
vary according to the interests and backgrounds of the children. But all good kindergarten classrooms will have one thing
in common: the focus will be on the development of the child as a whole.
Taken from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.