Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in baltimore, MD

Let's Build a Better Pre-K

May 11, 2009

Kindergarten, as you probably know by now, is not the kindergarten of yesteryear.  Gone, at least in the public schools, are the days of limitless free play and naptimes; these are the days of sight words and diphthongs and learning, step by step, to read.  My daughter, who's in kindergarten at our regional elementary, loves school more than I ever could have imagined.  She loves her teacher, adores reading, and thrives on the structure of her very busy day.  But still, even in light of her many successes, I sometimes mourn the lack of playtime, the absence of freedom, and the fact that a decidedly more rigorous and rigid curriculum has replaced the more carefree kindergarten of yore.  I know why kindergarten's become so academic--with so much emphasis on No Child Left Behind and other initiatives, schools have begun promoting literacy and math proficiency early, in an effort to close the achievement gap.  I understand why educators want to reach children early, and I agree that it's important--and every school's duty, really--to ensure success for every student.  But I can't help but feel, despite good intentions, and despite the fact that my daughter is so obviously thrilled with school, that something else important has been forsaken.

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