Letter identification is a skill that involves being able to say the names of both upper and lower case letters of the alphabet quickly, without having to think very long about each letter.

In an ideal world, kindergartners would come to school having this skill.

Is it necessary? No. They’ll absolutely learn this skill in kindergarten.

One caveat: kindergartners who already know their letters and sounds, start reading faster than kids who don’t. This has been my experience as a kindergarten teacher for many years.

Starting school for the first time is exciting and nerve wracking!  It’s such a big milestone for our children.  

Kindergartners are full of energy and curiosity which makes them the most fun learners. Kindergarten parents often have many questions about kindergarten readiness and what to expect.

If your child is heading off to kindergarten this fall or in a 1-2 years, then this blog post is for Y-O-U!

If you don’t have a kindergartner, no worries, I’ll have extra tips for heading back to school as well.

Truth bomb alert….

Since March, all I’ve seen are teachers posting similar posts about how much they miss their classroom and kids….

And while I have felt the same way, I haven’t felt like posting much about how I’m feeling...until today.

When I started teaching, I was a bit naive. I thought I’d stay at the same school...forever.

The students were amazing and I had a few friends I worked with. Life seemed grand. Without going into all the details, we all know things can change over the course of a few years.

I made the decision to move schools. It was the toughest decision of my career. I was moving to a new school with ZERO friends and ZERO people I actually knew.

“Teaching kindergarten is like herding stray cats!”

Kindergarten teachers...how many times have you heard this exact phrase in your career?

I have always been in kindergarten whether it was in a multiage K/1 class, or for the past two years just kinders by themselves.

So, it’s fair to say I’ve heard this saying A LOT.

Teachers: you are a wealth of knowledge and parents will pay you for your guidance! How many times have we heard parents say “Man, I wish my kid would do that for me!” The truth is, it’s easier to throw a fit for mom or dad when working on school work. It’s much more embarrassing to throw a fit in front of a teacher.

If this were a normal school year, I would feel the same way. Save my goodbyes for tomorrow, knowing I’d see my kids in the fall as new first graders.

I don’t want to dwell on what we can’t control. To take my mind off missing my kids, I decide to make them a present so they can get something from me in the mail and also have “closure.”

ABCDEFG……

Did you sing that in your head as you read the beginning of the alphabet?

If you did, it’s not surprising! We learn the alphabet in early childhood and take it for granted as adults.