What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know: Preparing Your Child for a Lifetime of Learning (Core Knowledge Series) (Paperback)

by E.D. Hirsch Jr. (Author) "PARENTS: Before we present a selection of poems and stories for your child, we want to address you directly..." (more)
Key Phrases: jumping mouse, baby bear, oni monsters, Get Ready, Snow White, Little Further (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Designed for parents to use with their children, and co-edited by the author of Cultural Literacy, a primer incorporates the contributions of two thousand parents and teachers into an accessible introduction to the world of knowledge. Reprint."

From the Publisher
With its comprehensive curriculum providing a sound basis in the fundamentals of math, art, history, language arts, science, and technology, the phenomenally successful Core Knowledge series has become an esteemed tool for parents and teachers striving to better educate today's children. And since it is agreed that the first years of schooling are crucial to a child's lifetime educational achievements, it is no wonder that parents and teachers alike have been asking for a volume for kindergartners.

This primer for those just beginning their school careers was devised with the contributions of over 2,000 parents, educators and students, distilled into a user-friendly volume specifically designed for parents to use with their children. Eighty pages of four-color illustrations enliven the new, bold design of this latest title in a series adopted by hundreds of schools nationwide and appreciated by thousands of adults looking to instill in children a lifetime love of learning.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Delta (August 11, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385318413
• ISBN-13: 978-0385318419
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,126 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

153 of 154 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good resource, but not perfect, May 31, 2000

By	Jane James "homeschoolmum" (California) - See all my reviews

I have 6 children, and we are homeschoolers, so I am always looking for good resource materials.

This series is good in a lot of ways.

It stresses the old classics, more from a cultural literacy standpoint than anything else. You want your children to understand references to literature. You want your children to know what others are talking about when they refer to a mythological figure.

These books not only provide the parent with a few basic stories, but they also put it in the mind of the parent that these things are important for the child to come into contact with.

The social studies are nice and simple, with little maps and nice little pictures. For my children, I develop checksheets to go along with them -- they read a section in the book, then they draw a picture relating to it, or look at a globe and point out the place under discussion, or create an animal from that part of the world in clay -- something involving DOINGness, instead of just READING. They really love this and it makes the material stick in their minds that way.

I make a checklist out of the math section, to verify that the kids are up to speed.

Overall, I think these are valuable books, and well worth having. I would warn parents to watch for the vocabulary used in the literature -- kids will get confused if many of the words are not defined for them - the literacy level is pretty high per each grade level.

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Basic, March 18, 2002

By	apoem "apoem" (Bosque Farms, NM USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I think this is a fine book. I bought it expecting a list of things that my child should know prior to entering Kindergarten. Instead what I got was a book that I could use to teach my child. Excellent!

I think it would be better with a comprehensive list of expectations and/or goals that every child should reach by the time they are through with Kindergarten. That is the teacher in my coming out.

I found that the social studies section was amazing. I didn't realize that kindergarten children could comprehend so much.

Word of Warning: This is ONLY the very basics that a child should be able to learn. This is NOT the be all end all of a kindergarten curriculum to use for homeschooling. However, it can be used as a place to jump start your learning. You will need to add more literature and poetry and math activities. However, it's a well rounded, full of information, useful book.

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get them off to a Great Start!, May 6, 2004

By	A. L. Hermitt "ahermitt" (, GA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Book "What Your Kindergartener Need To Know is a great book to use to get your child started in learning. Even if you didn't get your hands on it before Kindergarten it is a good review and will help you to see if you child has suffered any "gaps" in their knowledge to date.

Since different states and school systems have different opinions as to what a child should know at what age, this book may not necessarily cover what your child has or is about to learn in your local school. From my analysis, the book covers more information from a cultural awareness perspective. This means that is basically is filled with things your child should have been exposed to by this point. They may not KNOW these things or be able to recite everything from this book, but they should have some awareness or have had some exposure to it at this point.

When my children and I received this book, our first Core Knowledge book by Hirsh, we went through the books table of contents page with a pencil and marked off everything they knew. My children are in the 3rd and 1st grade, and the 1st grader "KNEW" much more of the items, which to me means she remembered more items since she had been exposed to them more recently. Although the word KINDERGARTEN was written boldly across the front, they took great joy in my reading the fables and testing them on the geography and math question at bedtime.

I purchase these books in anticipation of beginning homeschooling, but we could not wait to get started on this series. I recommend this and the other books in this set to anyone considering homeschooling or even school-schooling. It is great fun to interact with your children and amazing to find out what they actually know.

Contents include, but are not limited to:
Teaching your child to read and write
Introduction to literature
Nursery rhymes, poems, and Aesop's Fables
Children's Stories like Three Billy Goats Gruff
Simple history and geography, especially American
Visual arts and music
Math and math readiness
Science including plants, weather, animals, and the human body, all at a "Kindergarteners Level"