The goal is to align everything so that students and the money have no where to go but Common Core.
Parents who have versions of Leap Frog products that are pre-Common Core rollout might want to hold onto them instead of yard saling or consigning them.
Is nothing safe from Common Core? Apparently Not.
The Leap Frog site is pretty careful about using the words ‘Common Core’ and given the push back from parent who can blame them. If you search ‘Common Core’ in their search box, nothing comes up. If you Google it, you find what I did.
LeapPad
Our family loves the products we have from Leap Frog, but had skipped getting their LeapPad when it first came out. We opted to stay with the Leapster2. Leapster explorer and the LeapPad were pretty expensive for one thing and for another, we were underwhelmed by the versatility. I’m pretty sure they are on version two of the LeapPad now and have expanded a lot. Apparently that expansion includes being Common Core aligned?
From The Leap Frog “Learning Path” on their website:
“Teachers and parents are often searching for fun ways to engage their children in learning and to support skills taught in the classroom, including skills addressed in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). After reviewing LeapFrog’s latest tablet for kids, more than 98% of kindergarten teachers surveyed from across the country said they would recommend the LeapPad Ultra™ to parents. Additionally, 98% said that their students would find LeapPad Ultra to be a fun tool for learning.*”
Keys To Kindergarten
Leap Frog gives you advice on how to put your little one in line with the Common Core before they even get to school. Watch the video where they tell the view that “Kindergarten is becoming the new First Grade“. The video tells parents they ave to get their 5 year olds ready by working on these four areas below; they are “4 developmental milestones that must occur before kindergarten”:
- Vocabulary and Oral development
- Attention to Sensory Details (in reading and writing)
- Social and emotional development
- Small motor control
Must occur? Why these areas? Common Core’s ELA stressing writing, writing, writing and because the Common Core’s Kindergarten ELA is largely going to ask them to do things they can’t and well, it’s up to you to push them ahead of their normal development before they even get to school. At the bottom of this page, they have break out videos for 3 of the four items listed in the “must occur” list. Personal note: I have a feeling that we’re going to see an increase in parents red-shirting their kids for later Kindergarten entry.
Read further down the page where the video is to ‘What does readiness look like?’:
What does readiness look like?
It goes without saying that all parents hope their kids are ready, but what does this actually mean? Let’s look at Literacy, for example. Incoming students should be able to:
- Notice and discriminate rhyme, alliteration and smaller units of sound
- Identify and name letters and use letter-sound knowledge
- Appropriately handle books and demonstrate concepts of print
- Interact during read-alouds and book talks
- Use emergent reading skills
- Retell stories
- Write their name
- Write to convey meaning
Having these skills even BEFORE starting kindergarten allows teachers to focus on more difficult skills during the kindergarten year. The Common Core Standards have been adopted in 45 states. The Common Core are a set of standards for grades K-12 which will prepare students for college or career. In writing, for example, according to the Common Core, a kindergarten student should be able to use a combination of drawing, dictating and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened. In reading, students will read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding. That’s a big jump from the good-old-days of play, rest, learn a few letters, and have a snack!
Remember, most kids in Kindergarten won’t be able to perform the fine motor skills with a writing instrument that Common Core demands. Most kids can’t read yet, if they can it’s not at the pace Common Core is asking for, much less be able to repeat ‘a single event or several loosely linked events’.
A word to parents with kid entering Kindergarten — Be prepared for a note from your child’s school suggesting your kid needs an intervention specialist at school or help at home with one of more of these skills. If you have a boy, you likely will get one. Boys have a harder time with these items than girls do. Don’t let school officials pressure you into a course of action or special resource for your child based on Common Core expectations. Parents know their kids better than anyone, you know if they are really having an issue versus being pushed to do something they just aren’t ready for.
Related Reading:
6 reasons to reject Common Core K-3 standards — and 6 rules to guide policy
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