What should a 3 year old know?

[BriansLovie]

Not sure where to put this. What exactly should a 3 year old know by now? I am a bit concerned. I was researching cirriculum for DS, for after we are done with our current one, and was looking at Abeka... for K4, they have the cirriculum for learning cursive??!! Am I not teaching DS enough? I haven't started having him practice writing yet. Am I behind? He knows all the uppercase alphabet by sight (working on the lower case), but he can't write any letters yet. I just feel inadequate right now :/

[teamommy]

:hug2 Absolutely not behind! Abeka is unusual for teaching cursive first, and at such a young age. Check out Handwriting Without Tears pre-K and you will feel better. :)

I don't think there is any evidence that being taught letters and numbers at 2 or 3 gives a child a long term advantage (soe kids do pick them up naturally and learn to read and write this early on their own, but I think this is much different than being actively taught). My oldest son did not know much more than the first letter of his first and last name, til he was almost 5, and at 7 he reads quite a few grade levels ahead. I haven't asked my 4 year old to write anything yet and we work letter sounds now and then, but I can tell he is not quite ready to start. Not to say we don't do lots--but it doesn't look like schoolwork--it is just learning about the world, talking and reading about all kinds of things, and exploring. I don't think it's bad to try to teach "schoolish" academics earlier, but I think pushing them is detrimental.

[Herbwifemama]

I agree- your ds is probably right on target for his age without you having to do anything- unless he has some sort of developmental delay, or you keep him locked in an empty room all day. :P~

I read "Einstein Never Used Flashcards" when dd was a newborn, and I'm so glad I did.

[birthchic]

Um...how to play??? We don't "school" in anyway until first grade age, and by that point the kids all seem to know how to write and read and basic math. 3 year olds should be playing, and being creative with art material, and discovering the world around them, and spend time being read to. That's just my $.02. :)

[BriansLovie]

I guess it's just my first time having a 3 year old and just worry that I am not doing "enough." Thanks for your replies. It's really hard not to worry.

[Herbwifemama]

It's fine to do things with him, but you don't really need to worry about what he's learning at this point- unless you genuinely fear a developmental delay. Dd and I "homeschool preschool"- I try to think of fun activities and crafts to do together, make sure she gets lots of outside time, read to her a lot, go on outings, etc. Pretty much the same kind of things I plan to do when we actually get down to "real" homeschool.

[Katigre]

I can't imagine teaching a 3 year old cursive! They don't have the fine motor skills for that yet IMO. DS can write a few numbers (that are big and sloppy) and a few letters (maybe? he's not really into writing) and draw some shapes and I consider that pretty good.

[ronioli]

My dd is almost 5 and going to kindergarten this fall. Not a single child in her cooperative preschool knows how to write in cursive. :no In fact, even the oldest children (5 yo) were just writing block capital letters.

[jenny_islander]

3-year-olds "should' be able to put on at least some of their clothes without help, pick up some of their toys when asked, walk upstairs without holding your hand, pay attention long enough for at least one short storybook, sometimes say please and thank you without prompting, ditto for excuse me, etc. They "should" have experience messing around with art supplies without direction, wandering around a beach or grassy area ditto, "helping" you cook if they're tall enough, etc. They "should" get dirty enough for a complete change of clothes in the middle of the day at least once during the summer. They "should" be working on potty training, exact stage depending on the individual child. Etc.

Academics? No way.

[phathui5]

I think a 3 year old should know:

- That reading is fun.

- How to buckle their carseat

- How to throw a ball

- Their name, parent's name

- That art is cool and that drawing, painting, clay are fun to play with

- How to take their shoes, shirt, pants off

- How to brush their teeth

- Some songs

[tiffany]

I saw that in A Beka's material too. It is just for them though - no other Pre K curricula that I have seen teach cursive. A Beka claims it is easier for the children to learn one way of writing rather than teaching print and then switching to cursive in, like, the 3rd grade-ish. They say it has produced much better results in handwriting legibility in the long-run :shrug3 I am not forcing anything on my 3.5 yo, he writes in print, his name mostly, when he wants to (which is a lot), but he usually does it on his white board or chalkboard, so it's fun! And of course I don't force him, but I do help him do it correctly when he's willing to let me help - otherwise, he's just playing. I am a little different when it comes to academics than most on here - I have introduced a loose curriculum to mine at 3yo but I tailor it to what he is interested in. Most mamas on GCM don't think that's a good idea, but I like it and so does my Pumpkin. It may not put him ahead on anything - that's not my goal - but it has helped to give him a time to sit for a few short minutes and do something productive in the way of academics. Mostly I just let him learn through play, but I like to set aside time to 'practice school'. I think the best thing at this age is to encourage what they want to learn and don't really force anything - each child is different and will meet different milestones at different ages. Pumpkin can sound out letters and put a few sounds together, but he has a 5yo friend that can't...

A little :ot he saw a lowercase t in the middle of a word over the weekend and said "that's the cross - Jesus died on the cross" :smile Now to teach him why that's important...

[kiloyd]

I think a 3 year old should know:

- That reading is fun.

- How to buckle their carseat

- How to throw a ball

- Their name, parent's name

- That art is cool and that drawing, painting, clay are fun to play with

- How to take their shoes, shirt, pants off

- How to brush their teeth

- Some songs


I agree. DD 4 1/2 only just in the past few months has learned her letters and does not know all of them yet. We're working on it slowly, I've just been letting her play.

Oh, baking with mommy is great!

[Codi]

Your totally not behind. :no

[MomtoJGJ]

A 3yo SHOULD know that

Mommy and Daddy love them...
Jesus and God loves them...
Some Bible stories and songs....
some stories and songs not from the Bible...
outside is fun...
books are fun...
getting dirty is ok...
how to put on clothes...
how to say please and thank you....

on a flip side to that however, a 3yo CAN know just about anything and CAN do a whole lot more than people give them credit for.

[AmyDoll]

:yes I'd not be inclined to put a pencil in a 3yo's hand AT ALL

[BriansLovie]

:yes I'd not be inclined to put a pencil in a 3yo's hand AT ALL


The only pencil he has had in his hand was a colored pencil. He likes to jab playdough with it! LOL