Kindergarten

Silas McLellan, a kindergartener in a play-based learning class, plays with toy blocks during “Choice Time,” at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H. on Nov. 7, 2024.
Silas McLellan, a kindergartner in a play-based learning class, plays with toy blocks during Choice Time at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H., on Nov. 7, 2024. After years of early grades becoming increasingly academic, play-based learning is making a comeback.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Early Childhood Explainer Play-Based Learning in Kindergarten Is Making a Comeback. Here's What It Means
Amid rigorous academic expectations in the early grades, some advocates push for a return to play.
Elizabeth Heubeck, October 21, 2025
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7 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Early Childhood Letter to the Editor Kindergartners Need Learning That Honors Play, Joy, and Discovery
A retired kindergarten teacher explains what she thinks the curricula lacks in this letter to the editor.
September 26, 2025
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1 min read
GettyImages 1165535297
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Early Childhood How Old Should a Kindergartner Be? Parents and Districts Clash Over Cutoff Dates
As some districts and states strictly enforce kindergarten cutoff dates, parents feel the squeeze.
Elizabeth Heubeck, September 12, 2025
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6 min read
Northeast kindergarten teacher Patty Benjamin and Valeria Jackson gets students settled in their new classroom at Northeast Elementary located at 1024 Fleming Ave. on the first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025.
Kindergarten students get settled in their new classroom at Northeast Elementary in Jackson, Mich., on the first day of school on Aug. 20, 2025. Across the country, educators report that kindergartners are struggling with regulating their emotions.
Abra Richardson/Tribune News Service
Student Well-Being & Movement Is More Playtime the Antidote to Kindergartners’ Behavior Problems?
Kindergartners are struggling with self-control—a key indicator of kindergarten readiness. Is more unstructured play a solution?
Elizabeth Heubeck, August 22, 2025
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4 min read
First graders take a closer look at bees during a class lesson.
First graders take a closer look at bees during a class lesson. Science is often neglected in the early grades, but new research suggests that young students who are exposed early to science instruction do better on science exams—potentially setting them up for later success in the discipline.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Science Making Time for Science in Kindergarten Could Have a Big Payoff
When teachers in grades P-1 received high-quality curriculum and PD in science, students' scores rose, a new meta-analysis finds.
Sarah Schwartz, August 14, 2025
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4 min read
Kindergarten students practice greeting each other in a dual-language immersion class.
Kindergarten students practice greeting each other in a dual-language immersion class. Teachers report that more kindergartners are coming to class unable to effectively manage their emotions.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Early Childhood Download 7 Ways to Help Kindergartners Regulate Their Emotions (DOWNLOADABLE)
Teachers report a surge in kindergartners struggling to regulate their emotions. This tip sheet has steps on how to respond.
Elizabeth Heubeck & Vanessa Solis, August 7, 2025
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1 min read
A kindergartener in a play-based learning class prepares for outdoor forest play time at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H. on Nov. 7, 2024.
A kindergartner in a play-based learning class prepares for outdoor forest play time at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H., on Nov. 7, 2024. Across the country, kindergartners are struggling with self-regulation.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Early Childhood ‘Crying, Yelling, Shutting Down’: There’s a Surge in Kindergarten Tantrums. Why?
Educators are reporting a surge in the number of kindergartners coming to school unable to regulate their emotions. What's going on?
Elizabeth Heubeck, July 25, 2025
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6 min read
Addressing difficulties and equipping students, staff, and faculty with the tools they need to thrive.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management Opinion Kindergartners Are Struggling With Self-Regulation. How Principals Can Respond
This school leader recommends three actionable steps.
Ian Knox, July 8, 2025
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4 min read
Kindergarteners in a play-based learning class look around at the site of their forest play time at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H. on Nov. 7, 2024.
Kindergarteners in a play-based learning class look around at the site of their forest play time at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H., on Nov. 7, 2024. Across the nation, kindergarten classrooms have become more academic over the past few decades.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Early Childhood The Expectations for Kindergarten Have Changed. How Teachers Are Adapting
Here's how three kindergarten teachers keep the fun in formative learning.
Elizabeth Heubeck, June 2, 2025
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6 min read
Jessica Arrow, a play-based learning kindergarten teacher, talks with her students about squirrels during class at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H. on Nov. 7, 2024.
Jessica Arrow, a play-based learning kindergarten teacher, talks with her students about squirrels during class at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H. on Nov. 7, 2024.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Teaching Profession How These 4 Teachers Go Above and Beyond for Their Students and Colleagues
During Teacher Appreciation Week, we showcase inspiring examples of committed teachers.
Elizabeth Heubeck, May 7, 2025
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8 min read
Assistant Principal Beth Bearor and kindergartener Rhys Gallup practice letters and letter sounds while walking through a rope ladder during P.E. teacher Robyn Newton’s action-based learning class at Vergennes Union Elementary School in Vergennes, Vt., on Nov. 18, 2024.
Assistant Principal Beth Bearor and kindergartener Rhys Gallup practice letters and letter sounds while walking through a rope ladder during P.E. teacher Robyn Newton’s action-based learning class at Vergennes Union Elementary School in Vergennes, Vt., on Nov. 18, 2024.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Video This School Keeps Kids Moving All Day. See How It Works
Inside a school where movement is woven into academics throughout the day.
Jaclyn Borowski, January 28, 2025
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4:11
Kindergarteners in a play-based learning class react when asked to find their shadows on the ground while following teacher Jessica Arrow back from forest play time at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H., on Nov. 7, 2024.
Kindergarteners react when asked to find their shadows on the ground while following teacher Jessica Arrow back from forest play time at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H., on Nov. 7, 2024.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Early Childhood Kindergarten Play Makes a Comeback, and Boys Benefit
The modern kindergarten has little time for movement and play. Not so in this teacher's classroom.
Elizabeth Heubeck, January 27, 2025
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9 min read
A group of ethnically diverse Kindergarten children sit on the floor of their classroom, cross-legged and dressed in casual clothing. They are all looking up at their teacher who is holding out a storybook and reading to them. They are all smiling and listening attentively.
iStock/Getty
Early Childhood How Kindergarten 'Redshirting' Is Changing
Redshirting was once largely a choice made by higher-income parents of white boys.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, October 23, 2024
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5 min read
Illustration of a young boy writing in a notepad with Algebra equations floating all around him
iStock/Getty
Mathematics Can Kindergarten Math Lay the Foundation for Algebra? New Study Aims to Find Out
Teaching algebraic thinking skills early—like generalizing, representing, and reasoning—can set students up for success, researchers say.
Sarah Schwartz, October 9, 2024
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4 min read
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