Kindergarten has evolved from a largely social, developmental environment to an academic one governed by state curriculum standards, educators say.  To ensure children are ready for kindergarten, preschools have been adjusting their own teaching strategies.

Kindergarten teachers now ask children entering their classrooms to have skills such as:

• Writing their own name
• Counting to 10 or higher
• Reciting the alphabet
• Sitting down and listening when instructed
• Using Scissors
• Recognizing basic shapes