ABSTRACT
Transitional kindergarten (TK) is intended to be a learning environment appropriate for children who are young, either chronologically, those five-year-olds with late autumn birthdays or developmentally children old enough to enter kindergarten but whose behavior and learning needs suggest they are not yet ready to engage with kindergarten curriculum and experiences. TK teachers have flexibility in their decisions regarding curriculum content because, as with prekindergarten, there are no content standards for transitional kindergarten in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). And, according to the report documenting the first year of California's TK implementation, the TK teachers used that curricular freedom to restore much-needed balance to the academic offerings in their classrooms. Parents of TK students who are developmentally young may be worried that their children might have a learning disability or might choke on a bite of hot dog in the lunchroom. They have concerns about friendships, behavior, and moving on to kindergarten next year.
