Reimagining KindergartenIn today's society, we are debating what should be taught. Kindergarten is the first time some children have been away from their parents. This is the time when we should focus on the transition from home to school. But that’s not what’s happening today: Kindergarten classes are focusing more on reading and math skills. They are working on skills tests. Kindergarten is what first grade was. This reflects beliefs about how children learn. People think that less formal activities in kindergarten, like free play, are a waste of time and valuable instructional time that could help the student succeed. Children can play at home. They believe that children should spend twenty to thirty minutes a day preparing for exams. We expect kindergartners to learn to read, not to tie their shoes. “These adaptations represent many strengths and their effects have been reinforced in the environment of No Child Left Behind.” (Graue) Today, more and more children are attending preschool, but teachers feel their students are not prepared for the more intense structure of kindergarten. The kindergarten structure should be designed to teach children aged five and six. They are eager learners and the program should use this enthusiasm to help them learn. The focus should be on kindergartners, not what they should know in first grade. We should also focus on more play. When used thoughtfully, it provides one of the most valuable learning contexts available. The room could be used to teach children many life concepts. We focus too much on what children should learn and not on who they are. I think we push kids too hard. This article shows how we made kindergarten more like first grade. We focus more on testing children and what they should learn. The game is despised. The old cleaning area has now been transformed into a writing area. I think school should be structured, you should have time to play every day. If appropriate, children should play more or at least as much as the math and reading they do daily. Children should start learning in kindergarten, but it must be done in a modern way. They shouldn't learn how to prepare for tests. Children are hungry to learn from the moment they arrive in kindergarten and we should definitely take advantage of it.