I do suspect that there is an emphasis on pushing little children harder academically now than there was in the past. They were still doing half-day kindergart

I do suspect that there is an emphasis on pushing little children harder academically now than there was in the past. They were still doing half-day kindergarten when I was five, and the majority of the curriculum was "don't bite the other kids and play nicely." The height of first-grade was basic phonics, single digit addition and subtraction, and coloring between the lines.