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What's Different About Kindergarten?

8/25/2014

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Be ready for these important changes, whether your child has been in preschool, day care, or at home.

There are so many wonderful things for your child to look forward to in kindergarten. He gets to go to the “big” school, make new friends, and maybe even ride the school bus. To prepare him (and you) for the big move, it helps to know just how kindergarten differs from a preschool or day-care setting. Here’s what to expect:

1. A Bigger Building With More Kids
Kindergartens are often housed in neighborhood elementary schools. There will be longer hallways and staircases to navigate, and, most likely, older children in the building. Classes will be larger, often having twice as many students as the preschool classroom.
Prep steps:

  • Give pep talks. Say things like, “You’re so lucky! It’s your turn to go to the big school!” Explain some of the upcoming adventures, such as going to gym or carrying a lunchbox. Tell about the new people she’ll meet, like the school nurse, librarian, and recess monitors.
  • Tour the school during the summer. Point out the bathrooms, the cubbies, the cafeteria, and the playground. Encourage your child to share his concerns and questions. Also be sure to attend any kindergarten orientations or bus safety workshops.
    • Arrange summer playdates. If your child hasn’t been in preschool or day care, it’s important to give her group experiences during the summer. Day camps, community recreational activities, and library and museum programs provide great opportunities for socialization. 
2. Greater Responsibility
Autonomy is critical in kindergarten. Since there’s less one-on-one attention, your child will be expected to be able to put on his jacket, fasten his shoes and backpack, open lunch and juice boxes, and go the bathroom by himself. The schedule is more structured than you’ll find in preschool or day care, and expectations for behavior run high. Your child must be able to sit still and focus on the teacher, raise his hand before talking, move quickly and quietly through the classroom and halls, and work cooperatively with others.
Prep steps:

  • Foster independence. Practice zipping, buttoning, snapping, and getting jackets on and off. Give your child simple clothing that’s easy to manage, like Velcro sneakers, elastic-waist pants, and mittens instead of gloves. Classes will make group visits to the hall bathrooms, so go over the steps of good hygiene andhand washing.
    • Hone listening skills. Reinforce the importance of not interrupting. Also establish consistent routines and break tasks into steps, just like kindergarten teachers do. Give simple, two-part commands, such as “Hang up your jacket, and put your sneakers in the closet.” If your child balks at cleaning up or getting ready for bed, remind him of the ritual by asking, “What do we need to do?”  
3. A Faster-Paced Curriculum
Kindergarten students are now being expected to meet standards that were once reserved for 1st graders. At the beginning of the year, your child should know how to write her name in upper- and lowercase letters, count from one to 10, and identify basic colors and shapes. There will be less free play than in preschool, though the focus will still be on fun. Teachers will use songs and games to deliver lessons about math, science, social studies, and language arts. Another big change: homework. Your child will probably have about 20 minutes a night — usually a math or alphabet activity, journal writing, and listening to you read aloud.

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/what-to-expect-grade/whats-different-about-kindergarten

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What Kindergarten Teachers Wish Parents Knew.

6/1/2014

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Get inside tips on how to make the most of school.

Kindergarten is an exciting and critical time in your child’s development and growth. You can play an important role in this wonderful journey. Here’s what kindergarten teachers want parents to know:

1. Your job isn’t over when you drop your little one off at school; it has only just begun. Your child’s teacher wants to be your partner.Keep them informed about what goes on at home that might affect your child’s behavior or academic performance.Share with them how what they do at school affects your child at home.
 

2. This is not your grandfather’s kindergarten. Sadly, much of what happens in kindergarten is driven by high standards and preparation for standardized tests. The expectations of what children need to know when they enter kindergarten are closer to what used to be expected in 1st grade. To boost your child’s academic skills:

  • Talk with her about what interests her.
  • Encourage her to be curious and ask questions.
  • Point out letters and numbers when you see them in books and around town.
  • Support her in solving everyday problems.
     
3. The more self-control your child has, the more successful he will be in school.Children need practice in deciding how and when to express their feelings and needs, and when and if to act on impulses. Help him develop and practice these skills at home before he tests them at school, where the consequences are a loss of learning for him and for others.
 

4. Make yourself known. Come in. Look around. Peruse the textbooks and materials. Knowledge is power. When you know about the subjects your child is studying, you will be able to help her better and have a common understanding for discussion. Volunteering is a wonderful way to learn about what goes on at school and to show your child how much you care about what she is doing.
 

5. Your child needs lots of opportunities for play outside of school. Play is the way in which he learns about himself and the people and world around him. But more often than not, play has been squeezed out of the school day. Playing both alone and in small groups helps facilitate learning and allows your child to practice skills and concepts.
 

6. Reading to your child once a day is not enough. Try to read together at least three times a day. Books are the gateway to building vocabulary, learning about print, and developing listening and early literacy skills. When you read, talk about the book. Discuss the characters and setting, make predictions, and create new endings. Point out letters and words in the text, and encourage him to recognize rhyming sounds and words and to identify beginning and ending sounds.
 

7. Writing exploration at home is critical. Your child needs to have opportunities to use pencils, crayons, markers, colored pencils, and other writing instruments as she attempts to express herself in written form. She begins with scribbles and lines, moves on to letters and her name, and then to words and sentences.
 

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Is My Child Ready for Kindergarten?

6/1/2014

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By Ben Mardell and Melissa Tonachel (in NAEYC Families)

Q: I have a child in preschool. How do I know if he is ready for kindergarten when the time comes?

A: As a parent, you know your child better than anyone else. Pay attention to the things he says and does. Children come to kindergarten from a wide variety of experiences and settings, so expecting them all to know and be able to do the same things is unrealistic.

Is your son excited about school? That is a good sign. Beyond that, it would be great for him to have some experience with the following things:

  • listening to others and taking appropriate turns for expressing ideas and questions;

  • handing materials respectfully and putting them away;
  • sustaining engagement with an activity or process;

  • identifying and pursuing his own interests, choosing materials and having some ideas about how to engage with them productively;

  • being safe in relation to the group (staying within school bounds) and attending to personal needs (washing hands); and

  • asking for help when he needs it.


There are other habits and skills that he may have begun to develop but that may not be fully developed in preschool or even by the end of kindergarten: solving problems with peers, taking the perspective of others, increasing his stamina, and building academic mastery, for example. 

To read more and discover more articles like this click on the link: https://families.naeyc.org/learning-and-development/child-development/my-child-ready-kindergarten

Ben Mardell is associate professor and program director of early childhood education at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Melissa Tonachel is a kindergarten teacher in Boston, MA.

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Preparing for Kindergarten.

4/26/2014

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See what skills your child should have at the beginning — and by the end — of the school year.

Kindergarten is an exciting time of exploration for your child. As her motor coordination increases, so too will her sense of independence, self-reliance, and self-confidence. As the year progresses, she’ll be expected to complete assignments with less outside help, accept more responsibilities, and follow rules more closely.
 
Skills Required at the Beginning of Kindergarten
You may want to review this list and see if there is anything else you would like to teach your child before those first days of school.

  • Identify some letters of the alphabet
  • Grip a pencil, crayon, or marker correctly (with the thumb and forefinger supporting the tip)
  • Use scissors, glue, paint, and other art materials with relative ease
  • Write his first name using upper- and lowercase letters, if possible
  • Count to 10
  • Bounce a ball
  • Classify objects according to their size, shape, and quantity
  • Speak using complete sentences
  • Recognize some common sight words, like “stop”
  • Identify rhyming words
  • Repeat his full name, address, phone number, and birthday
  • Play independently or focus on one activity with a friend for up to ten minutes
  • Manage bathroom needs
  • Dress himself
  • Follow directions
  • Clean up after himself
  • Listen to a story without interrupting
  • Separate from parents easily


Don’t panic if your child hasn’t nailed everything on the list — she’ll learn a lot in kindergarten. What’s more important is to wean her from relying on you to do things she could do herself, such as zipping her jacket or tying her shoes. Give her the chance to show you what she can do for herself — you might be in for a few surprises!

To continue reading the original article please click here: http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/what-to-expect-grade/preparing-kindergarten

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Supporting your child's early learning and development.

4/18/2014

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Picture
Looking for ideas on how you can support your child's early learning and development? From infant to PreK, check out pages 15-24 to see how you can take action to help guide your child towards Kindergarten readiness and school success:

http://www.ctearlychildhood.org/uploads/6/3/3/7/6337139/cteldsoct2013.pdf


This document was created by Connecticut Office of Early Childhood and the Connecticut Early Childhood Education Cabinet provides information on:

  • Social and Emotional Development: Understanding yourself, your feelings and how to play with other people. 
  • Physical Health Development: Learning to take care of yourself and to do things with your body and hands so that you grow strong and healthy. 
  • Language and Literacy: Communicating using your body, language, signs, and written communication 
  • Creative Arts: Enjoying music, dance, art and expressing yourself in these ways.
  • Mathematics:  Understanding numbers and how to use them, counting, patterns, measuring and shapes.
  • Science: Understanding the world around us, including living things, the earth and space, and energy. 
  • Cognition: Making sense of the world, learning about numbers, nature and people and connecting with the world, staying with something and working hard to solve problems. 
  • Social Studies: Understanding the world and knowing about the people in it. This starts with knowing about your family, then the community and world.





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