“Childhood is a journey, not a race!”

Self Help/Social Skills:

Can use the bathroom independently Can take care of personal needs Can relax and rest at quiet time Can dress self (button, zipper, snap, put on

coat) Can follow two-step directions independently Can stay on “teacher directed” task for 10

minutes Can follow classroom rules Can indicate positive feelings about self Can share and play cooperatively with

others Does your childcare for toys and school

materials? Can control self Does your child show respect for adults and

peers? Can participate in group activities with

Kindergarten Transition

“Childhood is a journey, not a race!”

Children grow and mature at different rates. Not all children of the same age are ready for school at the same time. Children who enter school with a wide range of skills and knowledge tend to be more successful in school. There is no perfect formula that determines when children are truly ready for Kindergarten; you can use these checklists to help you look at your child’s physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development. These checklists include items that are important to your child’s success in kindergarten

Mathematics: Can count to 10 Can do one-to-

one correspondence

Can recognize simple patterns

Arranges numbers in order 1-5

Identifies shapes Identifies basic

Fine/Gross Motor Skills:

Can use proper pencil grip

Can cut with scissors

Can trace basic shapes

Can put together a simple puzzle

Can hop, jump, run, catch, and bounce a ball

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Language/Literacy Skills: Can recognize, write, point to, and identify letters

in first name Can speak complete sentences Can handle books properly (right side up,

beginning/end) Can identify environmental print or familiar signs

in the child’s environment Can identify that letters make sounds Can retell a simple story or poem/finger play

after listening to a story Can identify two words that rhyme Recognizes some alphabet letter names Uses symbols or drawings to express ideas other

than scribbling

Attitudes toward Learning/Interests Does your child look at books, magazines, and newspapers at home? Does your childlike/want to go to school? Does your child ask when she/he will be able to go to school? Does your child pretend to read? Does your child listen to you read stories? Is your child curious about his/her environment? Do you convey an attitude that “school is fun and exciting” so your child

looks forward to rather than fearing school?

Before school starts Send a note to the nurse and to the teacher if your child has allergies or special needs. As a parent,

you have the responsibility to advocate for your child’s health and safety.

Visit the school and meet the teacher. If there is a visiting day to meet your child’s teacher and visit her classroom before school starts, make sure to participate.

Start your school routine early. Routines are comforting for us and for children. Read a soothing bedtime story every night to help your child fall asleep with comforting thoughts.

Label everything. Make sure to label backpacks, lunch boxes - everything your child brings to school. This includes her! If your child’s school has not supplied a nametag, make one. It should have your child’s name, address, and a phone number where a parent/guardian can be reached, the name of the teacher, and how your child gets home from school.

Book to read with your child before school starts.Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, Joseph SlateSeven Little Mice Go to School Kazuo IwamuraPete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes,

DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL

Be supportive. Adjusting to school may take time. Ask, “What was the most fun thing you did in school today?” Then ask, “What was the hardest thing for you?” Instill a sense of confidence in your child. Celebrate your child’s successes. Tell her that you are proud of the way she got on the bus and sat down all by herself, or the way she tried to print her name. Don’t dwell on how many friends she has made during the first few days.Set aside a time, each evening, to share your child’s day. See if your child has brought home any drawings, paintings, or scribbling. These papers may be very important to your young student. If there are no papers, don’t assume that your child didn’t do anything worthwhile. After a few weeks have passed and your child has gotten used to school, ask her about what she played with in the classroom, what stories the teacher read, if she went outside, etc. Read everything the school sends home. During the first weeks of school children bring home a wealth of information about school routines, important dates, and meetings that you will need to know about. Make sure to check your child’s backpack every day. Also, you may want to go over with your child, in a positive, calm way, the information you have supplied to the school on the emergency card (who may pick your

Sources say that even three hours of volunteer time in the classroom over the course of the school year (that’s -three hours a year!) can make a big difference in academic performance. There are lots of different ways to volunteer your time during your child’s school day, offer to help at school events that take place in the evenings or weekends.

CHILDREN ARE MADE READERS ON THE LAPS OF THEIR

PARENTSWhen reading to your child;

ask questionso Where does the story take place?o Who is their favorite character?

talk about events in the story retell the story Look for rhyming words Point out pictures Openly enjoy the book together Teach the LOVE of reading

Ask the school where your child will be attending which form of handwriting, they will be teaching. It would be helpful for the teacher if you could teach your child to write their letters correctly and learn how to write their own name.

D’Nealian is written at a slight slant in both manuscript printing and cursive.

Zaner Bloser is written straight up and down in manuscript printing and slanted in cursive.

Know the sounds of letters Erase the Sound Draw a picture on a dry erase lap board. In the example below, I drew a snowman. Have your child erase something that begins with something in the picture. In this picture, your child can erase something that begins with H (hat), something that begins with B (button), something that begins with N (nose). Continue until everything is erased.

One idea that was fun with my granddaughter in the summer before she was entering kindergarten, we started saying the Pledge of Allegiance. This gave her a little boost of confidence at the beginning of the school year.

D’Nealian

Zaner Bloser