<!--StartFragment--><p style="margin-top:2.25pt;mso-outline-level:3" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style='font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS"'>Getting Ready for Kindergarten</span></strong></p><div style="text-align:center" class="MsoNormal" align="center"> <hr noshade="noshade" size="3" width="100%" align="center" /></div><p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Kindergarten is an exciting milestone for you and your child. It can be an anxious time, especially if this is your first child. Undoubtedly, you will have many questions, but the three most common concerns are whether your child is “ready” for kindergarten, what is the best way to prepare your child for the kindergarten experience, and what can you expect from the kindergarten program.</span></p><p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Will my child be ready?</span></strong></p><p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Children arrive at school with a wide range of abilities and experiences. Some children have been in preschool for several years, some have never been in preschool or a daycare situation. Some children have read or heard hundreds of stories. Some children have grown up in households where everyone had jobs to do, and some children have never had that kind of responsibility.</span></p><p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Parents should learn about the school and the school’s expectations. Since children arrive from varied backgrounds, schools will try to meet the needs of each child who walks through the door. The parents’ responsibility is to love, nurture and provide experiences and opportunities through everyday situations.</span></p><p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Preparing your child</span></strong></p><ul type="disc"> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Enhance love of learning</span></strong> <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">by talking to your child, asking questions, and listening closely to the response. Respect your child’s opinion even if it is different than your own.</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Encourage your child’s curiosity</span></strong> <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">by taking advantage of natural learning activities. At the grocery store, point out items that fit into one group (frozen foods, cereals, pet supplies) and concept words (big, little, top, bottom, high, low). “Hand me the big red box on the bottom shelf.”</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l2 level1 lfo1;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Foster a love of books</span></strong> <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">by reading to your child everyday. This will expose your child to many words, story language, cause and effect and story sequence.</span></li></ul><p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Provide a variety of activities:</span></p><ul type="disc"> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Talk</span></strong> <span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Verdana">(in the car, while giving a bath, at dinner time) about activities, interests and problems. A child’s conversation should be considered as important as adults’ conversation.</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Listen</span></strong> <span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Verdana">to your child’s questions and ideas. Encourage her curiosity. Show respect for her thoughts and feelings.</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Establish clear rules and expectations</span></strong> <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">for your child’s behavior at home and school.</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Visit</span></strong> <span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Verdana">zoos, museums, historic sites, concerts and other events.</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Set an example by reading at home</span></strong><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">. Your child should see you reading books, magazines, newspapers, cookbooks, instructions, etc.</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Organize household schedules and responsibilities.</span></strong> <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family: Verdana">Everyone should have chores.</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Get your child a library card</span></strong> <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">and use it regularly.</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Read aloud</span></strong> <span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">to your young child often.</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Play games with your child</span></strong> <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">(ring toss, Concentration, tic-tac-toe, Hi Ho Cherry-O).</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Leave notes, messages and lists for your child.</span></strong></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Use everyday activities at home</span></strong> <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">to emphasize important math concepts for your children. Count knives and forks when setting the table, keep a growth chart for each child, compare sizes and shapes of different articles.</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Involve your child in simple cooking activities</span></strong> <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">and meal preparation (with supervision).</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Encourage your child to write.</span></strong> <span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Help him write thank-you notes to relatives, shopping lists, schedules or activities and stories.</span></li></ul><p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Word of caution: Avoid flash cards and drilling your child on colors, shapes, ABCs or numbers. Memorizing turns a child off to learning. Parents should not focus on specific, isolated skills because they don’t make sense to children. Valuable informal learning experiences resulting from a child’s interest and curiosity will give your child a better foundation and a love of learning.</span></p><p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto" class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">The program</span></strong></p><p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">The typical kindergarten program is changing because we know better than ever how young children learn and what they should be learning. Research tells us that children learn through play, through being actively involved with materials and toys and through interaction with other children. We know children will make noise when they are learning, their mistakes are learning opportunities, and children need opportunities to make choices (such as to play with blocks or to look at a book). Children need time to learn how to work and play with other children and how to solve their own problems.</span></p><p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">When you visit a kindergarten class, you should see:</span></p><ul type="disc"> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Verdana">Teachers moving about the room, stopping to talk to individual or small group of children</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Verdana">Children working on projects, active experiments and play</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Verdana">Classroom areas set aside for blocks, art, reading, listening, housekeeping, science, etc.</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Verdana">Children looking at books and dictating or writing stories</span></li> <li style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3;tab-stops:list .5in" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Verdana">Happy, busy children!</span></li></ul><p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana">Kindergarten is an exciting adventure. It is a time when your child should have the opportunity to develop a lifelong love of learning and to recognize herself as a unique and valuable person. Enjoy the year! Work in partnership with the school, and remember, you are still your child’s most influential teacher.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><!--EndFragment-->