Kindergarten prepration

stevesgal · **Kindergarten prepration**

For those with kids heading off to Kindergarten this year- what are you doing to prepare them this summer to get ready for Kindergarten this year?

jacobnatesmom · 05-20-2008, 08:31 AM

i'll be working on skills at home (we have workbooks)... we will also be reading and stuff like that

skimommy · 05-20-2008, 09:32 AM

I'm continuing to work with my daughter in the afternoons when her sister is napping. She can read, does 1st grade math, etc. Things that we need to work on are writing, our address and phone number.

I will also be taking her outside every chance we get. My little fish swim and swim until they pass out.

lizer3 · 05-20-2008, 12:54 PM

Shane's preschool sent home some stuff to continue to work on and we also have workbooks. We will be going on nature walks and such to continue learning.

deemom · 05-20-2008, 12:57 PM

Work on the basics...Can your child zip and unzip their coat by themselves? Same goes for snow pants and boots? If the teacher has to help it cuts down on outside play time.
Count and recognize numbers 1-20.
Get workbooks at the Dollar Tree, etc that work on writing letters, phonics, numbers, etc.
Make flash cards of a few sight words and start practicing those: I, a, but, the, to, was, up.

Happymom · 05-20-2008, 03:56 PM

Gee, all we plan on doing is teaching him to tie his shoes and his phone number!!!

He is going to a summer program at the school though.

Cheesecake Lady · 05-20-2008, 05:22 PM

I remember I was really nervous about preparing Marcus for kindergarten last summer. The school had an open house where they gave us a monthly calendar with actvities, and some other packets of things to do wtih them. They are the #1 elementary school in our county. This is what they included:

They wanted to develop the child's self-confidence to allow for a smoother transition to school. You can substitute, modify or expand to meet your child's needs - not to master anything. Keep practice times playful and brief.

Fine motor skills actvitites such as scrunching or ripping paper are included to help your child develop skills required to pick up a pencil and write. Practice correct scissor and pencil grip before giving them the task of actually using those items.

Read to and visit the library often.

May: Week 1 - recite nursery rhymes and sing songs together.
Week

Cheesecake Lady · 05-20-2008, 05:38 PM

opps - I hit enter.

May week 1 - sing the ABC song together and name letters that your child notices in the environment.

May week 1- help your child develop fine motor skills: throw/catch a ball, pick up small objects.

May week 1 - Give your child coloring experiences with crayons

May week 2 - Sing the ABC song while your child puts the letter cards in order

May week 2 - give your child coloring experiences with crayons

May week 2 - continue to practice fine motor skills: squeeze a ball or small flexible object, and use tweezers to pick up and move objects.

May week 3 - use magnetic, plastic, sponge or cookie-cutter letters to emphsize the alphabet. Match these letters to the cards.

May week 3 - teach your child to identify teh basic colors red, blue, yellow, orange, purple, green, black, brown, white, pink, and gray.

May week 3 - fine motor skills practice: rip paper for an art project and use Q-tips to glue.

May week 4 - teach your child the correct way to hold a pencil (they gave a diagram in the information packet)

May week 4 - Have your child practice tracing on a dotted line

May week 4 - play alphabet games and read alphabet books.

May week 4 - give your child coloring experiences iwth crayons. review the color names

May week 5 - teach your child how to cut with child-size scissors. encouraging remarks such as "thumbs up", "fingers down", "cut away from you" and "use your helping hand"

May week 5 - recite nursery rhymes, and read rhyming stories. Point out words that rhyme.

May Week 5 - play alphabet games.

encourage small play groups with emphasis on cooperative play and basic social skills. Encourage use of "please" and "thank you" and "excuse me". Convey a positive attitude abour school to your child.

I have June, July and August if you want me to tell you what they suggested. Let me know. Remember, they don't have to go in knowing everything - they will learn it in school. By the END of kindergarten they should know A-Z sounds and how to write capital and lower case, how to count 1-20 and recognize those numbers ( they will be able to count to 100), they will learn how to tell time and count money, rhyme words, read, write sentences, etc.

HTH

Cheesecake Lady · 05-20-2008, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happymom

Gee, all we plan on doing is teaching him to tie his shoes and his phone number!!!

He is going to a summer program at the school though.

From our experience I would have to say very few kindergarteners know how to tie shoes. Their fingers just aren't big enough or skilled enough to do it. I'm thinking it is more of a first grade task. I could be wrong, but I was tying a lot of shoes this year when I volunteered in the classroom.

They definitely have to know how to button/snap and zipper though - pants and backpacks.

Learning their phone number is more of safety issue than a school issue. Always good to learn at an early age.

Happymom · 05-20-2008, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheesecake Lady

From our experience I would have to say very few kindergarteners know how to tie shoes. Their fingers just aren't big enough or skilled enough to do it. I'm thinking it is more of a first grade task. I could be wrong, but I was tying a lot of shoes this year when I volunteered in the classroom.

They definitely have to know how to button/snap and zipper though - pants and backpacks.

Learning their phone number is more of safety issue than a school issue. Always good to learn at an early age.

Actually, he is my 7th and all my kids were expected to know how to tie their shoes in kindergarten!!!