Ways to prepare your child for school
- Make sure your child has received his/her school entry booster shot
- Encourage your child to print his/her name with a capital letter first and then small letters (i.e. Brenda)
- Encourage your child to practice using pencils, crayons, glue and scissors
- Help your child recognize colors, numbers and letters in the world around him/her. Recite poems and rhymes together
- Help your child learn his/her full name, address, telephone number and emergency contact person’s name
- Ensure your child knows how to use the bathroom by themselves. Have them practice at home and make them as independent as possible! When going into public washrooms, have your child go in the stall alone to practice.
- Teach your child to zip zippers, tie shoelaces (if sending laced shoes to school) and fasten their school bag. The more independence the better!
- Practice eating school lunches! Prepare a typical school lunch and set a time for 20 minutes. Have your child eat with you nearby but not next to them. See if they are able to start and finish independently, open the containers on their own and clean up their messes 🙂
- Start a nightly reading routine. This will set the foundation for reading daily with a family member or on their own.
The First Day of School
For children and parents, this is a big day! In many schools, Kindergarten teachers help make this easier by arranging times for your child to visit the classroom with you and/or by visiting you in your home before the first day of classes. Some schools start with only part of the class, so that the first day does not seem so overwhelming. It is natural for both children and parents to be a bit anxious, but there are things you can do to help make the first day go smoothly.
If you go with your child…
– Arrive on time: not too early (waiting can be hard) and not too late.
– Leave cheerfully: make contact with your child’s teacher and then don’t linger. If your attitude is positive, then your child will feel that school is a safe and interesting place to be. Your presence may distract your child from this new and fascinating place. Letting go can be hard, but please don’t let your worries influence your child’s enthusiasm.
– Talk about concerns: answer their questions about the teacher, other kids, who will pick them up, where the bathroom is, etc.
– Be supportive: let your child know that you and his/her teacher will work together to help them.
A list of useful books to prepare children for Kindergarten…
The Kissing Hand… by Audrey Penn
Welcome to Kindergarten… by Anne Rockwell
Curious George goes to school…. by Margaret and HA Reys
If You Take a Mouse to School… by Laura Numeroff
Tucker’s Best School day…. by Susan Winget
Kindergarten Kids… by Ellen Senisi
Wemberley Worried… by Kevin Henkes
A Child’s Story…. by George Bains & Paul Bains
Cat and Dog at School… by Rozanne Williams
Mama Don’t Go… by Rosemary Wells
Kindergarten Rocks… by Katie Davis
Llama Llama Misses Mama… by Anna Dewdney
Full Day Kindergarten
The purpose of full day Kindergarten is “to enhance children’s overall development – not to rush them into academics at an earlier age. Full day Kindergarten can provide a range of benefits over and above those from half day programs largely because it allows more time for play based exploration and inquiry. These types of hands-on experiences are responsible for most of the cognitive growth that occurs in Kindergarten children”.
The benefits of Full Day Kindergarten for your child:
– More opportunities to learn through play (learn through exploration and play, indoors and outdoors)
– Extended interaction with other children to help develop strong social-emotional skills, positive self esteem, self-regulation, and form positive relationships with teachers and peers
– Greater exposure to educational materials to help develop strong literacy skills.
– More time for teachers to meet the needs of children.
– Fewer transitions during the day.
– More individual and small-group activities.
– More time for children to engage in developmentally and culturally appropriate experiences that foster their learning and development in all areas
– More opportunities to engage in enriched experiences that facilitate conceptual, cognitive, and language growth, and foster inquiry
FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT
FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN
1. Are all schools offering full-day Kindergarten in 2011-2012, or will some still be offering half-day programs?
All Kindergarten classes in BC’s elementary schools will be operating on a full-day basis as of September 2011. For the 2010-2011 school year, these classes have been in operation in about two-thirds of the schools, with half-day programs in the remaining schools. All half-day programs will be phased out as of Sept. 2011.
2. Who will be teaching the full-day Kindergarten programs?
Full-day Kindergartens are taught by fully-qualified Kindergarten teachers, as were the half-day programs. Kindergarten teachers in BC have training in Early Childhood Education.
3. Is full day Kindergarten mandatory?
Kindergarten itself is not mandatory in B.C., and parents can choose for their children to begin school in Grade 1. However, the vast majorities do enroll their children in Kindergarten. When a child enrolls in full-day Kindergarten, the expectation will be that the child attends full days as in any other grade; there will not be an option of attending a full day program for only half a day.
4. What if a parent does not want their child in full-day Kindergarten?
As of September 2011, all Kindergarten programs in British Columbia will be full-day, so therefore there will not be any half-day alternative.
5. Won’t it be too stressful and tiring for my child to be in school all day long when he is just 5 years old? What if my child is not ready to be at school for a full day?
Teachers are well aware that some children, particularly those who are still 4 years old in September, may become tired in the afternoons, and they will program their days accordingly. Many children are already out of their homes and in daycare or preschool programs during the afternoon.
6. Why has the Ministry decided to make Kindergarten a full-day program? What will be the benefits for my child?
The implementation of full-day Kindergarten is based on a considerable body of research demonstrating the importance of children’s early years as the foundation for lifelong learning and success in school and beyond. The full-day program provides more time for play-based exploration and inquiry, and has been proven to benefit both academic learning and social skills development.
7. My child qualifies as an ESL learner. Will he have a special ESL program?
ESL students will be in regular Kindergarten programs but will receive ESL assessment and programming support as needed.
8. My child has special needs. How will he be supported?
Children who have been identified as having special needs will continue to receive support from Education Assistants where appropriate, and will be enrolled in regular Kindergarten classes, as they are at present. They will have Individual Education Plans (as they do presently), and if they are unable to cope with a full day of school, this will be examined and strategies implemented through the IEP process.
9. What will the curriculum be like in a full-day K?
The Kindergarten curriculum continues to follow the “Primary Program,” the foundation document which has guided Kindergarten programming in British Columbia for several years. This philosophy emphasizes play-based learning. The full-day programming is based upon this curricular philosophy.
10. How will the children be supervised at recess and at lunchtime?
Schools employ additional noon-hour supervisors whose job is to supervise the Kindergarten children while they eat their lunches, and to be with them on the playground at noon hour. To help familiarize the children with the playground and with recess and noon hour expectations, teachers gradually introduce their children to the playground equipment and to the rules and routines of outdoor play. Some teachers may choose to start their students with a recess time, which is different from the rest of the school, and then gradually acclimatize them to the regular school recess. Some schools may also choose to designate a particular area of the playground exclusively for Kindergarten or primary grade use. Parents can feel confident that every effort is made to ensure their children’s safety on the playground.
11. Will there be a gradual entry process in September?
We anticipate following a gradual entry process very similar to that which was used last year, in which children begin attending for only short periods of time each day for the first week of school, and over a period of two weeks gradually move up to full-day attendance. Parents will be notified well ahead of time as to the entry schedule and hours at their child’s school, so that they will be able to make work and child care arrangements well before the beginning of school.
12. Will there be nap times? What if the children are really tired in the afternoons?
There are no naps in Kindergarten. They will be restful or quiet-time activities later in the day. Teachers will be sensitive to the fact that children may be more tired in the afternoons, and will plan their days accordingly.
13. Can I pick up my child at noon each day and just have him attend Kindergarten in the mornings?
When a child is registered in Kindergarten, the understanding will be that he/she is in a full-day program, just the same as in the higher grades. Removing the child from the program for half-days would count as absenteeism, and would result in that child missing instruction and exposure to the curriculum.
In very special circumstances, if the length of the school day is overwhelming to the child, or if particular special needs make full-day attendance too demanding, the possibility of a reduced day could be discussed with the teacher and principal.
14. My child is going into French Immersion. Will there be full-day Kindergartens there as well?
The French Immersion program will be based on full-day programming just like the regular English stream.
*Information provided by Mme Zerbinos from SD37*