Tips for Getting Ready for

Kindergarten

Presented by Dorothy Heitjan and Kristen DeVooght

Sponsored by

The Family Center of Grosse Pointe and Harper Woods

November 4, 2015

Our Presenters

Dorothy Heitjan • Barnes Early Childhood

Center Early Childhood

Program (ECP) Preschool

Teacher

• Specialty Area: Background

as Speech-Language

Pathologist

• Tips 10-4

Kristen DeVooght • Barnes Early Childhood

Center ECP Program

Speech-Language

Pathologist

• Specialty Area: Early

Childhood and

Development of Reading

• Tips 3-1

Questions???

• How many are sending your first child off to

Kindergarten in the fall of 2016? 2017? 2018?

• How many children are already attending preschool?

Think back to your own Kindergarten Experience.

What do you remember?

Kindergarten has changed over

the years…

Kindergarten used to be…

• Half day, play based, time for a nap

then...

• Half Day, Academic Experience with no nap, and an

Extended Day option (meaning the afternoon from

12:30-3:30pm) for enrichment, rest, and child care

(Extended day portion was fee based in some Public School

Districts).

Now….The “New First Grade”

• Kindergarten is a Full Day Academic Experience packed with a well

rounded curriculum!

• GPPSS began full day KG in 2010.

• Unlike the old “Extended” Day KG option, in the Public Schools,

there is no fee for this full/all regular elementary day experience.

(Not be confused with the before/after school Kids club program, where there is a fee.)

And another change…Now All Michigan Students are

5 years old as they enter Kindergarten!

Kindergarten Cut-Off Date Change

Cut Off Used to be December 1

State of Michigan

Public Act 198

June 26, 2012

2013 – 2014 5 by November 1

2014 – 2015 5 by October 1

2015 – 2016 5 by September 1 Kindergarten Waiver Request: A parent can request that the school consider placement of the child if they

do turn 5 after the date and before Dec. 1.

Why?

• Due to the full day academic demands

of Kindergarten

• Michigan was one of few states that

allowed 4 and a half year olds to begin

Kindergarten

• This was a possible disadvantage to

Michigan Students

But one thing that hasn’t changed…

You still need to enroll your child in Kindergarten!

Logistics ..Public, Private, Parochial Required Documentation

• Register for Kindergarten now! Contact the School

System or District’s Website to begin the enrollment

process!

• Typical Documentation Needed: Original Birth

Certificate, Health and Immunization Forms, Proof

of Vision Screening, Residency Verification

• Find out important upcoming dates for prospective

Kindergarteners

For Example…GP Schools

Registration for the Grosse Pointe Public Schools

Visit gpschools.org

Click on Kindergarten

or

call 313.432.3000

for more information!

For GPPSS:

Important Date!!! Kindergarten Information Night for Parents is

Thursday January 21, 2016 from 7-8:30pm at every Elementary School Building

Get Ready! Get Set!

The Kindergarten Year will fly by!

Road to Kindergarten!

Kindergarten Experience

Beginning of Formal Schooling

• Full Curriculum: Language Arts, Math, Science,

Social Studies, Technology

• Specials Classes: Music, Art, Gym, Library, Computer

Lab

• Lunch Time may be with other Elementary Students

• Recess on School Play ground may be with other

Elementary Students

Unlike most typical Preschool Adult/Child Ratios…

Kindergarten is one teacher to many

students!

Kindergarten Expectations

Be Ready for Learning!

• Be a learner during group instruction

• Sit, wait, and follow teacher directions

• Manage personal needs and belongings

• Handle self with peers

Helpful KG Language Arts Entry Skills

• Say and Sing Nursery Rhymes.

• Identify colors.

• Hold pencil or crayon using correct grip.

• Write name using correct form—Paul.

• Sing alphabet song and identify 75% of upper and lower letters.

• Express self. Have extensive vocabulary.

• Listen to and retell a story.

• Understand that words we speak can be written in a list, on a card, in a book.

• Express self in writing by drawing, driting, or writing.

• Cut on a line with scissors.

`

Helpful KG Math Entry Skills

• Identify numerals to 10.

• Count to 20.

• Count up to 10 objects with 1 to 1 correspondence.

• Recognize more, less, same.

• Know shapes: circle, square, triangle, rectangle, hexagon,

oval, and diamond.

• Compare 2 items.

• Compare measurements: size, weight

• Sort objects by 1 characteristic.

Kindergarten: First Step on the

Road to 21st Century Learning!

Today’s students…

Acquire and possess core competencies such as collaboration,

digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

Key Question

What skills do children need to develop before Kindergarten

in order to optimize their success in Kindergarten?

Development in…

Self Control Social/Emotional

Motor Language/Knowledge

Key Question

What knowledge do parents need to best

prepare their child for Kindergarten (and

beyond)?

How to Foster Development in…

Self Control Social/Emotional

Motor Language/Knowledge

How Best to Impart Knowledge to Parents?

Developed 10 Tips focusing on key skills parents

can foster during the years leading up to

Kindergarten

Parents!!!

• Most

Important!

• First Teacher

• Role Model

Objective of this Presentation

•Easy tips to use immediately!

•Empower parents with knowledge

•Validate what parents already do

•Learning…anywhere, anytime

•Not to create extra stress or anxiety!

Count Down!

Tip #10

Build Strong Foundational Habits for

Learning

Why? Good Home Habits form Good School Habits!

Tip #10 Strong Foundational Habits

Healthy Sleep and Eating Responsibility in Daily Routines

Behavioral Guidance Tips Self Care and Safety

Importance of Healthy Sleep and Eating

Habits

• Sleep!!! Research repeatedly supports that children

need proper sleep for optimal performance in

school-10-12 hours a night.

• Healthy Eating Habits Proper Nutrition and

hydration- because the child’s brain is growing!

• “Hungry and tired children are not good candidates

for a successful school day.”-from GPPSS Website

Also…

• Think about logistical changes for parents and kids, such as changes in morning and afternoon routines as well as sleep schedules.

• Eating in a group setting-does your child have an allergy, special dietary, health, or medical need? What planning for this is needed?

(From a Presentation by Lori Warner, Ph.D. for the Family Center on Transition to Kindergarten, Feb. 2010)

Guidance Tips for Optimizing Behavioral Compliance

Communicate

•Tone of Voice and Body language match message

Clear

•Command /“Tell” vs. Request /“Ask”

Consistent

•Across times and settings

•“The Rule is…”

Consequences

•Use logic, relate to safety, considerations of others, care for property

Foster Responsibility for Daily

Routines by…

• Providing opportunities for your child to do chores

• “At home five year olds can make choices, listen to and

follow a direction, dress self, make bed, pick up toys,

set the table, feed pets, help in the yard.” – From Getting Ready for Kindergarten by Deb Kraft, GPPS KG Teacher

Independence with Managing Self Care

Provide practice and opportunities to…

(There will be some degree of struggle when developing these skills and it’s ok! )

• Make choices about clothing and dress self

• Manipulate outerwear and accessories

• Use toilet independently

• Wash hands

• Blow own nose and dispose tissue

• Manage food packaging

Resist the Urge

• Let your child do it!

• Some degree of struggle is what develops a skill

• Conquering that skill is what then leads to the

development of self esteem

• Kindergarten is one teacher to many students!

Safety Habits

• Teach your child his/her full address

• Make sure child knows a phone number

• Basic safety in the community look both ways before

crossing a street

• Safety in parking lots

• Look at signs and discuss their meaning

This tip will help develop…

Self Control Social/Emotional

Tip #9

Understand Your Child

as a Young Learner

Why?

• The more you understand your

child’s way of learning, the better

you can help him/her adjust to

learning in a formal setting such as

school.

• May explain why an activity or skill

is easy or challenging for your

child.

• Better equipped to communicate

with educators

How do Young Children Learn?

• Brain development is NOT

complete.

• Children use their whole

body to learn.

• Children are egocentric; still

learning the perspectives of

others

• Brain research-Children have

to be actively engaged in a

variety of hands on

experiences to make neural

connections.

Bev Bos

“What has not been in the hand and mouth

cannot be in the brain.”

Neural Connections

Provide and allow for safe hands on

experiences

• Hands on play

• Have a place in your home for messy play-play

dough, finger paint, etc.

• More ideas in later tips

While Keeping in mind how young children

develop, take note of your child’s…

•Interests

•Strengths

•Challenges

•Temperament

•Sensitivities or reactions to sights, sounds, smells, taste, touch, and movement

•Also keep up to date with Hearing and Vision Status

To help you understand how your child learns best!

This tip helps with parent understanding of …

Self Control Social/Emotional

Motor Language/Knowledge

Tip #8

Understand

the Value of Exercise and Play!

Visit the Playground! Time for Unstructured Physical Play

Why? Because the Best Exercise for

the Brain is Exercise Itself!

EXERCISE!

• Supported by brain research!

• Develops coordination of the two sides of the body and connects between hemispheres

• Develops an internal sense for directional concepts, such as right and left.

• Balance needed for jumping hopping, skipping

Exercise primes the body for Academic Learning!

Play with your child!

Why? Because play Develops …

• Pretend play involves the ability to

separate an object from the symbol.

Pretending that a broomstick is a horse.

• Ability to think abstractly is a huge mental step that the child constructs on his/her own!

• Builds concepts and categories of

vocabulary

• Builds important knowledge base

How

You don’t need the latest and greatest gadget or toy!

•Plain blocks of various sizes, dress up clothes, and play

dough foster imagination, problem solving and critical

thinking.

•Think of all the great things that your child can discover in

your backyard! Get into Nature!

Attune to Child

•Follow child’s lead in terms of interests

and ideas

Make Play Dates

Great opportunity for developing social skills!

Why? Important for KG

because…

Ability to interact with others individually and in a group setting

is a crucial skill for learning in Kindergarten!

This tip helps foster…

Social/Emotional Motor

Language

Caution!!!

Be judicious with child’s exposure to electronic media-

Smart Phones, IPad, TV, Computer Games, Electronic

Gadgets, etc!!!

Why? Understand that…

• Screens limit the boundaries of space

• Screen are 2D

• Children need 3D experiences to develop eye

muscles

• Children need to visually track across large,

horizontal, vertical, and diagonal planes

• Ability to visually track is needed for reading, math,

doing board work, etc.

And the Human Brain is Hard

Wired for Social Interaction!

Extra Tip

• Real life Interactions over screen time

• Select programs carefully

• Screen time as a supplement

• Use media to interact with your child!

Helpful Apps

• Kids Drawing Desk *Can use a Stylus

• Any Drawing or Doodle Pad App

• Letter School

• ABC Mouse

• Preschool and Kindergarten Early Learning Games

Tip #7

Maximize the Power of Talking with

Your Child!

Converse with your child!

Why?

The Power of Language

• Dr. Dana Suskind, Pediatric Surgeon

• Studied results of the Hart and Risley Study which compared the number of words children from lower class families were exposed to versus children from professional class families. The more parents talked to their children, gains in vocabulary and IQ test scores, were evident.

• Hart and Risley’s research also found that the message (being encouraging) counted as much as the number of words.

• Science is demonstrating that “language and all that comes with it” is what makes a vital difference in brain development and learning.

Tip for Talking

“4 Ts”

• Tune In: follow child’s lead in terms of interests, stop what you’re doing, engage, and connect. Eye contact, body language, and tone of voice also carry meaning.

• Talk More: Use more words, vary your vocabulary, use descriptive words.

• Take Turns: Can also mean respond to gestures, eye contact, and other non verbal cues.

• Turn Off Technology and Talk: Unless Technology is for talking to another live person such as with Skype .

Expand your child’s vocabulary

• Introduce new terms or

concepts when your child is

interested in a topic. Use

specific words!

• Example: You are at the lake.

Your child is fascinated by

the different kinds of boats

in the water. This is a great opportunity to

label sail boats, motor boats, yachts, and freighters.

• Builds Oral Language!

Stimulate Logical Thinking Skills.

Ask your child…WH + do you think?

• Who do you think…?

• Where do you think…?

• What do you think would happen if…?

• What do you think that’s called…?

• How do you think….?

• Why do you think…?

• When do you think…?

• Why did you like x and not y?

OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS stimulate thinking because there are many possibilities!

Encourage your child to talk about his/her ideas, reasons, opinions,

preferences!

I wonder…

Why is this important for KG?

• Develops oral language skills

• Oral Language is a foundational

component of Language Arts

This tip helps build…

Language/Knowledge

Tip #6

Visit Neat Places

Tip #6 Visit Neat Places

• Make a date with your child! • Regular Trips to the Library,

Story Hour, Community Activities (Family Center)

• Trips to the Zoo, Museums, Science Centers, Metro Parks, Nature Centers, Farms, Orchards, Mills

• Visit these areas seasonally to observe changes.

• Discuss what you observe with your child.

Why?

• Stimulates interest and curiosity in

the world!

• Builds excitement for later learning.

• Provides a rich context for

vocabulary, language, and concepts.

• Vocabulary is strongly related to

reading ability, Dunn and Dunn,

2007.

• Relates directly to the KG

Curriculum—Science, Social Studies,

etc.

This tip helps develop…

Language/Knowledge

Tip #5

Don’t be afraid of Conflict,

Frustration, and Disappointment!

Turn frustration, conflict, and disappointment into valuable

learning opportunities!

Why? Because Challenges

“Life is full of stresses and challenges.

Children who are willing to take on

Challenges (instead of avoiding them or

simply coping with them) do better in school

and in life.” Ellen Galinsky, author of Mind in the Making: Seven Essential Life

Skills Every Child Needs

Band-Aid Tendency

Adults caring for young children understandably may:

•May focus on avoiding situations that cause the child conflict,

disappointment, strong emotions

•May attempt to “fix” situations that cause the child conflict,

disappointment, and strong emotions

Upset moments are basically problems that require problem solving!

Dr. Becky Bailey, Conscious Discipline

Instead of avoiding/fixing,

ask..

“How can I best support my child

during times of frustration,

challenge, and disappointment?”

Develop a Game Plan!

• Calm Self –Know your triggers!

• Know your child’s triggers

• Look at environmental and situational factors

• Add language to what the child is experiencing. “You

seem….”

• Problem solve. We have a problem…

• Use empathy. “I understand…”, “You wish..”

• Model perspective taking “Johnny thought…”

• Give child choice between 2 acceptable alternatives

Resources : Conscious Discipline, Love & Logic

* Good Time to form a plan if you anticipate separation difficulties for KG

Be a Monday Morning Quarterback

• If first don’t succeed, try and try again

• Use game plan to trouble shoot situations…

• Sometimes you have to go through an experience for

the worse to make it better!

Great Opportunities!

• When a playmate does not want to play

with your child

• When your child is playing a game and

loses

• Play board games with your child and

practice the frustration of losing a turn

or the game)

• Any moment of conflict, frustration,

and disappointment

Greenspan Quote

“Help a child become a poet of his/her

feelings through pretend play and

conversations about feelings.”

Stanley Greenspan, M.D.

A child’s ability to manage his/her feeling

is vital for working together in

Kindergarten and Beyond!

This tip will help develop…

Self Control Social/Emotional

Tip #4

Learn Every Day!

Tip #4 Turn everyday experiences into

learning opportunities!

• Incorporate learning into everyday routines!

• Sing the ABCs in the car.

• Count the spoons to set the table.

• Cook and Bake with your child. Look at recipes. Talk about the steps.

• Allow child for form a “hypothesis” about something and test it out.

• Possibilities are endless!

Incorporate into daily routines…

• Count Out Loud Everyday

• Sing the ABCs-Refrigerator letter magnets

• Talk about and spell words

• Talk about and label colors

• Talk about and label shapes

Turn mundane chores into meaningful moments

with language and interaction.

Remember Children are new to this Planet… They find things fascinating that we adults take for granted!

Seize that moment for learning!

This encourages development of…

Self Control Social/Emotional

Motor Language/Knowledge

Know that having fun with your child is more than just having fun…

You are providing valuable learning opportunities

And deepening your relationship!

Tip # 3

Sing, Dance, and

Move to Music!

Tip #3 Music

• Dance to music with a strong beat.

• Sing in the car!

• Sing while in the bath!

• Sing and do finger plays with your child.

• Use arm and hand movements, cross midline (“Wheels on the Bus”, “Itsy-bitsy Spider”).

• These types of songs and finger plays often contain many words that rhyme.

Why are rhyming words important?

• Develops phonological awareness and phonemic

awareness skills.

• Phonological Awareness: Rhyming

Discrimination, Rhyming Production,

Segmenting words into syllables, segmenting

sentences into words, etc.

• Phonemic Awareness: the conscious awareness

that words are made up of sounds and that they

can be manipulated to alter a word.

Research on Phonemic

Awareness • “When learning to read, both phonological and

phonemic awareness are fundamental concepts that

must be taught. In fact, children who do not adequately

develop these skills at the end of kindergarten are more

likely to become poor readers” {sighted from Rath,

L.K., Ed.D & Kennedy, L. (2004))

• According to Research-Based Methods of Reading

Instruction, “Children who enter school with

phonemic awareness have a very high likelihood of

learning to read successfully.” Alternatively, “Children

who lack phonemic awareness have a great deal of

difficulty learning to read.”

Recite Nursery Rhymes!

Tip #2

Draw and Write

Tip #2 Draw and Write

Fine Motor Skills • Provide an area in your home where your child can

safely write, draw, paint, cut, and construct!

• “In Home” writing corner stocked with pencils,

scissors, crayons, paper, and glue. Use unlined paper.

• Smaller pieces of crayon encourage correct grasp.

• Adults should model how they write lists, messages,

etc.!

It’s Important to…

• Allow the child freedom to create!

• There are no “right” or “wrong” drawings, paintings

or creations!

• Provide encouragement by simply describing what

your child is doing!

Praise EFFORTS AND ACTIONS!

“You drew a picture of the

sun using yellow and

orange.”

(Efforts)

Instead of

“Great Picture”

“I like what you are drawing,”

“You’re a great artist.”

(Judgment)

Top Tip

Tip #1

READ!

Tip #1 Academic Activities-Reading

• Read to your child

• Read with your child

• Read for yourself (great

modeling)

• Read on a regular basis

(daily, if possible)

• Read favorite stories over

and over again (its OK if a

child “memorizes a book”)

What’s so great about books?

Text provides more variety of vocabulary

than spoken language!

You read…

• Want to instill an authentic interest and love of

reading!

• It is important for your child to see you reading

whether it is the newspaper, magazine, or book.

• When you demonstrate how you read then you

validate the importance of this activity in both

acquiring information and for leisure!

“Expert Advice”

•Dr. Mary Bigler, PhD asks:

“How old should your child

be when you stop reading

with them once per day?”

Answer:

Until they move out of your house!

Surprised??

Mrs DeVooght’s Favorite Books

• Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Levell

• How Much Is That Doggie in the Window by Iza Trapani

• Come Rhyme With Me by Hans Wilhelm

• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

• The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle by Don Wulffson

• Click, Clack, Moo, Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin

• The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown

• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka

• My Schools a Zoo! by Stu Smith

• Charlie the Caterpillar by Dom Deluise

• Over in the Meadow: An Old Nursery Counting Rhyme by Paul Galdone

• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

• Are You My Mother? By P. D. Eastman

Environmental Print

(Signs and Logos)

• Read for Information.

• Read/Interpret Signs and

Logos.

• Show your child the real

life meaning of print and

pictures.

• Spell! Look at the

letters/sounds.

Must Haves!!!

• Local Public Library Card

• Child’s own personal book basket

That’s the Top Ten…

on to Kindergarten!

References and Resources • Bailey, B. Conscious discipline. Oviedo, FL: Loving Guidance, 2000.

• Bov, B. Current, best strategies for creating an outstanding preschool

program. Bellevue, WA: Bureau of Education and Research, 2006.

• Cullinan, Bernice. Read to Me.

• Fay and Funk, Love and Logic in the Classroom.

• Fay and Fay, Helping Parents and Teachers Raise Responsible Kids.

• Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success.

• Kasper, Ted. Accountability Equation. GP News, Family Center 11-2-11

• Lucy Calkins and Leah Mermelstein. Units of Study for Primary Writing: A

Yearlong Curriculum.

• Kathy Collins. Reading for Real

• Debbie Miller. Reading with Meaning

• Gail Boushey & Joan Moser. The CAFÉ Book

• US Common Core Standards: http://www.corestandards.org/

• State of Michigan - Michigan Department of Education

http://www.michigan.gov/mde Family Fundamentals – At Home Activities

•

References and Resources • Bailey, B. Conscious discipline. Oviedo, FL: Loving Guidance, 2000.

• Bov, B. Current, best strategies for creating an outstanding preschool program. Bellevue, WA:

Bureau of Education and Research, 2006.

• Cullinan, Bernice. Read to Me.

• Fay and Funk, Love and Logic in the Classroom.

• Fay and Fay, Helping Parents and Teachers Raise Responsible Kids.

• Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success.

• Kasper, Ted. Accountability Equation. GP News, Family Center 11-2-11

• Lucy Calkins and Leah Mermelstein. Units of Study for Primary Writing: A Yearlong Curriculum.

• Dana Suskind. 30 Million Words

• Kathy Collins. Reading for Real

• Debbie Miller. Reading with Meaning

• Gail Boushey & Joan Moser. The CAFÉ Book

• US Common Core Standards: http://www.corestandards.org/

• State of Michigan - Michigan Department of Education http://www.michigan.gov/mde Family

Fundamentals – At Home Activities

•