Prepping for JK - The Year Before
REGISTER
The first step is doing the school registration early in the year. Our board has an online registration and then you need to bring in the supporting paperwork directly to the school shortly after.
LIBRARY
E's school allows incoming JK students to visit the school library as often as they want starting after March Break. We went a few times, met the librarian and got the layout of the school which was helpful in creating feelings of ownership in the school for E.
INFORMATION NIGHT
Each school does this differently but E's school had an Intro to JK Night. They had class lists with teachers' names and a photo booth set up on entry.
They had a tour of a classroom and 5 different stations (sand table with alphabet pieces, playdough, crafts, reading, foam blocks) and a number of information booths (Nutrition, Early Years Centres, Public Library, Speech Pathologist) in the gym. After some time circulating they called everyone together and watched this movie:
At the end of the night they sent us home with stack of papers and a bag of goodies for E from The Learning Partnership Welcome To Kindergarten program:
WHAT DOES YOUR CHILD NEED TO KNOW?
I have really tried not to push E's learning of letter/phonetics and numbers/math. As tempting as it is, he showed no interest beyond singing the ABCs song and counting to 20 (not recognizing the images of letters of numbers) until the spring before JK.
All that to say, I was relieved to read that the provided material on prepping for school didn't focus on typical academic knowledge but on socialization, independence, and curiosity.
I also really liked this handout from the Speech Pathologist's booth on Info Night: Practicing Language Skills in the Car
Stay tuned for Part 2: Prepping for JK - Over the Summer and Part 3: Prepping for JK - Plan for the First Day of School!
The first step is doing the school registration early in the year. Our board has an online registration and then you need to bring in the supporting paperwork directly to the school shortly after.
LIBRARY
E's school allows incoming JK students to visit the school library as often as they want starting after March Break. We went a few times, met the librarian and got the layout of the school which was helpful in creating feelings of ownership in the school for E.
INFORMATION NIGHT
Each school does this differently but E's school had an Intro to JK Night. They had class lists with teachers' names and a photo booth set up on entry.
They had a tour of a classroom and 5 different stations (sand table with alphabet pieces, playdough, crafts, reading, foam blocks) and a number of information booths (Nutrition, Early Years Centres, Public Library, Speech Pathologist) in the gym. After some time circulating they called everyone together and watched this movie:
At the end of the night they sent us home with stack of papers and a bag of goodies for E from The Learning Partnership Welcome To Kindergarten program:
- Safety Scissors, Glue Stick, Crayons, Pencil
- Small Playdough & Small Inflatable Ball
- Magnetic Alphabet and Numbers
- Books & Chirp Magazine & Resource Book
WHAT DOES YOUR CHILD NEED TO KNOW?
I have really tried not to push E's learning of letter/phonetics and numbers/math. As tempting as it is, he showed no interest beyond singing the ABCs song and counting to 20 (not recognizing the images of letters of numbers) until the spring before JK.
All that to say, I was relieved to read that the provided material on prepping for school didn't focus on typical academic knowledge but on socialization, independence, and curiosity.
I did prepare a number of activities and games for E to keep him occupied when baby T arrived and I think that did increase his interest in letters, numbers, cutting and drawing.
And I found this insight into the potential of playdough really useful:
Stay tuned for Part 2: Prepping for JK - Over the Summer and Part 3: Prepping for JK - Plan for the First Day of School!
How many batches of playdough have I made over the years and it turns out I was doing something helpful.
ReplyDelete:) Playdough is great for strengthening the muscles within their little hand that help support a child’s ability to hold and pencil properly and print! Who knew!?!
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