It is time for your student's entry into school. This is a fun and exciting time for both you and your student. It is a time when you want to be able to provide your student with the best experience possible.
Here are some helpful hints that can help make that entry into Kindergarten a wonderful experience:
- Read and share books with your student, talking about the way we hold books, turn the pages and look at books from left to right; talk about the ideas and information in the stories you read.
- Help them develop their language skills by having them talk in full sentences as they tell you about things they do, describe things, and share experiences.
- Provide opportunities for children to practise buttoning, doing zippers, drawing, cutting, and tying shoelaces to develop fine motor skills.
- Practise using the bathroom. Dressing and undressing independently, washing their hands and appropriate bathroom hygiene. Providing an extra change of clothes is helpful for every student in case of accidents.
- Practise dressing for outdoor play. Clothes that are easy to put on and fasten, take off and don’t restrict movement will be the most comfortable for your student.
- Help your student learn and follow routines by establishing consistent routines for putting away toys, hanging up outdoor clothing, etc.
- Provide opportunities for your student to develop ball handling, skipping, hopping and jumping skills.
- Purchase easy-to-open lunch containers and practise opening and closing lunch boxes and snack containers before your student starts school.
- Help them identify their name in print.
Children enter Kindergarten with various abilities and needs. They come to school with vastly different language experiences and levels of exposure to literacy. The pace at which students learn foundational reading skills will vary. Kindergarten educators teach and support the development of literacy skills, including foundational reading skills, throughout the day and across various contexts. The educator team of a teacher and early childhood educators provide various materials to spark further curiosity and create a supportive environment for using language throughout the learning areas in the classroom.