Curriculum & Programming for Kindergarten

What Kindergarten Teachers and Schools Can Do to Facilitate Transition June/July Summer programming Home literacy activities School playground rights August Open houses Meetings for teachers and students Conduct kindergarten screenings September First day of school Back to school night Build connections between children, families in K, and teachers

Kindergarten Transition Considerations Family-school connections Contact with families Family participation in class and school Newsletters Family participation in home-learning activities Child-school connections Preschool connection with elementary school for special functions Kindergarten staff visit preschools Peer connections In class and out-of-school Across K classrooms Across grade levels Community connections Inter-school collaboration about programs and classroom practices After school programming Connections with community agencies

Kindergarten programs Developmental Kindergarten (DK) Kindergarten-age children developmentally or behaviorally delayed Transitional Kindergarten (TK) First of two years of kindergarten Gives children time to achieve what is required for first grade Full Day Programs Half Day Programs Retention

Final in-class assignment: But who are today’s Kindergarteners? Please work with your peers at your table.  Each table will submit a single response.  The use of bullet-points is encouraged. Please describe what you think the typical child in kindergarten is like.  Please include information about the typical child's gross-motor and fine motor skills, cognitive and language development, and social- emotional needs. Please use the textbook or online resources to determine if your initial views of kindergarten children's motor skills, cognitive and language development and social-emotional needs are accurate.  If not, what do trusted sources (e.g., the textbook) state as accurate?  Based on your findings, what is one thing kindergarten programs and/or their districts can implement to be more responsive to the needs of this child and his/her family? Do whole-day or half-day programs better fit the needs of this child?  Why?

Environments for Kindergarteners The Healthy Environment The Respectful Environment The Supportive Environment The Challenging Environment The Physical Environment

What are kindergarteners like physically? High activity levels Running, climbing, jumping, skipping Risk taking Typically, children between the ages of 5-7 have similar average weight and height

What are kindergarteners like cognitively and linguistically? Preoperational thinking (Piaget) Rapid intellectual and language growth Enjoy the challenge of language play Like to talk and engage in language activities

What are kindergarteners like socially and emotionally? Industry vs. Inferiority (Erikson) Greater sense of self Are likely to want some choice about what to do and when Recognize and can choose a special interest area Regulate emotions and social interactions Learning to play with others