1. Curriculum & Programming for Kindergarten

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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?

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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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