COULD YOUR GRADUATING PRESCHOOLERS BENEFIT FROM A KINDERGARTEN BOOT CAMP AT THE END OF THIS SCHOOL YEAR or DURING THE SUMMER?!?

Fun and enriching ideas for a 2 week Get Ready for Kindergarten Program
For children entering Kindergarten in the Fall, offer a Kindergarten Boot Camp style program that mimics what will happen during the first month of Kindergarten.  Not necessarily an academic program, more of a social and skills based program to help children have a better transition.  Returning from Disneyland the day before a child's first day of school is not going to help a child!  

Practice all the skills needed for a successful transistion to Kindergarten:

*Taking shoes on and off.

*Hanging up jackets on hooks.

*Practice lining up at the door and at transition periods.

*Join a Summer Reading program and read together everyday for at least 20 minutes.  Most Kindergarten programs request that parents read with their children for at least 20 minutes every night as part of their "homework."  Start now!

*Cut pictures out of magazines and paste onto paper to improve scissor and pasting skills

*Go shopping for a new backpack and lunchbox.

*Sit at circle time and listen to a story and learn to raise hands and share or ask questions when asked.

*Practice asking for assistance when needed (i.e., straw in juice box, where is the bathroom?)

*Practice writing name in new and fun ways.

*Before school starts, make sure you transition to earlier bedtime and earlier wake times.

*Take an outside walking tour of the school so you can show your child where the location of the bathrooms, playground, and office.  Best to do before the first day of school to help ease transition without so many other children on campus at the same time.

GOOD-BYES and HELLOS!

Good Byes.  At our Preschool in August it is a time for good-byes to those moving on to Kindergarten.  Always such a heartbreaker!  Some of my families have been in my care for several years!   

I like to make a sentimental gift for the children to take home on their last day.  I prepare a photocollage for children enrolled for a short time, and a photo book for children enrolled for several years.  Just sorting through all the pictures reminds me of everything that we shared together and all the fun times.  It is a "pick me up" and a great reminder of why I am a teacher!  Even though there are sometimes unpleasantries, they are greatly outweighed by everything else.

IDEAS FOR GRADUATING CHILDREN:
*Photo magnet
*Photo cube
*Photo book
*Photo collage
*Book signed with a nice note from the teacher
*Notebook signed with a nice note from the teacher
*Business cards (for the parents to feel free to give referrals in the future)

Hellos.  The start of the new school year is a time of lots and lots of Hellos!  Meeting new children and families and introductions of already enrolled students with their newly enrolled classmates can be reinvigorating for your class and your morale.  I also like to shake things up a bit in the classroom, change around some furniture, trade some toys, and add a new bulletin board display.  I like a little change in environment and it shows your families that you are prepared and ready for the new school year. 

IDEAS FOR WELCOMING RETURNING AND NEW CHILDREN:
*  Business card magnet (1 for parents' home and maybe even extra for their workplace)
*  Host an Open House for a meet and greet including all parents.  Consider milk and donuts or hot chocolate/coffee station at drop off, or fancy cheese/crackers/fresh fruit with sparking juice at pick-up time.