Many parents are probably not even thinking about the next school year, but now’s the time! January is the time of year many districts/schools begin advertising and promoting for kindergarten. Here in West Bloomfield, we recently completed our Kindergarten Showcase featuring each one of our three kindergarten buildings on a given night. While we encourage you to ask questions, tour buildings, and meet our staff members to prepare for your child's first day of school, it’s not too early to ask yourself - "Is my child ready to start kindergarten?"
Kindergarten teacher, Carol Wild is back with another helpful Parent Blog entry for parents as they prepare their child for his or her first day of school.
When thinking about whether or not your child is ready to begin kindergarten there are many things to consider. Below are 3 lists of skills (social, academic, independence) most incoming kindergarten-age children demonstrate most of the time.
Socially:
- Can tell an adult his/her name.
- Can interact with peers appropriately (Be able to talk, play nicely with, and share.).
- Can verbalize needs and feelings appropriately.
- Can follow simple 2-3 step directions.
Academic:
- Can identify some capital and lowercase letters.
- Can provide some sounds for letters of the alphabet.
- Can count up to 20.
- Can identify some numbers 0-10.
- Can write his/her name.
- Can identify colors.
- Can identify some shapes.
- Can write his/her name.
- Is excited to learn new things.
Independence:
- Can use the bathroom independently (including wiping, washing hands, and making sure clothes are on correctly before opening the door.).
- Can care for their own belongings.
- Can put on/off coat and backpack independently.
- Can put on their own shoes.
- Can clean up after themselves.
- Can eat independently and open containers and packages for lunch and snacks.
Here are some (early on) ideas in order to prepare your child for a successful Kindergarten school year:
- Talk about school in a positive way.
- Drive by the school you will be attending and tell your child the name of the school and the principal’s name.
- Visit the school playground and let your child play on the equipment.
- Attend Kindergarten Showcases/Round-Ups and spend some time walking around the school and talking to teachers and staff.
- Visit your school district’s website/school and learn how you can get involved in the school community.
Stay tuned for more information from our District as the 2022-2023 school year draws near. If you have any questions, we encourage you to visit www.wbsd.org/kindergarten or call one of our kindergarten buildings to find out more information about kindergarten in West Bloomfield.
Below are some helpful articles you may want to check out!
- https://www.mottchildren.org/posts/your-child/preschool-young-5s-or-kindergarten
- https://buildupmi.org/kindergarten-readiness
*This blog entry was composed by Carol Wild, kindergarten teacher at Gretchko Elementary School.