Training for kindergarten transition — District offers free foundational workshops for future kindergartners
Photo courtesy of Sheila Gregory Children at Custom Care Day Care in Newcastle play with the picture rhymes board game “I Spy a Mouse in the House!” and review the Usbourne book “First Thousand Words in English,” which they received from a previous READY! for Kindergarten event.
Families with learners ages 3 to 6 can learn kindergarten preparedness tips from a national program that Weston County School District No. 1 is offering for no charge to attendees.
The next READY! for Kindergarten workshops will be held on Jan. 21 and April 24. Both begin at 6:30 p.m. at Newcastle Elementary School.
Susie LaCroix, the district’s English language learner coordinator and preschool liaison, will host the program in her classroom, Room 164. If a large enough group participates, the group will move into the school’s lunchroom, she said.
This school year’s three-part series of sessions began with an Oct. 7 session regarding language and literacy, according to LaCroix.
Marina McIlvain told the News Letter Journal that she found the first session helpful and informative regarding what she can work on with her 4-year-old daughter, Kimber, and she looks forward to attending the Jan. 21 session.
“Susie is wonderful at keeping everyone engaged and is incredibly knowledgeable,” McIlvain said. “She shared different techniques on how to engage your kid in learning, as well as what will be expected of them when they start kindergarten.”
McIlvain said she believes the
technique that Kimber finds the
most helpful and fun is clapping out syllables to a word, a strategy that helps children identify different parts of a word.
Sheila Gregory, the owner, operator and director of Custom Care Day Care, also attended the Oct. 7 workshop. She told the NLJ that the benefits of the READY! for Kindergarten event are astronomical for anyone with young children — whether they are parents, grandparents, guardians or preschool teachers — and that LaCroix is an excellent, patient and resourceful presenter of different ideas and instructions.
“For me as a preschool teacher, it was like Christmas, leaving with such solid ideas, beneficial books, games and instructional guides to help master language and literacy, math and reasoning and so much more,” Gregory said. “Events like READY! for Kindergarten are helping build a strong foundation for early developmental learning.”
There will be more language and literacy activities, in addition to math and reasoning, at the Jan. 21 session, and the final session will be a review of all the tools and activities, as well as social and emotional learning.
LaCroix said the workshops are intended to help with a child’s transition into kindergarten. Some parents who have incoming kindergarten students for the first time may be nervous, and not all students have attended preschool.
Even though a 5-year-old usually understands about 5,000 words, some children only know about 1,000 words when they begin kindergarten, according to LaCroix.
“When schools and our community engage families in learning at home, children do better in school, like school more and feel better about themselves,” she told the News Letter Journal.
That’s the idea behind The Children’s Reading Foundation’s READY! for Kindergarten program, which provides children with learning targets, take-home activities and tips for nurturing a child’s development. The foundation is based in Kennewick, Washington.
“I want parents/caregivers to be able to give children a strong foundation and a joy and zest for learning through the power of play! Our children grow up so fast!” LaCroix told the NLJ in an email. “Spending a few minutes a day exploring and interacting with your child along with reading stories and talking about them can create memories that will last a lifetime!”
According to a flyer, free child care is available for workshop attendees, courtesy of Newcastle High School child care and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America classes. Attendees also receive free material and toys. To register for either upcoming workshop, call LaCroix at 307-746-8861, or go to readyforkindergarten.org/wcsd/schedule. Parents are asked to call if they seek child care. To register a child for kindergarten screening, which is on May 27, call Newcastle Elementary School at 307-746-2717 between Feb. 3 and 15.