Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
- Is my Five-Year-Old Ready for Kindergarten?
- What is the cut off date for children entering Kindergarten?
- Is school attendance in Kindergarten important?
- What do I need to do if my child's transportation needs to change for one day?
- Will my child need to wear tennis shoes to school?
- How should I send money to school?
- Do I need to send a snack with my child?
- What skills will my child need to know for the first six weeks report card?
- What time does your class eat lunch?
- What are some activities I can do with my child at home to help with reading?
Is my Five-Year-Old Ready for Kindergarten?
Kindergarten should be an exciting and rewarding experience for both
children and their parents. While there is no perfect checklist to determine
when your child is truly ready for kindergarten, the following list will
give you an idea of the necessary skills a child should have mastered in
order to receive the greatest benefit from their kindergarten experience.
Remember, age is only one factor in determining kindergarten readiness.
Social, emotional, cognitive and physical development should also be taken
into account.
Your kindergarten-ready child should be able to:
Social and Emotional Development
� Use words instead of being physical when angry or frustrated
� Listen to stories without interrupting
� Follow two-step directions
� Ask for help when necessary
� Pay attention for short periods of time to adult-directed tasks
� Stay with an activity to completion
� Initiate and sustain appropriate play with other children
� Begin to share with others and understand taking turns
� Comply with rules, limits, and routines
� Be able to recognize authority
� Interact appropriately with adults
� Respect the rights, property, and feelings of others
� Begin to control themselves
� Dress themselves (button shirts, pants, coats, and zip up zippers)
� Manage bathroom needs independently
� Separate from parents for extended period of time without being upset
� Attempt new tasks knowing it�s okay to make mistakes
Motor Skills
� Hold scissors correctly
� Holds a pencil, crayon or marker properly
� Put together a 10-12 piece puzzle
� Ride a tricycle
� Run, jump, and skip
� Walk backwards
� Try to write, scribble, or draw
Language
� Speak in complete sentences of 5-6 words
� Use descriptive language
� Sing and/or recite nursery rhymes
� Pretend, create, and make-up songs and stories
� Talk about everyday experiences
� Tell or retell stories
� Enjoy having books read to him/her
� Ask questions
� Verbally and appropriately respond to a topic
� Express her/his ideas so others can understand her/him
Academic
� Look at pictures and then tell stories
� Identify some alphabet letters
� Count to 10
� Correctly count at least 3 objects
� Identify own first name in writing
� Attempt to print own first name
� Recognize and identify 5 colors
� Understand concepts such as in/out, under/on, on/off, front/back
� Participate in art and music activities
� Know her/his body parts (head, shoulder, knees, etc.)
� Draw a picture of her/himself including head, body, arms, and legs
� Use words like bigger, smaller or heaviest to show comparison
What is the cut off date for children entering Kindergarten?
Your child must be 5 years old by September 30th in order to enter
Kindergarten for that current school year. Therefore, if you feel your child
is ready your child might enter Kindergarten at the age of 4 (turning 5
before September 30th). Just remember that every child is different. Some
children are ready for the structure of school while others need one more
year to mature.
Is school attendance in Kindergarten important?
Your child�s regular and prompt attendance at school is crucial to his/her
success. I can�t emphasize this point enough!!! Most Kindergarten learning
activities are group oriented and involve interaction with classmates.
Therefore, it is next to impossible to make up work at home. Please view
school as priority, and see to it that your child attends every day except
in cases of illness or emergency.
What do I need to do if my child's transportation needs to change for one day?
If you plan to pick up a child that normally rides the bus, you must send a
written note signed by a parent or guardian or call the school office. Do
not rely on your child to tell me this information, because children often
become confused and relay messages incorrectly. If no written note is
received, your child will be sent home by his/her usual method of
transportation.
Will my child need to wear tennis shoes to school?
The children will be going out for recess every day unless it is raining or
extremely cold. Please keep this in mind when helping your child select
clothing for the day. For your child�s safety, tennis shoes must be worn
during P.E. classes. If your child wears sandals or some other shoes to
school, send a pair of tennis shoes with them in their backpack so they can
change shoes and be able to participate safely in P.E. activities for that
day. Otherwise, they will not be able to participate in P.E. activities for
that day.
How should I send money to school?
Always send money in a sealed envelope with the following information
written on it:
~1. Your child�s first and last name
~2. The amount of money
~3. The purpose for the money (lunch, ice cream, etc).
~4. My name � Ms. Tammy
With 15 students to keep track of and several reasons to collect
money, this is a tremendous help and reduces the likelihood of errors. Also,
if the envelope is left on the bus or dropped in the hallway, this
information will help the money to be returned to my classroom.
Do I need to send a snack with my child?
We will have snack each day during morning recess. Please send a healthy
snack and drink. We will also have ice cream some days if weather and time
permits. The cost is $.50.
What skills will my child need to know for the first six weeks report card?
Your child will be assessed on the following information for the First Six
weeks:
Letters and Sounds: Mm Tt
High Frequency Words (Sight Words): I, am, the, little, a , to
State full name (first and Last name)
State birthdate
State address
State telephone number
Orally spell first name
Say the alphabet (not sing)
Identify the 10 basic colors (red, yellow, blue, green, orange, purple,
brown, black, white, pink)
Identify items as the same or different
Assemble puzzles
Listen during storytime
Identify Triangle, square, rectangle, and circle
Match numbers to a set of 0
Match numbers to sets of 1-5
Count (goal by end of the year is 100)
What time does your class eat lunch?
Ms. Tammy's Kindergarten eats daily at 10:55-11:25. You are welcome to eat
with your child anytime.
What are some activities I can do with my child at home to help with reading?
I have recently found a wonderful website that has pages of neat activities
you and your child can do together to help them learn to read. Check it out!
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Kindergarten_Literacy_Activities_66523_7.pd
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