Kindergarten Transition

1. Kindergarten Transition USD 475 Geary County Schools

2. Let’s Get Started • How is Kindergarten different from Preschool? • Kindergarten classes are in session from 8:20 to 3:30 as compared to half day in many preschool sessions. • Attendance is required. If your child is absent from school, you must contact the school office. • Students eat lunch at school. Breakfast is also available. • Students get to participate in PE, Music, Art • and checking out books in the Library.

3. Enrollment Information • Age Requirements • All student entering Kindergarten must be five (5) years old on or before August 31 of this year. • You may enroll your student any time. • New Students to the District • Students new to Geary County Schools USD 475 must provide the following: • Kansas Certificate of Immunization Card • Required immunizations • Physical Examination for children eight years old and younger • Proof of Identity ~ birth certificate or current passport

4. Health Information • Physical Exams • Can be completed 12 months prior to the date of school enrollment • Call now for an appointment ~ dates fill up quickly in summer and early August • Screenings • Vision and hearing are screened at school, but screening does not detect all problems • Medication • Only medication prescribed by a Health Care Provider may be administered at school.

5. Health Information • Immunizations • The following are immunizations required for entry into Kindergarten: • DTP ~ five doses required • IPV/OPV ~ four doses required • MMR ~ two doses required • Hepatitis B ~ three doses required through grade 9 • Varicella: ~ two doses required for Kindergarten • Suggested Immunization • Annual Influenza Vaccine • The school nurse will make sure the immunizations were given at the correct interval.

6. Kindergarten Curriculum Reading • Our district uses the KinderCorner reading program. • This program integrates Reading, Writing, Science and Social Studies through the use of thematic units. • We focus on the following skills:

7. Mathematics • Curriculum is aligned with the Common Core State Standards • Students will engage in daily hands-on activities and games that teach and reinforce skills that may include:

8. Writing • The students write and draw in journals to practice • writing skills, often beginning with letter strings. • Once students know enough letter sounds, they will • begin to blend the sounds to create words. • We begin with invented spelling and work toward • conventional spelling. Writing Curriculum Handwriting • The D’Nealian Handwriting Series is used across the • district. • Students will practice handwriting through the • KinderCorner reading series.

9. Handwriting Aa Bb Cc DdEeFfGg Hh Ii JjKkLl Mm NnOo Pp QqRr Ss TtUu Vv Ww Xx YyZz 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Writing Curriculum

10. Grading • Your child will receive a Kindergarten progress report four times during the school year. Two of these will be during Parent/Teacher conferences. It is important to communicate on a regular basis with your child’s teacher about his/her progress. The students are graded on progress towards meeting grade level expectations.

11. Kindergarten Readiness We recognize that kindergarten students begin school at different levels and with different skills. The skills listed below are provided to assist parents and caregivers in preparing their child for school. It is important to remember that children develop at different rates, and your child may be more successful with some tasks than with others. • Take care of personal needs • Show respect to friends and teachers • Listen while others are talking • Recite name and age • Recognize name in print • Print first name • Recognize some letters and some • numerals • Understand one-to-one correspondence • Recognize and name basic shapes and • colors • Understand positional words (top, • bottom, over, under, etc.) • Follow simple directions • Have experience coloring and cutting • Take turns while playing and sharing with • others

12. How Can You Prepare your Child for School? • Physically • Play a variety of indoor and outdoor games • Design and construct activities (cutting, gluing, pasting) • Draw and write • Learn to put on and take off coats, shoes and socks • Practice opening lunch box, drink container and food packets • Establish routines ~ meal times, story time, bedtime • Emotionally • Build self-esteem • Give some chores (feed a pet, make a bed) • Make a few simple rules • Read stories about school and Kindergarten

13. Intellectually • Share and enjoy books • Sing songs and rhymes • Play word games (I spy, Simon Says) • Do puzzles • Talk about: shapes, colors, positions, quantities, events, questions • Socially • Provide opportunities to play with other children • Help them understand the importance of looking after their own belongings • Teach them to share and take turns

14. Suggested Books for a Smooth Transition To Kindergarten The Kissing Hand byAudrey Penn Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come! by Nancy Carlson I’ll Always Come Back by Steve Metzger Who Will Go to Kindergarten Today? By K. Ruhmann Will I Have a Friend? by Miriam Cohen The Night Before Kindergarten by Natasha Wing I Need a Lunchbox by Jeannette Caines Morris Goes to School by B. Wiseman Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by J. Slate Kindergarten Kids by Ellen Senisi Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes

15. Kindergarten Connection Meetings August 12, 13, 14, 2014 First day of Kindergarten August 15, 2014 Questions? USD 475 Geary County Schools