PreSchool
Network
Network News
Winter 20 1 5
Volume 14 Issue 1
Transition into Kindergarten
and
School Readiness
by Sylvia Velasco, Family Development Program, College of Education, UNM
and Betty Lansdowne, Training and Development Consultant, Preschool Network,
Center for Development & Disability, UNM
What do you do to support the transition of preschool children
into Kindergarten programs?
What do you do to support the child’s family?
Children are proud to be going to Kindergarten.
They are excited about entering this facet of their
lives. They realize going to kindergarten is a big
achievement. Let’s help them enjoy a successful
transition from their present preschool program to
their next classroom experience!
The move from a preschool setting to the
Kindergarten classroom is an important event in a
child and family’s life. Families are accustomed
to the responsibilities and relationships that are a
part of their child’s day at their present preschool
program. Now they must prepare for the unfamiliar.
This may be a time of anxiety as well as joy for
families as they reflect on potentially challenging
expectations and the need to build relationships
with a whole new team of professionals.
“B e i n g r e a d y f o r
Kindergarten
is not a child’s
responsibility.”
-Maine Children’s Alliance (MCA)
Early Childhood educators need to work toward
aligning all systems involved. Smooth, satisfying
transitions are the result of connections schools and
families, between preschool and Kindergarten staff,
and between schools and communities. Laying
the foundations for these connections takes effort
from each entity and it must happen long before the
actual transitions occur. “Purposeful coordination
between the pre-kindergarten and elementary
settings can maintain and potentially maximize
gains that children achieved in pre-kindergarten.”
(Head Start, “Transitions from The Children’s
Perspective”) Transition involves many steps and
the support we educators give is most effective
when it is viewed as an intentional and on-going
process involving children, their families, their early
childhood educators, receiving Kindergarten staff,
special education support personnel, the elementary
schools, and the community.
The Preschool Network is funded by The New Mexico Public Education Department, Special Education Bureau
University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center/ CDD / University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service
Q: Are you ready to go to
kindergarten next year?
R: Yeah.
Q: How do you know you’re
ready?
R: Because I feel so happy.
(“Effective Transitions”
power point Head Start)
Definition of School Readiness
(Maine Children’s Alliance (MCA)
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Being Ready for Kindergarten
is not a Child’s Responsibility
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With thoughtful planning and preparation of
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Staff Planning for Transition
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Families, communities, and early childhood providers
have a responsibility to provide nurturing, safe environments that promote healthy development for each
individual child. Children entering Kindergarten vary in
their early experiences, skills, knowledge, language,
culture, and family backgrounds. Schools must be
ready to address the diverse needs of the children and
families in their community and be committed to the
success of every child.
P
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activities for preschoolers and their families, the
experience of beginning Kindergarten is most likely
to be a positive one. Research reveals that a child’s
adjustment and thus, his chance for success increases greatly. Experiences need to contain academic knowledge, of course, but more importantly,
children need social and emotional competencies.
Below is the Zero to Three list of foundational skills
important for a child’s thriving in school. Notice the
predominance of the inter-relational domains.
Skills for School Success
• Confidence
• Curiosity
• Intentionality - continue working to
come up with solutions
• Self-confidence
• Relatedness - enjoying working with
others
• Communication skills
• Cooperation - balancing your own needs
with others’ needs.
The curriculum focusing on transition to Kinder-
garten best begins at least 6 months before the actual move and sometimes earlier. What activities
are needed for children and families? What is the
timeline?
Vermont’s Department of Education has created a
booklet outlining a timeline and activities to support
the transition to Kindergarten. “Off to Kindergarten Toolbox for Effective Transitions” lists 6 helpful
steps in the transition planning process.
1. Assess your relationship with your partners – is
everyone involved who needs to be (special education staff, Kindergarten staff, administrators, families, community members, nurse, others?)
2. Identify your goals. What are you doing now? Is
it effective? How can you make it better?
3. Identify data for current practices. Are activities
effectively meeting your goals? (For example, are
parents participating in meetings? Are children able
to understand the new school routines when they
transition?)
4. What do you want to work on and what needs to
be done to
accomplish the tasks?
5. Prioritize the work you
need to accomplish your
plan.
6. Implement the plan.
“I was scared to have
a new teacher.”
- Page 2 -
In the early
spring of each
year, Shining Stars
Preschool in
Rio Rancho,
NM typically
invites staff
from receiving
schools around
the district
to come to
the preschool
to meet the
children and
families.
Activities to Prepare the Family for the
Transition to Kindergarten
The relationships that you have built with families
and children have modeled the partnerships that are
needed for parents to continue their advocacy for
their children. They have experienced the mutual
respect partners have for each other. They understand the role each team member plays, the value of
information-sharing, and the influence culture has
on a child’s learning. Parents know that trust must
occur among those involved with their child for her
to thrive. This knowledge empowers families to
be confident and active participants in their child’s
education.
How can you capture the family’s enthusiasm?
First, they want facts about the Kindergarten settings, so start with an informational meeting(s) for
the families to answer basic questions.
• Where is the school/classroom?
• Can they visit and get an idea of expectations?
Families may want several visits for everyone to get
to know the new setting.
• When and how is enrollment handled?
• Supplies?
• Service schedule would look like…?
• How will the child get to the therapy room?
• How do parents communicate with the school?
The teacher? The school nurse? The therapist(s)?
The administration?
• Transportation? Lunch? Recess?
• What does “school readiness” mean? Include
motor skills like skipping and climbing stairs, small
muscle control needed for using pencils and scissors, social and emotional skills like self-regulation,
working in groups, listening, and communicating.
• How can they embed learning into everyday routines and activities?
Include routines for
self-sufficiency in bathrooming, dressing, and
hand washing. Suggest
beginning morning/
evening routines needed
for school days several
weeks before school begins. The predictability
of a schedule is comforting to a child.
Some other
motivating
activities you
might choose to include for families during the
months before transition are:
• Arrange a meeting with children and parents of
present Kindergarteners.
• Encourage family conversations about making
new friends, school fun, and new expectations.
• Create with them a schedule that supports increasing independence.
• Encourage them to take advantage of library
story times, visits to parks and school playgrounds,
use of free shot clinics, and other community resources.
• Prepare a list of stories about going to Kindergarten for them to share
with their child.
(Parent,
Beyond the
Journal
article)
- Page 3 -
• Suggest that they practice walking to the bus stop.
• Getting school supplies can be a family outing.
Remind them to label everything including some
items with the teacher’s name or the school bus
number!
• Is there a parent handbook to share with the
families?
• Encourage parents to enter the experience of going to Kindergarten with the belief and the confidence that their child can do it!
• Most of all, support them in the pleasure of being
the parent of a Kindergartener!
(Ideas taken from the booklet “Off to Kindergarten
Toolbox for Effective Transitions”)
Q: Why
do you
line up?
R: So
you
don’t
get a
glob.
Receiving Schools Can Support
a Smooth Transition
What does a ready school look like? When chil-
dren attend preschool programs, schools can support
transition long before the first day of Kindergarten.
• Generate a class list early – before summer is
best.
• Provide information packets for parents in the
spring which include handbooks, schedule, registration forms for the fall/summer transition activities,
school calendar, “who do I call” lists of roles and
phone numbers, after-school programs, etc.
• Transition bags for children in the spring with
materials for hands-on learning, a list of books
about Kindergarten.
• Plan a practice day for incoming Kindergarteners over the summer during which they ride a bus,
meet the teacher, tour the school and classroom,
play on the playground, and create a “make and
take” item to help them remember the experience.
• Make a “Welcome to Kindergarten” telephone
call or postcard that might contain supplies list,
events, etc.
• Partner up parents of incoming Kindergarteners with parents from previous school year during a
get-together with refreshments at school. They can
share their experiences and questions.
• Provide for graduated attendance for full day
Kindergarten.
When schools go out of their way to prepare for
incoming Kindergarten children and families, it
is more likely that the transition will be satisfying
and successful. Families who feel welcomed and
supported are families who will typically communicate openly with staff, send their children to school
regularly, and participate in school activities.
Activities to Prepare the Child for the
Transition to Kindergarten
Just as the parents are getting ready for the transi-
tion, the children, too, need to prepare. Some activities not typically considered when preschool staff
prepare children for the move include:
• Have ongoing conversations with the children
about Kindergarten. Help them understand how to
ask for information or understand new routines.
• Use routines they typically will need to understand
in your daily schedule.
• Talk about feelings about the change; perhaps write
and illustrate a book about it.
• Invite Kindergarten teachers to your program when
the children are present.
• Share the children’s ideas about what Kindergarten
is like.
• Have photos of each child’s school posted.
• Talk to and encourage a teacher to create a book or
video with her class about what it is like in Kindergarten and what they like about it.
• Create “I Can” books with the children describing skills, interests, etc. which the children can share
with their teachers in Kindergarten the next fall.
• Create “Count
Down” calendars
to be used in the
summer to mark
the days until
school begins.
- Page 4 -
•Head Start: “Transition from the Children’s
Perspective”, downloadable DVD 5:30 minutes
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/
teaching/transition
•The Transition to School Committee of the
Vermont Early Childhood Work Group: “Off to
Kindergarten Toolbox for Effective Transitions”
http://education.vermont.gov/documents/off_to_
school_transition_toolbox.pdf
•Amanda Fenton. Beyond the Journal: Young
Children on the Web. “Collaborative Steps:
Paving the Way to Kindergarten for young
Children with Disabilities”. March 2005. Pages
1-7.
“My favorite thing in
kindergarten is lunch. In
regular school I get to
buy my lunch and pick
where I sit so it can be
next to a friend.”
2015 NMAEYC Conference
2015 NMAEYC
Early Childhood Conference
Friday, March 6 & Saturday, March 7
at the Albuquerque Convention Center
Stories & Storytelling with
Helen Wheelock, Keynote Speaker
“I was wearing first day of school
clothes on the first day of school.”
RESOURCES
Preschool Network Staff
Sophie Bertrand
Division Director
(505) 272-1506
[email protected]
Betty Lansdowne
Training & Development Consultant
(505) 272-8192
[email protected]
Cathie Koss
Training & Development Consultant
(505) 328-7843
[email protected]
Kimberly Summers
Training Specialist
(505) 272-9924
[email protected]
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CDD Preschool Network:
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at http://www.nmaeyc.org
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