Kindergarten

What exactly do you have to do for kindergarten? DD's preschool is currently doing registration for next fall and it made me think about kindergarten. So what are the when, what, who, etc of the whole process?

Also, is it "acceptable" to go and visit a K classroom (public)? I'm considering visiting a local Montessori and then deciding between that and the public school that serves our neighborhood. I'm very curious to see what they are doing in the public school K and what they do on an average day, etc.

I can't believe DD is almost ready for K.

Re: Kindergarten

Our school had a kindergarten "round-up". Yee-haw! Honestly, I wouldn't have known to look for that -- in mid-February -- and only knew about it becase I drove by and saw a sign.

I suggest calling your neighborhood school to ask about an orientation or tour, etc. Ours was early because the school offers full and half day K. With the timing of the budgets and funding requests, the school needs an idea in early March of how many parents want full day K.

[Phoebe]

Re: Kindergarten

Our school district holds registration for kindergarten next month. Some individual schools hold tours on a given day. Ours did not. The weekend before school starts there was an ice cream social where you saw the classroom and met your teacher. That was the first real glimpse we got of the classroom and the activities.

Some schools and teachers post websites which include the daily schedules and pictures of special events and weekly newsletters. You may be able to view those at your public elementary. I am sure if you contacted your designated school, they would meet with you and give a tour. Ours was kind of lame about it. We attended a winter carnival just as a way to let my daughter see the school.

[peggyfromwastate]

Re: Kindergarten

Do you know what your local school is? If so, they probably have the kindergarten registration packets (they are huge) and some type of plan for orientation. Ours was held in May. I had to fill out the paperwork on the same day as the tour, so if you are undecided about where she'll go to school, just don't do the paperwork and tell them you'll submit it a bit later, after you decide for sure... There are lots of health forms, immunizations, dental stuff, etc., to submit...

Good luck with your decision!

Re: Kindergarten

As far as what goes on in Kindergarten, there is a big difference between half day and full day. Typically a large chunk of time in kinder is spent on getting kids ready for reading, writing and math. Hands on learning centers are usually in place and the good (public) schools have music and art programs. At the beginning of the year the students are tested individually and from what I've seen, kindergarteners vary from kids not knowing the alphabet to ones that are reading chapter books. Its important that the school caters to the different levels and learning styles.

[diggitydot]

Re: Kindergarten

I would strongly suggest calling the local school to get their Kindergarten registration packet before the actual round-up. Also, you'll likely need copies of their birth certificate, copies of immunization records, your ID, custody papers (if applicable), and a utility bill to show that you're in-district. Not that all of those are required by all school districts, but it's better to have too much stuff than not enough.

I volunteer a couple days a week in my son's Kindergarten class. They began the year pretty simply by initially getting kids accustomed to the new routine, new expectations, surroundings, and people. They then began with the academics by working on letters, numbers, shapes, names of colors, etc. Right now, my son's class is working pretty heavily on "building words" (reading and writing). They'll draw pictures based on whatever story they're currently reading or subject they're learning about and then write sentences describing their drawing. They're also working on different monetary units, grouping items by tens, writing and counting to 100, etc. Granted, all of that is mixed in with lots of singing, silly rhymes, 4 recesses, and a 45 minute lunch. (Our district only offers full-day Kindergarten.)