Circles, Squares and Rectangles

It seems like if my child doesn’t already know their colors and shapes by the first day of school they will be behind.  Is this true?

Nowadays identifying shapes and colors is something that while not required for entry into Kindergarten it is pretty much expected. Number identification, addition, subtraction, counting to 100, patterning, measurement, and graphing are just a few of the concepts your child will learn this year, and having some prior knowledge about shapes and colors will make learning these concepts a lot easier. Below are the curriculum guidelines for shapes (in Texas). Curriculum guidelines for color don’t even exist. Of course there are many opportunities for students to use color in mathematics, patterning, comparisons, and identifying attributes.

8(C) sort a variety of objects including two- and three-dimensional geometric figures according to their attributes and describe how the objects are sorted
9(A) describe and compare the attributes of real-life objects such as balls, boxes, cans, and cones or models of three-dimensional geometric figures;
9(B) recognize shapes in real-life three-dimensional geometric figures or models of three-dimensional geometric figures; and
9(C) describe, identify, and compare circles, triangles, rectangles, and squares (a special type of rectangle).

While shape identification is most certainly a part of the math curriculum, you see that students will also have to describe and compare three-dimensional shapes in both the real world and with models. This means that any bit of prior knowledge you can give your child concerning shapes will help them with the geometry and spatial reasoning portion of their math.

Know that I know, what can I do?

Shape Walk: Go on a shape walk. Take a walk and point out all the shapes of different objects you see. If you like, take pictures of the objects/shapes you find on your walk. Then print these out and make them into a book.

Color Race: Quirky Momma has a cute idea for a Color Race. Before starting announce the color that you will be looking for during the race. Then turn on some music and have your child collect as many items of that color as they can before the song is over. Then put the items back and pick a new color.

Rainbow Writing; Have your child write their name in all the colors of the rainbow. Be sure to discuss each color as they write.

Read Color Books: Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?, Color Zoo, Little Blue and Little Yellow, A Color of His Own and My Many Colored Days are just a few. Of course you can also just talk about the different colors you see as you read any book.

Sort odds and ends: Gather odds and ends from around the house. Anything will work and then sort them by color, shape or both. Be sure to discuss the different shapes and colors you sort by.

I Spy: Play I Spy the regular way with colors but also change it up and spy different shapes!

Puzzles and Board Games: Look for puzzles or board games that teach shapes and colors. Candyland is an old favorite! Plus these can also teach counting, spatial reasoning, numbers, sequencing and other math concepts, an added bonus!

Feely Bag: Place different objects in a bag. Have your child just feel the object to see if they can determine the shape.

Becoming independent

What tasks are Kindergarten children expected to do independently? How long a period of time do kids need to be able to sit down and work independently?

Before I answer these questions, it’s important to remember that the Kindergarten year is all about growth. Well, every year is, of course, but the Kindergarten year even more so! When kids start their Kindergarten year, they are basically just old Preschoolers but by the end of the year they have blossomed into almost First Graders. For this reason, expectations will change throughout the year. Believe me Kindergarten teachers understand that attention spans are short and assistance is needed for even simple tasks. All that will change throughout the year though, and it’s truly amazing to watch!
Independence and responsibility go hand in hand. Becoming independent means an increase in responsibility. As one increases, so should the other. You’ll notice this at home, too!

At school kids will be expected to:

• Unpack and pack their backpacks, including getting out any folders, library books or notes for the teacher without assistance. That will happen pretty much from day one. After the first week or two your child’s teacher will not look through their backpack every morning for them. There’s just not time in the day.
• Depending on the teacher’s preference, children may or may not be in charge of managing their own school supplies. Some teachers like each child to have their own pencil box with supplies inside and some prefer to have shared supplies that the teacher stores. Either way your child will be responsible for cleaning up the supplies and taking care of them. It’s amazing how many marker tops can go missing and how many glue tops can stay open.
• Kids will be expected to remember their lunch boxes and winter clothing items when coming in from recess. This doesn’t mean that if they forget it on the playground all is lost. Yes, your child’s teacher will let them go back and get it, but it’s important that they work on remembering it before they have to go back to get it.
• Tying shoes is another form of independence. Of course, Kindergarten is a developmentally appropriate time to work on tying shoes. I expected my students to be able to tie their shoes by the end of the first semester. After the winter holidays if a child needed their shoe tied, I had them ask a friend.
• Make sure all items that came to school return home. Lunch boxes, coats, notes and folders all need to be zipped in the backpack so you can go through it each night!

Now you can also help your child feel more independent by:

• packing things in their lunch that they can open
• having them wear clothes that they can unzip, tie or button themselves
• including “empty the backpack and bring mom everything in there,” as part of the after school routine

McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut

What is meant by the term environmental print?

Environmental print is print found in, well, your environment!   The familiar shapes, colors and images of signs and lables help your child recognize and read some of their very first words. When your child sees those golden arches, they know it says McDonalds. This is very powerful for a young reader! Make a point of talking about it whenever you’re out in the car, at the grocery store, at Target or anywhere!

Now that I know, what can I do?

Collect environmental print as a family. It can be a ton of fun for the family to collect environmental print together. You can work together to find an example for every letter. If you get stuck, visit Hubbard’s Cupboard for some examples. Save those candy wrappers at Halloween time, too!

Make a book. Lots of our environmental print relates to food. Collect the fronts of cereal boxes, can labels and any other food label you can get your hands on. Then have your child glue these to a piece of paper. Make a page that says, The (family name)’s like to eat … and place this in the front. Staple the pages together and you have a new bedtime story!

Sort. Sort your environmental print by letter name, beginning sounds, ending sounds, syllables, family favorites, you name it.

Take photos. Make it a family outing one day to go and take pictures of signs like stop, yield and exit. Then you can make them into a book, sort them, make doubles and play memory, the possibilities are endless!

Puzzles. Take the fronts of food boxes or enlarged pictures of environmental print and cut them into pieces. Have your child reassemble them.

“I Can Read” bag. Have your child decorate a brown paper lunch sack. Then put pictures of environmental print in it that your child can read. Your child will feel empowered when they show you, other family members and friends the words they can read. Be sure to add to this bag periodically.

Make your own. Make your own environmental print by labeling items in the house. Have your child design the labels and then post them on the item. Increasing the print in your home will boost those early literacy skills.

The First Day of Kindergarten

What does the first day of Kindergarten look like?

Rest assured that teachers, no matter how many years they’ve taught, are just as nervous about the first day as you and your child are. Your child’s teacher will try to have the first day will run as close to normal as possible but a completely typical day will be impossible. The first day and actually the first few weeks of school are spent teaching kids routines, setting behavioral expectations and getting to know each other. That doesn’t mean learning isn’t going on, actually it’s quite the contrary. Here’s a list of things Kindergarten teachers work on the first few weeks of school. Remember most children won’t have been in any public school setting before and some not in any type of school setting.

• Walking in a line
• Being quiet in the hallways
• Sitting quietly during a story
• Raising their hand when they need something
• Staying in their seat unless they ask for permission
• Public bathroom etiquette
• Drinking from a water fountain
• Eating in the lunchroom
• Lining up when recess time is over
• The difference between a question and a story (they work on this one all year)
• Voicing displeasure vs. hitting when there is a problem
• Using scissors for paper only
• Holding a pencil
• Writing their name on all work
• Hanging up their backpack and checking it for any notes, items from home, etc
• Not to interrupt when others are speaking
• Sharing toys
• Saying please and thank you
• Saying the pledge of allegiance

Generally the teacher will have some type of activity for kids to work on when they come in the first day, most likely some type of activity or coloring sheet. This allows her to have an activity that doesn’t need directions so that she can speak with any parents and settle everyone before the day starts. After everyone is seated and parents have left, the rest of the day is spent touring the school, practicing lining up/walking in the hallway, learning classroom and school rules and simply getting down the routine of being in school. Usually students will still attend specials (P.E., art, music) but not other enrichment like library or computer lab. The day goes extremely quickly! Your child will be very tired when they come home and probably by Wednesday or so they won’t be so sure about getting up early every morning. Give it time and before you know it your child will love school (even if they are still a little sleepy in the morning)!

Questions for the First Day of School

What types of questions should I ask the teacher on Meet the Teacher night?

You don’t know what you don’t know. I probably use this phrase too often, but it’s so true!!  Here’s a list of questions I’d make sure you had the answers to before the first day of school. Most or even all of this should be addressed during Meet the Teacher but if not, ask away!

• What is the earliest time my child is able to arrive at school? Where will she go at that time?
• At what time is my child marked tardy?
• Is breakfast available? If so, is it in the cafeteria or the classroom?
• When is dismissal? (Sometimes Kindergarten dismisses a few minutes early.)
• How will dismissal run? (where do you meet your child, where will the get on the bus, etc.)
• Who do I contact if there is a change in the way my child will be going home?
• Where can I get a copy of the school calendar with school holidays listed?
• What is the absence policy?
• Are notes required for absences and doctor appointments? If so, do these notes go to the teacher or the office?
• What is the dress code?
• What days will my child go to P.E.?
• When will the class go to library? Will they be able to check out books and bring them home?
• How do I set up a lunch account for my child?  How much is lunch?
• What is the best way to reach the teacher during the day? (be sure to get her phone number and email address)
• When is the teacher’s conference period?
• What volunteer opportunities are there? (also find out contact information for PTA representatives)
• Will there be homework and what is the homework policy?

Nonfiction isn’t boring!

My child only wants to check out nonfiction books from the library. Is this okay?

Yes, this is definitely okay. When we think of books and young children we often only think of fiction stories. We tend to think young kids just won’t “get it” when it comes to nonfiction. Of course a child (and an adult) loves a good fantasy, but many children also enjoy nonfiction. Children are so curious about their world and soak up information like a sponge, so nonfiction text is a perfect fit! Nonfiction text also has the added bonuses of increasing a child’s vocabulary, building prior knowledge, developing critical thinking skills and being especially enticing to reluctant readers.

Also, let’s face it. Much of the reading in your child’s future is going to be nonfiction from high school textbooks to the newspaper to the 20 page article your college professor gives you to read for class discussion. If you get them interested at a young age, it won’t be so daunting when they’re older.

Worried about actually finding nonfiction text that’s appropriate for a young child? Today publisher’s are actually very mindful about making sure they publish books on a range of topics at varied reading levels. I’ve even seen some nonfiction books with three word sentences! You just have to look.   Also, remember to look beyond the book. Newspapers, magazines, and websites all have a high percentage of nonfiction material.  If your still stuck.  There’s an annual award for the best nonfiction book  for children. The National Council of Teachers of English has the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children.

Some nonfiction books that are my personal favorites:

• Frogs by Nic Bishop
• Lady Liberty: A Biography by Doreen Rappaport
• Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle by Brian Dennis and Mary Nethery
• Listen to the Wind by Greg Mortenson

Research…in Kindergarten?

I know I wasn’t required to do research in Kindergarten. Why is my child now doing it?

Yes, believe it or not research is now a part of the Kindergarten learning experience. The librarian in me says, “Yes!” That’s because Kindergartners really can do research! Of course, it looks a lot different than what we did in college with footnotes and such, but it’s still a form of research.  Now before you moan and grown remembering all those notecards you had to write and secondary sources you had to dig up, think about it. Research really is a perfect fit for a Kindergartener. Kindergartners are some of the most curious people I know. And what do you do when you’re curious? You ask questions!! (and hopefully find out the answers to them)

In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), also known as the Texas state curriculum, it states, “students are expected to know how to locate a range of relevant sources and evaluate, synthesize, and present ideas and information.” Also, Language Arts TEKs 19 and 20 specifically mention the subject of research.

(19) Research/Research Plan. Students ask open-ended research questions and develop a plan for answering them. Students (with adult assistance) are expected to:

(A) ask questions about topics of class-wide interest; and

(B) decide what sources or people in the classroom, school, library, or home can answer these questions.

(20) Research/Gathering Sources. Students determine, locate, and explore the full range of relevant sources addressing a research question and systematically record the information they gather. Students (with adult assistance) are expected to:

(A) gather evidence from provided text sources; and

(B) use pictures in conjunction with writing when documenting research.

Now, I hope you noticed what the Texas Education Agency put in parentheses, with adult assistance. Of course a Kindergartner is not expected to be able to do all of this research on their own. Teachers and the librarian are expected to introduce good research skills, the steps to making a research plan, how to gather accurate and appropriate sources and how to then take all this information and make sense of it.

As a librarian, I would introduce my Kindergarteners to the Super Three, simplified steps to research, using Planasaurus, Dosaurus and Reviewasaurus.   We’d also sing this song to the tune of BINGO.  The kids loved it and when it was time to do their research projects on an animal, they had a least a basic understanding of research and the proper way to do it.

So if your child comes home with a research assignment or is just plain curious about something in their world, remember to embrace it and encourage it! Go to your library, grab some print and electronic resources and have fun!

Foster a love of reading

How can I help my child learn to read?

The best way to help your child learn to read is to first help them develop a love for reading. Don’t force it! If you make reading tedious, your child is not going to enjoy reading.   This will start a vicious cycle.  If they don’t enjoy reading they most likely aren’t going to be that interested in doing it.   We all know practice makes perfect!   Have you ever found yourself re-reading the same sentence for the third time. It was probably some piece of writing that didn’t interest you. So make reading fun for your child and they’ll be a better reader.

Here are some fun ways to encourage reading:
Audio books. Audio books are great for comprehension! Pop these in on a long car trip and it’s fun entertainment for the entire family. You might also consider getting the audio book and the actual print copy. Have your child listen to the audio book as they read along in the print copy. This reinforces the words being read aurally. You can often find these as a CD/book set already.  If there’s a book your child really wants to read that doesn’t come in a set, get the two parts separately and make your own.

Family members record books. Have different family members record themselves reading a book or have them read a book to your child via webcam.

Family Pets and Stuffed Animals. It can be intimidating to have to read a book out loud to an adult, especially if you know they are going to correct every mistake you make. So encourage your child to practice reading to the family pet or their favorite stuffed animal. They’ll be much more relaxed because everyone knows Fido can’t read so he definitely can’t say you read that word incorrectly. If your child really gets into this, dedicated programs with trained reading dogs are often found at your local library. Check with them or on the Internet to find these opportunities locally.

Magazines, Newspapers and Comics. Let your child read all forms of print. Kid-friendly magazines, newspapers and comics are all forms of print and may just be the format to hook your child on reading.

Library card. Allow your child to get their own public library card. Getting to check out your own books on your own card is a big deal for a kid and a sure way to foster reading. Also, don’t force your child to only check-out books they can read by themselves. Sure, it’s great practice to get a book or two that is at their reading level, but their interest may also be sparked by a more difficult book. Let them get one of these books and then use it as a read aloud book before bedtime.

Nonfiction. Nonfiction isn’t evil. We’ve been trained to think that kids only like storybooks. Kids do love a good story, but they are also naturally curious about their world. Nonfiction is a great way to hook a reluctant reader. Publishers are doing a much better job nowadays of publishing nonfiction text that is at an appropriate level for younger children. Ask your librarian to help you find these.

C.G.I.

What is C.G.I.?

At some point in your child’s education you will hear the term C.G.I.  No, Kindergarten may have changed drastically from when you were little, but they are not learning how to develop computer generated imagery. We’ll leave that to the experts at Pixar.  Here it means Cognitively Guided Instruction. Whoa!   Okay, to put it simply, it’s another way to teach math.

When you and I were growing up, the teacher likely taught arithmetic in the traditional format with algorithms that couldn’t be altered. You had to demonstrate two digit addition by carrying the one into the tens place, etc. We were forced to make connections to mathematical symbols like +, -, = and so forth before making connections to real world problems. Meaning that we had to learn that 2 + 2 = 4 before we thought about the fact that if I had two Barbies and my friend had two Barbies, that meant we had four Barbies altogether. C.G.I. instead allows kids to connect to their world first and then gradually make the connections to the mathematical symbols when they are developmentally ready.

C.G.I. also requires that the teacher listen to the child verbalize how they solved a math problem and use that information to guide their math instruction. Kids are way smarter than we give them credit for. They can figure out how to solve a multi-step math problem or a multiplication problem.   They may not use formal algorithms but they can solve their problems and explain how they did it!

Still confused? Let me explain how C.G.I. looked in my Kindergarten classroom. The class was given a story problem on a small sheet of paper.

Example:

Paul has 3 pieces of candy. James has 5 pieces of candy. How many pieces of candy do they have altogether?

We would paste this problem in our math journals. Then students were given a math toolkit to use to solve this problem if they wished. The beauty of C.G.I. is that students can work at their own developmental level to solve the problem.   Toolkits contain a variety of math manipulatives to help solve the problem, such as unifix cubes, teddy bear counters, bean counters, etc.   Yet, if they didn’t need a concrete visual representation to solve it, they could draw a picture in the journal. As the students were solving the problem, I, as the teacher, would walk around the room helping where needed and identifying student’s strategies. After a set amount of time, I would have several students using a variety of  strategies show their method for solving the problem to the class. This helped them verbalize their thinking and showed other students different ways to solve the problem. At the end, we would write the problem into the formal algorithm.    3 + 5 = 8

There are several types of story problems that your child will learn throughout the year including addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  Some of these may even require several steps.  Basic addition and subtraction story types include:   Result Unknown 3 + 2 = __    Change Unknown- 3 + ___ = 5 Start Unknown- ___ + 2 = 5

At the beginning of the year, your child’s math time may consist of free exploration time with the math manipulatives. It may seem like playtime but this time is very important. At first, teddy bear counters will seem like toys to five-year-olds. Therefore, the teacher gives them time to basically get the “playing” out of their system. This way when it’s time to actual use these counters as tools in math, your child will have already made patterns, sorted them, made them talk, etc.

Now that I know, what do I do?

Create your own. Make up your own story problems using family members, neighbors and friends. Allow your child to create some as well. Use everyday household items for your child’s math toolkit and be sure to challenge your child with all types of story problems. Don’t get hung up on writing 2 + 2 = 4. It’s important that your child learns this eventually but first give her the chance to explain how she solved a problem in other ways.

Things to consider:

It’s never to early to practice math story problems as these will be on state assessments in years to come.

Separation Anxiety

My child has separation anxiety and I’m not looking forward to saying goodbye on the first day of school.   How can I help her handle the transition to Kindergarten?

All children are different and so all will react to their first day of Kindergarten differently.  Some are ready to go without hardly a second look over their shoulder to mom.  Some are clingy and tearful.  Several weeks before Kindergarten starts, prepare your child by talking about Kindergarten. Explain the routine (dad drops off, mom picks up, daycare, etc.) and be sure to be positive. You might even want to share what you remember about your Kindergarten experience.  Don’t worry though, your child’s Kindergarten teacher will be prepared for children who have a hard time saying goodbye to mom.  

So what to do if your child is upset? I know it’s hard to see but take it from one who has been on the other side of things.   Stay calm, give a kiss goodbye, a few reassuring words and then leave.  Hanging around or trying to sneak out when your child isn’t watching will only make the situation escalate.   Call the teacher later that day to check on your child.  You will probably also want to wait until your child is settled into the routine before going up during the day to have lunch with them. 

Develop a goodbye routine. Children thrive on the predictability of routines. Have something short and simple that you do to say goodbye, a special saying, a kiss, a hug, etc. You might also consider putting a family photo in your child’s backpack or lunchbox so they can be reminded at some point that they will soon see their family that loves them.

Picture Books. A few weeks before Kindergarten read books about the first day of school.  Also consider reading books that deal with saying goodbye like The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn.

Be calm yourself. Even if you are nervous about your child’s first day of school, don’t let your child notice. At the school where I taught Kindergarten they had something called the Boo Hoo Breakfast. After dropping off their children at school, all Kindergarten mothers met in the cafeteria to console each other. If your school doesn’t have something like this, organize one yourself, call your mom on the way to work, have coffee with your friends at Starbucks or have lunch with your husband. Just don’t let your child think there is a reason to be nervous.  Children read your emotions well so be careful.

Most of all, be patient!   Your child won’t be tearful everyday of their Kindergarten year.  Soon she’ll giving you a quick kiss goodbye and skipping into the classroom!