Kindergarten Information Night: Ensuring a Smooth Transition to Elementary School

By Anna Patterson, Teacher

What constitutes kindergarten readiness? What is the typical development of a 5-year-old? How can parents support their children in preparing them for kindergarten? These are just a few of the questions parents asked at Bing’s Kindergarten Information Night, held Jan. 14. For many Bing students and their parents, the countdown to kindergarten had begun, drawing more than 70 parents to hear a panel of experts share their perspectives on providing a smooth transition during this time. On the panel were Palo Alto Medical Foundation pediatrician Rick Lloyd, MD, Walter Hays Elementary principal Mary Bussman, and Bing teachers Peckie Peters, Todd Erickson and Jeanne Zuech.

Lloyd opened, providing us with good news: “5-year-olds want to be good.”  They want to please, he said. At 5, children are more competent and more interested in taking on responsibility both at home and in school.  They become more aware of their own abilities, they have an ethical sense of right versus wrong and they act more “grown up” because that means being “good” in their minds.  Because 5-years-olds love to learn, said Lloyd, they accumulate facts. Typically, they enjoy the company of others their age, group by gender and play best one on one. Parents can support their kindergarteners by allowing them to take on more responsibility, by providing time for them to play, by allowing them to have choice and by supporting their natural desire to live in the here and now. Lloyd pointed out, “The most important ingredient to kindergarten readiness is that the parents believe their child will succeed.”

Elementary school principal Bussman stressed the importance of reading with children to prepare them for kindergarten and for life. “Reading is an intimate activity that is a gateway to all learning,” Bussman said. She also discussed what parents can do to build a child’s character. Qualities like perseverance and resilience are teachable traits that can help children to succeed, she said. For example, Bussman suggested letting children make mistakes. Parents can even model how to learn from their own mistakes in order to teach these concepts and have a positive impact on their children. Bussman also reminded parents to give children time to be innovative, explore and play. Finally, she suggested that parents familiarize themselves with the Common Core Standards for Kindergarten (www.corestandards.org) for an indication of what their child will learn and be expected to know by the end of kindergarten.

Next up on the panel were the Bing teachers. Head teacher Peckie Peters described how social-emotional experiences at Bing prepare children for kindergarten: Children have already navigated through the separation process and they have experienced interactions with many adults in the classroom. Bing’s safe and supportive atmosphere has allowed them to develop a sense of confidence and the ability to feel successful in whatever they do.

Head teacher Todd Erickson addressed parents’ concerns about math readiness, explaining how math is woven into so many Bing experiences. An everyday play experience such as block building can foster counting skills, pattern recognition and symmetry knowledge, he said. At snack time, children sometimes vote on a book to read, which gives them practice comparing quantities when they consider which has the most and least votes.

Jeanne Zuech focused on the rich literacy experiences at Bing that allow children to develop a love of reading. Experiences such as writing letters to classmates at the language table can promote letter recognition and word knowledge. In addition, literacy follows to other areas of the classroom, Zuech explained. Children often write their names on their creations made at the woodworking or design table or make signs for construction vehicles in the sand area. According to Zuech, all of these activities enhance kindergarten readiness.

Parents often have mixed feelings as kindergarten approaches: a sense of excitement combined with an equal measure of worry. Assistant director Beth Wise passed on a valuable message from Barbara Porro, a kindergarten teacher at Las Lomitas Elementary, who was unable to attend the event. “Parents from a play-based program might feel a little nervous or anxious… but these children are actually coming in with an advantage,” Porro explained.  Kindergarten preparedness often refers to social-emotional skills rather than a specific skill set relating to academics. Not only do 5-year-olds have a great capacity to learn and to “be good,” according to Lloyd, but because they have experience in an exploratory and creative preschool setting, they are going to be well-prepared. Kindergarten Information Night left the audience with the following message: support children by letting them play and be independent, and believe in them because they truly are ready for the next step.