By Anna Christiansen, Teacher
In most ways, this year’s kindergarten information night was perfectly ordinary: As usual, parents of Bing children had lots of questions about how to best prepare for kindergarten, and Bing teachers had lots of answers. But in some ways, the info session, held Jan. 13, 2021, was extraordinary because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The panel discussion and Q&A took place online, a first for Bing. Panelists answered parents’ frequently asked questions, from how to register for kindergarten to the kindergarten pandemic experience, and outlined the developmental nature of growth in nursery school and how it prepares children for kindergarten. The panelists included head teachers Adrienne Lomangino, Todd Erickson, Emma Vallarino and Nandini Bhattacharjya.
Following an introduction to local kindergarten eligibility and registration by Lomangino, Erickson reminded parents to live in the “here and the now” with their children. He emphasized that children in this age group are making progress through their “job” at a nursery school: being part of a community and learning routines, fundamental life skills and ways of interacting with the world.
Lomangino addressed the impact of the pandemic on the kindergarten experience, reviewing the results of a survey completed by 88 former Bing parents with current kindergartners. The survey revealed that the transition to kindergarten in 2020 was not much more difficult than the transition the year before—highlighting the resilience of children. But, added Lomangino, “not surprisingly, parents did not have the most positive things to say about starting kindergarten during a pandemic, when children could not go to school in person as they usually would.”
Indeed, the comments of the survey revealed sobering parental feelings toward the 2020–2021 school year. A parent lamented, “I wish she could have started kindergarten in any other year. … Starting kindergarten is one of those milestones.” Plus, said the parent, “It’s hard to make new friends. ... She is doing great given the circumstances, and we are all adapting as we must, but I still imagine what her transition to kindergarten would have been and how she would have loved it. Nonetheless, she has a wonderful teacher and she still loves school.”
The crux of the night featured a discussion about the pyramid of kindergarten readiness, a concept featured in the study “Are Children Ready for School?: Assessment of Kindergarten Readiness in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties: Comprehensive Report 2005.” Put together by Santa Clara County Partnership for School Readiness, the Peninsula Community Foundation and the Peninsula Partnership for Children, Youth and Families, it is based on interviews with current kindergarten teachers.
The pyramid represents the basic building blocks children work on during their first five years, featuring self-help and motor skills at the base, self-regulation and social expression in the middle and academics at the top.
Vallarino highlighted the foundational aspects of readiness. “When children come with these self-care, motor, regulation and social expression pieces, it’s easy for teachers to then teach those kindergarten academic skills,” she said, but without one of the elements they cannot.
Indeed, Bing children build gross- and fine-motor abilities naturally, said Vallarino, as they explore the classroom and outdoors by running, jumping, skipping, climbing, picking up paint brushes and manipulating small objects. They develop independence and self-care skills through managing their own backpacks and their belongings and separating at drop-off.
Looking at the next tier up—social emotional growth and self-regulation—Lomangino explained how children at the nursery school learn to read the situation and pick up on interactive social cues, which aids in becoming a good listener and being able to take on roles as both a leader and a follower. Such social-emotional skills are “hard to teach directly—they really need to be learned through meaningful experiences,” said Lomangino. Indeed, children’s language and communication abilities develop while they are at Bing so they can navigate social situations independently.
Vallarino then conveyed how academic learning is woven into the play-based curriculum throughout their session at the nursery school. “Building a love of literacy and language, reading and writing, is what we hope your children are gaining from Bing,” she said, referencing ways of experimenting with letters and words. Similarly, said Vallarino, we see children practicing mathematical skills, such as understanding numbers and counting through self-directed activities like picking flowers.
The evening ended with recommendations for preparing a smooth entry to kindergarten. For example, families could plan to be home a few weeks before school starts so children would not experience too many transitions, Lomangino said. She added that it’s worthwhile to have a “big picture” talk with children about what goes on in a day at kindergarten, but to avoid making children anxious by dwelling on the topic. Bhattacharjya advised parents to give their child a full quarter to get used to kindergarten; provide down time after the school day; and consider their child’s personality when making choices about after-school activities.