Will Your Child Be Ready For Kindergarten?

The PreK Experience Makes a Difference

BY THE REV. BETTE J. KAUFFMAN, PH.D.

DUMP TRUCK SUBTRACTION.WHAT a fun way to learn! Maybe if I had been introduced to mathematics via dump truck subtraction, I’d be far more comfortable with the subject today. I learned about dump truck subtraction and a lot of other fun ways to learn core subjects through observing in our school’s PreK4 classroom.

According to state standards, 60% of Louisiana children come to Kindergarten “not ready.” A quality PreK experience can make the difference between “ready” and “not ready.” The more closely aligned a pre-school experience is with Kindergarten, the greater the advantage to your child.

In our PreK4 class, new concepts are taught in whole-class sessions that begin with teaching then move into class discussion and participation. This spring, compound words were introduced to the students and within minutes, they were coming up with their own examples. “Butterfly,” offered one boy, drawing upon a topic the class had studied in their weekly science enrichment session.

Like most pre-schools, we teach letters, numbers and colors beginning in PreK2. In PreK 3, we add lower case letters into the mix. Our PreK4 students focus on learning the sounds the letters make and are introduced to “sight words,” which are high frequency words children must learn to recognize instantly without having to sound them out. The list includes “a,” “I,” “in,” “it,” “am,” “me,” “from,” “for,” and many more. Recognizing these words by sight helps students become fluent readers more quickly.

Having learned the sight words, our PreK4 students are introduced to journaling around the beginning of 4th Quarter. Keeping a journal daily, using inventive spelling and practicing by copying from vocabulary cards or other materials posted in the classroom, encourages children’s love of writing and builds their confidence as writers. Drawing pictures is also an option, which encourages creativity.

This spring at our PreK4 graduation, each member of the class of 2023 was given the “Hands-On Bible” featuring language geared toward kids their age. Given what they have learned, we expect them—and told them at graduation—that they will already know some of the words they will find in their Bible and will be able to read it on their own in about a year.

Science is not the only enrichment our school offers. We teach Spanish at every preschool grade level. By PreK4, our students have mastered letters and numbers, and move on to the Spanish names of colors, days of the week, and months of the year. Throughout the year, they add other words to their Spanish vocabulary according to a theme or lesson of the week, words such as “mariposa” (butterfly) and “manzana” (apple).

Give your child the advantage of a Grace Episcopal Day School experience, with our small class sizes and curriculum well aligned with the Kindergarten experience. Call for an application.