KALEIDOSCOPE Fall Kindergarten Assessments
May/June 2012 Volume 1, Issue 5
Good Books on Going to Kindergarten: Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner Amy Schwartz Benjamin Bigfoot Mary Serfozo
Dear Families ~ With the school year rapidly coming to an end, we are already in the early stages of planning to conduct the post-kindergarten assessments that will be occurring in the fall. The assessments will be the very same that your child was given this past fall and will be used to communicate the importance of pre-kindergarten. Individual student data collected are kept confidential and only cohort information will be used in the study. Please be on the lookout for an important letter (and permission form!) about the fall assessments. Your child and your family benefitted through your involvement in KC Ready 4s, and it is our goal to make sure that this opportunity is available for every child and every family. Thank you in advance for allowing your child to participate in this important study!
Berenstain Bears Go to School Stan & Jan Berenstain
Best regards,
Chrysanthemum Kevin Henkes
Registration for County-Wide Programs for 3 and 4 year olds is Going On Now
Cleversticks Bernard Ashley
Kalamazoo County Head Start, Great Start Readiness Programs, Kalamazoo County Ready 4s, and Great Start Collaborative Early Childhood Scholarships for 3 year olds are accepting applications for the fall of 2012. Tell your friends and neighbors that NOW is the time to register children for High-Quality Pre-Kindergarten programs for Fall 2012! For more info call us at 366-9140.
Enrico Starts School Charlotte Middleton
Sandy Standish
First Saturday @ Kalamazoo Public Library! PARENTS WANTED! Please join us for the next meeting of the
Parent/Provider Advisory Committee
Tues. May 22nd 5:30-6:30 pm Summer Break! No meetings June - August All meetings are held at the First Congregational Church Kalamazoo Drop-In Childcare Center at 129 S. Park Street in Kalamazoo (corner of Park & Michigan).
FREE Childcare
Take your family to the downtown library the first Saturday of every month. Enjoy games, activities, and stories. Refreshments and door prizes are available! Learn how libraries and librarians can answer questions on hundreds of topics, plus help with homework.
The Parent/Provider Advisory Committee At our next meeting (Tuesday, May 22nd) we will be planning meetings & events for 2012-2013. Since you are an experienced parent of a 4/5 year old, we would love to have your suggestions! Please consider joining us for an hour to give us some ideas as to how we can make the KC Ready 4s’ experience even better for parents next year. How could we make the enrollment process better? What kinds of things did you want to know more about: nutrition, health services, how to locate birth certificates (!), transitioning to kindergarten? We hope to see you there and remember, we provide FREE CHILDCARE! Of course, if you have suggestions and cannot attend, please email them to us (addresses on the back of this newsletter).
WE RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR PARENTS AND PARENTS-TO-BE!
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Kalamazoo County Ready 4s 222 S. Westnedge Avenue Kalamazoo MI 49007 (269) 366-9140 www.KCReady4s.org
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Executive Director: Sandra L. Standish sstandish@kcready4s.org Administrative Assistant: Donna Neevel dneevel@kcready4s.org
Tell your friends & neighbors about our website www.kcready4s.org That’s where they can find all they need to know about getting their 4-year old child registered for high-quality pre-kindergarten programs!
Joyful, Intentional, Life-Changing: The Power of Pre-Kindergarten!
We’re on the Web! www.KCReady4s.org
COOL KID CORNER
For another great summer idea, can you make two words out of the letters in the squares below?
Ideas for Summer Fun! B
L Nature Walk Basket: Ask your mom for a cleaned-out plastic food container (like a margarine tub). Take a walk around your backyard and pick up treasures— flower petals that have fallen off the flowers onto the ground, whirly-birds from the trees, fallen leaves, and small twigs. Glue them onto your container to make a beautiful basket to hold other treasures!
B
B S’mores: Yummy marshmallows, graham crackers & chocolate bars! If there’s no fire or fireplace to use, ask mom or dad to put them on a plate and heat up in the microwave! L
Tic-Tac-Toe: Make a tic-tac-toe grid with chalk in the driveway (if okay with mom & dad) then use pebbles to play the game! S
...Play in the sprinkler on a hot day ...Put on a show for your family ...Lay down in the grass and look up at the clouds ...Make a village of sticks and leaves W
E
O
U Sand Paper: Whether you play in your sandbox in the backyard or go to the beach, sand is a great thing to decorate with! Cut a sheet of construction paper into a design you like...a star, a circle, an outline of your hand or your foot. Use a glue stick on one side of the paper, turn it upside down into the sand and press lightly. Shake off the excess before taking it into the house! B
Answer: BLOW BUBBLES
Campfire you can eat: Combine some pretzel sticks (fire logs) and small pieces of cheese (fire). Find a friend to share with!