Kid-ready for Kindergarten

Lynn U. Nichols

I REMEMBER MY OLDEST SON’S first day of kindergarten. There was a special energy in the air as I watched him line up outside the classroom door with his classmates. As he bravely marched in, I smiled and waved, then wiped away tears—along with most of the other moms present that day.

Kindergarten marks a huge transition, not just for your child but for you as a parent. It’s a letting go of those precious preschool days. It’s the start of 12 years of education, strung out into the future. Don’t worry, you’ve got this and so does your child. But it’s smart to prepare so that everything goes smoothly for both of you. Here are some tips for becoming kindergarten ready.

Don’t miss the open house Every elementary school helps ease the transition to kindergarten by offering an open house in August. Make attending a priority over everything—even that last minute family vacation.

“Kids play on the playground and meet other kids who will be their classmates, and get to know their teacher better,” says Stephanie Coleman, M.Ed., LPC, a school counselor with Beattie Elementary in Fort Collins.

This quick bonding can have lasting effects. If your daughter is anxious about going to school, you can remind her that she will get to see her new friend, Mia. Also, getting to experience the extra fun side of school— socializing and playing—puts school in a positive light.

Since the school is open, plan to arrive early to walk around school. Walk from your daughter’s classroom to the bathroom, the library, and the cafeteria. Helping her create a map in her head will boost her confidence that she kind of knows her way around. If you can’t fit it in that night, most schools are open during the day the week before class starts.

“The first three weeks of kindergarten are the hardest, but usually after that, kids are fine. If your

child is struggling past three weeks, ask to meet with the school counselor,” Coleman advises.

Routine rules Young children thrive with routine. It makes them feel safe and it eases stress. Commit to a regular bedtime routine and start adjusting your son’s bedtime now. Make it easy by knocking it back 10 minutes each night for a week or two, or as long as it takes to reach the desired school bedtime. Keep in mind that kids need a lot of sleep: 3- to 5- year-olds need 10 to 13 hours per night, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).

Sleep experts say that poor sleep negatively impacts how well kids think, which in turn affects how well they do in school. Poor sleep makes it hard for your child to pay attention in class and process new information. It also affects his mood, making him irritable and grumpy.

Like with sleep, your child’s brain is affected by the quality of food that she eats. Studies find that students who eat breakfast have improved math grades and reading scores. Plus, breakfast-eaters pay attention and behave better in school. Kids need more than a bowl of cereal. Breakfast should always include a protein and a healthy fat, a whole grain, as well as a fruit or vegetable. The same is true for the lunch you pack. Try to put in foods that are as whole, natural and unprocessed as possible. Ease separation anxiety Kindergarten is a big, new world for kids and for some it’s also scary. If your child is especially shy or tends to do poorly with transition, you will have to work a little harder to get her school ready.

If your child is having a hard time letting go of you when you bring her to school, the school counselor can help. She or he will create a support plan for your child, which often involves meeting you and your child outside of school and putting a morning routine in place. The counselor or teacher will greet your child in the same way and in the same place every morning, helping her feel comfortable and confident.

“I always partner with parents to create this routine, which starts with a very standard, predictable morning routine at home before school,” Coleman says. “The child knows he will get up, eat breakfast, brush his teeth, get in the car, and then mommy will take him to school and Mrs. Coleman will meet him at the door.”

School counselors can also help your child calm down when he arrives upset by taking him to a quiet place or on a walk around school. It helps him shift his mood before he enters the classroom.

“We’ve noticed that kids are struggling post COVID lockdowns, especially those who didn’t go to preschool. Most kids attend preschool, which helps a lot with starting kindergarten,” Coleman adds. Simple tips to wake up school readiness Coleman recommends avoiding the words, “This will get you ready for kindergarten.” Instead, make it fun. Here are some ways to do that: • Plan short separations, like fun friend play dates or a summer class to help him practice listening to another adult. • Practice turn-taking by playing board or yard games or enrolling her in a team sport. • If your child is anxious about school, make a school photo album showing the front door, playground and key rooms to review before school starts. Or, play school with him where you are the teacher and he’s the student.

Have him practice raising his hand to talk or to go to the bathroom, lining up for recess, and doing a few fun and easy worksheets. • Give your child control by letting her pick out her lunchbox, backpack or water bottle.

Let her bedazzle the bottle with stickers. Now that you know how to support your child, don’t forget about your own needs. If you are feeling nervous about the start of school, don’t hesitate to reach out to the school counselor, the teacher, or a friend. Approaching the start of school with excitement and calm goes a long way in helping your child do the same.

Tips from local teachers on school readiness

According to Poudre R-1 kindergarten teachers Karrie Allen, Melissa Lackey and Megan Swonder, it’s very helpful for children entering kindergarten to be able to:  Follow directions, such as hanging up their coat  Sit quietly and listen to a story  Make requests and communicate their needs appropriately  Be self-sufficient in the bathroom including toileting, wiping and washing hands independently  Wait patiently and take turns  Display good sportsmanship when losing at games  Recognize numbers 0-10  Count from 0-25  Recognize their own name  Write their name  Use child scissors and playdough safely and appropriately  Recognize uppercase letters  Independently put on boots, coats, shoes and snow pants  Sit still for 5-10 minutes at a time

Validating and valuing students’ struggles

BY JACOB DOYLE

The many faces of GOAL High School

Serving more than 5,000 students statewide, GOAL High School has a broad appeal to an eclectic student body. Here are just a few examples: • Students who receive top awards for college trigonometry and organic chemistry • Students who can repair complex diesel motors, but would rather not read Chaucer • Students with no place to call home • Students who were bullied • Students who are too socially anxious to attend a traditional high school • Students who want to get started on college credits at no cost • Students who have been expelled • Students who have to work to support their families or their own children • Students with learning disabilities who need one-on-one assistance • Students who are just learning English and, the list goes on!

What does it mean to validate a student’s struggle? If there was an easy answer to this, everyone would be an educator. The answer to this question requires an intimate knowledge of the subject, something Antonia Gardiner, Assistant Principal of GOAL High School’s Longmont, Loveland, and Fort Collins student drop-in centers, has tenfold.

With pure passion in her voice, she recounts, “My sister struggled in school. I didn’t feel that the schools did enough to validate her struggle and authentically do everything to help. Supporting her through tears and anger cemented my conviction to support struggling students and help them succeed”

This led her to become a teacher of students with behavioral issues and apply what she had gone through with her sister, both valuing and validating them and their struggles.

Through her experience at GOAL High School, she has come to love the innovative community of Fort Collins, the bootstrap mentality of Longmont, and the art/theatrics of Loveland. It is this diversity that makes her love teaching, whether it is students with behavioral or academic issues or honors students.

What has made Ms. Gardiner’s career so exceptional is that it doesn’t matter who she is teaching, or where, or when. The goal always remained the same: to recognize students as young human beings taking on real-world problems. GOAL High School operates much the same way schoolwide—doing whatever it takes to provide education in a caring, supportive, and personalized manner.

“I think fundamentally it’s all the same, right? It’s that we honor who they are and validate their struggles. Whether it was my students who struggled with behavior or others who haven’t been able to figure out how to be successful in school or my previous AP students with the stress of taking say, 4 AP classes in a school year and applying to prestigious colleges in an exceptionally competitive environment. At the end of the day, both sets of those kids, need to be validated that their struggle is real, and that they are loved and supported.”

Antonia Gardiner, Assistant Principal

Jacob Doyle, GOAL High School Journalism Intern

To learn more about GOAL and its mission to develop productive members of society call 1-877-PRO-GOAL (1877-776-4625) or view goalac.org. Enrollment is open now. Jacob Doyle is a Journalism Intern and a Senior at GOAL High School.

ENROLL NOW – goalac.org

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