Social Development in Transitional Kindergarten (TK)
Transitional Kindergarten is an important year for social development. The goal is to get the children to become more responsible and independent. It is important as parents to let go and allow your child to grow. Encourage your child to do things by him/herself and give plenty of praise. This includes……
-Carrying own backpack and lunch box
-Putting away own belongings such as toys, books, clothes
-Walking by him/herself instead of being carried
-Feeding him/herself
-Putting on clothes and shoes Etc.
The children will learn how to be responsible for their belongings at school such as keeping their desk neat, and keeping track of lunch boxes and jackets. I try not to do anything for the children that I know that they can do on their own. The children will hear me say, “Try to do it by yourself.” The children will also be working on social interactions with others. They will learn how to share supplies, toys, books, etc. and interact positively and respectfully with others. The children will learn how to solve problems on their own by using their words. I will be there to guide and monitor, but ultimately the children will be responsible for their problem solving. If another child pushes your child, your child is encouraged to say, “I feel hurt when you push me.” The emphasis is on using words and expressing feelings/thoughts to solve problems. The children will also be working on self control and self monitoring. The clothespin behavior system helps them learn that making poor choices results in an immediate consequence of moving their clothespin down. It is visual and immediate and it helps establish more positive behavior. The system also allows for correcting the behavior. The clothespin will be moved up when positive behavior is displayed. Please encourage your child at home to work on these social development areas. Thank you for your support.
Penmanship & Drawing
Penmanship and Drawing/Coloring Neat and correct penmanship and neat drawing/coloring are important to your child’s academic attitude. Neatness instills focus, concentration, and sense of accomplishment. It helps children establish a sense of responsibility for their work and it helps them to pay attention to detail. It will help your child to be self disciplined. This attitude will benefit in all academic areas. Some children tend to write or draw/color messy because they are in a rush to finish. This can develop into other academic areas where they rush through reading or math and miss the whole concept. Please help your child to change this behavior. Enforce your expectation for your child to write properly and draw/color neatly. Penmanship 1. 3 lines – top, middle, bottom lines 2. Letters need to touch the lines, not cross them 3. Use spaces in between words 4. Use straight lines – erase and do again if crooked 5. Capital letters need to touch the top line 6. Lower case letters like g, p, q need to go though the bottom line Drawing/Coloring 1. Color within the lines 2. Optional – can trace first and then color 3. Color over the white spots 4. Use different and appropriate colors for different parts. Ex. Eyes should be the right color not red or orange 5. Add detail to pictures. Ex. A house should have windows, doors, door knob, chimney, curtains. 6. Add a background- sky, park, trees, flowers.
Transitional Kindergarten Spelling
The writing process consists of stages. Please have your child write down the sounds s/he hears. The spelling is usually incorrect and that is fine. The focus is to spell phonetically in the beginning. Example: Spell “house”
Stage 1 – writes the first letter “h”
Stage 2 – writes first and last sounds, vowels are omitted “hs”
Stage 3 – includes vowel sounds “hos”In kindergarten, it is necessary for children to hear sounds and put them on paper.
This is a part of phonemic awareness. As children learn the rules of spelling, they will be attentive to how words are spelled correctly.
Stage 1 – writes the first letter “h”
Stage 2 – writes first and last sounds, vowels are omitted “hs”
Stage 3 – includes vowel sounds “hos”In kindergarten, it is necessary for children to hear sounds and put them on paper.
This is a part of phonemic awareness. As children learn the rules of spelling, they will be attentive to how words are spelled correctly.
Helping Your Student Read
Help your child to read
1. Read books to your child. This will help your child hear what good reading should sound like. Ask questions about the story to help your child with comprehension.
2. Visit the library once a week. Have your child choose books that will interest him/her.
3. Have your child practice the decodable books everyday.
4. Blending sounds (sounding out the word) – truck “sound” /t/ “sound” /r/ “blend” /tr/ “sound” /u/ “blend” /tru/ “sound” /k/ “blend” /truk/
5. When your child is reading and comes across a difficult word, have him/her look at the first and last letter of the word. Try to put the word in context. “What word would make sense?” For example, “The huge elephant trampled over the dry bushes.” TRAMPLED- tr What word would make sense?Sound out the letters. Trick?? Would that make sense? The elephant tricked over the bushes.
1. Read books to your child. This will help your child hear what good reading should sound like. Ask questions about the story to help your child with comprehension.
2. Visit the library once a week. Have your child choose books that will interest him/her.
3. Have your child practice the decodable books everyday.
4. Blending sounds (sounding out the word) – truck “sound” /t/ “sound” /r/ “blend” /tr/ “sound” /u/ “blend” /tru/ “sound” /k/ “blend” /truk/
5. When your child is reading and comes across a difficult word, have him/her look at the first and last letter of the word. Try to put the word in context. “What word would make sense?” For example, “The huge elephant trampled over the dry bushes.” TRAMPLED- tr What word would make sense?Sound out the letters. Trick?? Would that make sense? The elephant tricked over the bushes.
Sight Word Flashcards
sight_word_flashcards.pdf | |
File Size: | 35 kb |
File Type: |
Parent Volunteers
Parent Volunteers Parent Volunteers are some of the most important people in our classroom. Without all the parents who come to class, the students would miss out on valuable opportunities. Procedure *Every volunteer must sign in and out in the office and wear a name badge the entire time they are on campus for the safety of our children. You must have a TB test on file. *Please let me know when you will be coming to help volunteer. *If you are unable to help out in the class, then you may volunteer to prep an art project. I will send home all of the materials needed. Guidelines *ABSOLUTE CONFIDENTIALITY- Any observations or discussions you have with the children MUST be kept confidential. If you have concerns, please bring them to the attention of the teacher. *Remember that you are in the classroom to help with the entire class or group you are working with, not just your child. *Please do not socialize with other parents inside/outside of the classroom as it may disrupt student learning. *You are there to guide the students with their learning. Ask leading questions or suggest trying a different method rather than giving the correct answer.
Academic Award Requirements
Every month we have three awards-Student of the Month, Reader of the Month, and Mathematician of the Month. Parents of recipients are invited to attend a ceremony.
Student of the Month:
To earn this award a student must: -Follow the rules -Listen carefully -Helps others -Always try his/her best
Reader of the Month:
To earn this award a student must: - Be able to recognize lower and uppercase letters -Know letter sounds -Have mastered the sight words -Attempt to blend 3 letter words (ex. cat, hat, bat, mat, and sat) -Always try his/her best
Mathematician of the Month:
To earn this award a student must: -Be able to identify the numbers (in and out of numerical order) -Be able to write their numbers 1-20 -Always try his/her best
Student of the Month:
To earn this award a student must: -Follow the rules -Listen carefully -Helps others -Always try his/her best
Reader of the Month:
To earn this award a student must: - Be able to recognize lower and uppercase letters -Know letter sounds -Have mastered the sight words -Attempt to blend 3 letter words (ex. cat, hat, bat, mat, and sat) -Always try his/her best
Mathematician of the Month:
To earn this award a student must: -Be able to identify the numbers (in and out of numerical order) -Be able to write their numbers 1-20 -Always try his/her best