Kindergarten Booklet

Help your child gain an understanding of reading concepts by:

• Providing a wide variety of books and print materials for your child to look at and listen to while you read to them, including nursery rhymes and fairy tales.
• Taking your child to the library and helping him/her select and check out books.
• Helping your child learn how to open a book, turn the pages, look at the pictures and talk about what he/she sees in those illustrations.
• Talking about the parts of the book: cover, back, spine, words, and illustrations.
• Providing a special place for your child to keep his/her books and a place that is comfortable and quiet for him/her to sit and read them.
• Making reading with your child a part of your daily routine.
• Allowing your child to select the stories you read together (Remember that children love to hear their favorite stories read aloud to them over and over again!)
• Pointing out words you see every day (cereal and food labels, restaurant menus, STOP & EXIT signs).
• Telling your child the name of the letters on signs, buildings and other words you encounter.
• Telling your child the sound that the letters make.
• Bringing books for your child to read in the car when you are running errands.
• Letting your child see you as parents reading your own books, magazines or newspapers, too.
• Showing your child the words and teach them that pictures are drawings and words tell the story.
• Practicing closing the book and retelling the story from beginning to end using the character’s name. Model for your child, then take turns retelling.

Visit the NC Department of Instruction for more resources.

Your child’s first attempt at writing may be scribbles. Encourage and praise this work! He/she is practicing communicating in this way. Drawings are also a means of communication through writing. Learning to communicate on paper is a way to share thoughts and ideas. It helps children make connections between the printed and spoken word. 

Parents can help their children with writing by:

• Inviting your child to tell you about drawings or to “read” his/her notes.
• Praising efforts. Respond to the message, not how it looks.
• Providing a space for writing and materials to use (crayons, pencils, paper) and a place, such as the refrigerator, to display your child’s writing.
• Letting your child see you write and telling your child why you are doing it (grocery list, note to your spouse, etc.).
• Helping your child learn to write his/her first name or part of it with proper upper/ lower case letters (example: Sara, not sara or SARA).
• Try making name/words with letters out of a magazine.
• Helping your child draw the familiar story as they/you retell it. Example: One cloudy day (draw cloud) I (draw self ) was in my bed (draw bed) reading a book (draw book).
• Teaching your child to write horizontal, vertical and slanted lines.
• Having your child draw basic shapes: circle, square, triangle, rectangle, heart and diamond.
• Teaching your child to draw a person using simple shapes with neck, shoulders, etc.

Family members play an important role in their child’s attitudes toward, and success with, mathematics.

Help your child gain an understanding of number through:

• Playing board games and counting spaces as you move together. 

• Playing blocks to visualize quantity.
• Recognizing numerals in the form of dots on dominoes and other items with dot configurations.
• Reading “counting books” with your child such as those by Eric Carle, Stuart Murphy, just to name a couple...
• Counting sets of objects with your child (e.g. number of plates for setting the table, number of cards for each player in a game, number of crayons in a small box of “8”, and counting pennies in a bank, etc.)
• Listening to counting songs and rhymes such as: One, two, buckle my shoe; three, four, shut the door…

Help your child understand the physical world with geometric ideas (e.g. shape, orientation, spatial relations) and describe it with corresponding vocabulary by:

• Naming shapes in the environment and pointing them out to your child regularly (circles, squares, triangles, rectangles).
• Working with puzzles.
• Building blocks of all shapes and sizes.
• Providing materials that will help your child develop relationships, like longer and shorter, lighter and heavier, bigger and smaller (Legos, links, etc.). 

Three Critical Areas for K math under the new North Carolina Standard Course of Study:

• Developing concepts of Counting and Cardinality to 100.
• Developing concepts of understanding of Operations and Algebraic Thinking.
• Identifying and describing shapes in space.

• Ensure they know their full name.
• Work with your child to learn to snap, zip, button, and tie so that he/she can take care of toileting needs and put on shoes and coats independently at school. If your child has not yet mastered all of these skills, help your child dress in clothing he/she is able to manage.
• Help your child learn how to wash hands, use a fork and spoon, blow his/her nose, and use the toilet independently.
• Teach your child to open snacks (crackers, juice boxes, chips, etc.) Lunch time is limited.
• Give your child responsibility for simple jobs, such as setting the table, sorting socks, or putting away his/her toys and belongings.
• Providing your child with opportunities to make decisions. “What book would you like to read?”, “Do you want to wear your red shorts or your blue ones?”.
• Giving your child 2 & 3 step directions and have them follow in order (Example: clap your hands, stomp your foot, walk to the door).
• Giving your child practice buckling and unbuckling their seatbelt or car seat on the right side of the car is beneficial for car riders.

• Set a positive tone by talking about how much fun learning and school can be.
• Share fun and positive experiences you remember having when you went to school.
• Help your child adjust to schedule changes (if needed) by setting up a routine for going to bed and getting up earlier at least a week before school starts.
• Make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast at home or arrives at school with enough time to eat breakfast provided at school.
• Consider allowing your child to ride the school bus on the first day. You could meet the bus at school and walk your child to class if you have a desire to do so.
• Label all of your child’s personal belongings (coat, lunch box, etc.) ahead of time to avoid confusion at school.
• Place money being sent to school in a sealed envelope with the teacher’s name, child’s name, and what the money is for clearly written on the outside of the envelope.
• Make sure your child is dressed in clothing comfortable enough to play in during recess and easy for him or her to manage independently when they need to go to the restroom. Supply a change of clothes to be left at school for spills, accidents, etc.
• Identify a specific place at home where your child places his or her school materials (book bag, lunch box, etc.) to avoid looking for items in the morning.
• Set aside a special time each afternoon or evening to talk about your child’s day.
• Communicate with your child’s teacher if you have questions or concerns. Just remember it is best to make an appointment rather than simply trying to catch them during arrival or dismissal time.