Screening Information
Location of the Screening Skills Screened
Orientation Meeting Kindergarten Program Info
Readiness Suggestions More Ways to Help Your Child Learn
Location of the Screenings will be posted on the entrance doors.
Screenings for the 2009-2010 Kindergarten students will be held Wed, Thurs, Fri, May 13, 14, and 15, 2009. Screenings for new students are by appointment only. Please call 610-534-1900 ext 1444 and ask Mrs. Pisani, the secretary, to schedule one for you and your child before Orientation in August.
At the Constitution Avenue entrance and the Trainor Street entrance you need to "buzz" and state who you are and that you are taking your child to the Kindergarten Screening. Wait for the door to be released for you. Follow the signs to the Screenings.
You will receive this checklist after the screening:
We are excited about beginning a new school year
and look forward to having a positive experience with all our new students.
For more ideas and information about the Kindergarten Program visit our class website: http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/list.html
1. Number Identification
This skill involves your child identifying numbers (being able to read numbers) on signs and other items. To help your child practice this skill...
* have your child read license plate numbers when you are at a traffic light or in a parking lot
* read house numbers, speed limit signs, route numbers, etc. when walking, bike riding, riding in the car
* write down random numbers that you dictate
* use flash cards for teaching or review
* go to http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/themes/math.html for more ideas
2. Number Concepts
Children demonstrate this type of knowledge when they are able to tell how many, more, less, etc. Help your child with this skill...
* with games such as "Show me." Use household objects to have the child "show" the correct number, for example, "Show me 5 crayons." or "Show me 8 spoons."
* counting whenever possible: how many steps in a flight of stairs, canned goods in the cupboard, crayons in a box, puzzle pieces, birds on a wire, envelopes in the mailbox, etc. *Note: It is important for the child to touch objects when counting to ensure one-to-one correspondence as sometimes children can count correctly in sequence but do not show correct one-to-one correspondence.
* playing "Top It" with a regular deck of cards. Take out the face cards and keep the number cards. Divide the cards equally between the players. Each player turns over a card and whoever has the card worth more gets to keep the cards just played. After all cards in the deck have been played, the player with the most cards wins the game.
* adding (up to 10). Try to use real life examples whenever possible. For example, "There are 2 chairs at the table. We need three more. How many chairs will there be altogether?"
* subtracting (from sums 10 or less). "We had 7 cupcakes. Dad ate 3. How many are left?" If your child likes to draw, it may be helpful to have him/her draw a picture to demonstrate understanding of adding and subtracting.
* sorting: match pairs of socks, shoes; sort bigger items from smaller ones; sort by sets (put 3 lollipops in each baggie).
* answering questions: "Which box has more toys? Which is less, 8 or 9?"
* helping with meals to learn about measuring, temperature and time.
3. Early Literacy Behaviors
Knowledge is demonstrated by telling or showing an understanding of books and other print. These activities can be played in waiting rooms with books and magazines. Ask your child to respond to some/all of the following types of cues:
* Show me the first word of the story/on the page. Where’s the last word?
* Find a capital letter. What is it?
* Find the letter "g" at the beginning of a word or in the middle of a word.
* Show me the title of the story or a space between two words.
* Find a word that looks exactly like this one (point to a word such as, the, is,and, said, to, go).
* Use strategies to sound out words.
* Visit the Ridley Park Library to find books to read to learn more about print. http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/ridley/library.html
4. Alphabet and Letter Recognition There are many activities on our class website to help your child practice naming the letters and making their sounds. http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/letter/all.html
You can also help your child build alphabet skills by...
* having your child learn the letters in his/her name.
* having your child identify letters on signs.
* using flash cards to teach, review or match upper and lower case letters.
* using magnetic letters for identification, spelling names, or writing a message. (I am 5. I love you, Mom.)
* tracing letters that you make on unlined paper or a chalkboard.
* learning both forms:
a "capital" or "upper case" and a "small" form or "lower case."
5. "Letter Sounds" at the beginning, middle and ends of words
Go to http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/brooks/phonics.html for more ideas.
It is important for your child to know that letters represent sounds that form the words we use to talk and write and read. You can help your child acquire sound-symbol skills when you...
* play rhyming games with your child. I spy something that rhymes with "bee." Can you guess what it is? (Is it a "tree?" Is it my "knee?" Is it "me?")
* sing rhymes and songs and then discuss the words that sound alike at the end. Our Class Sing Along Songs http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/songs/alphlist.html
* teach tongue twisters or alliterative phrases (the children’s library will be a good source for these): Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
* Shopping Bag Literacy: Use 3 paper shopping bags and write one letter on each bag: B b, C c, and Ss. Then, use real or play food containers to have the child identify the food product and place it in the bag with the correct identifying letter: cookies = Cc bag, soup = Ss bag, bread = Bb bag
7. Fine Motor Control
This is a list of materials that help children stay involved in literacy events as well as develop small motor skills.
• books, books, books, books, books!
• magnetic letters
• small chalkboard and chalk
• MagnaDoodle or Etch-a-Sketch
• drawing paper
• clay or playdough
• crayons, markers, colored pencils
• paints and brushes
• scissors (We use Fiskars scissors in our Kindergarten.)
8. Life Skills
a. Personal Info: It is important for your child to know his/her first and last names as well as the first and last names of parents, brothers and sisters. He/She should know his/her address and phone number including the area code.
b. Social Skills; Please, Thank you, I’m sorry, Excuse me, May I?
c. Sharing: toys, work materials, personal space and attention
d. Following directions: Start with 2 step directions and gradually increase to 3 steps. If your child has difficulty have him/her repeat the directions back to you before carrying out the task.
e. Learning to Listen: Do not allow the child to interrupt others during dinner time conversation or when someone is on the phone. Teach him/her to wait his turn and to speak in turn.
At the Constitution Avenue entrance and the Trainor Street entrance you need to "buzz" and state who you are and that you are taking your child to the Kindergarten Screening. Wait for the door to be released for you. Follow the signs to the Screenings.
You will receive this checklist after the screening:
We are excited about beginning a new school year
and look forward to having a positive experience with all our new students.
After reviewing the information gathered at our meeting, we feel
your child would benefit from working on the areas checked below. The suggested activities should be useful in helping to meet your child’s individual needs and will help you strengthen the learning process for your child. Your interest and involvement in your child’s education are vital to help your child develop the desire to learn to read, write and do math.
Click on a skill to go right to the suggestions.
Kindergarten Assessment Battery
1. [ ] number identification 0 - 20 (Name this number.)
2. [ ] number concepts 0 - 20 (Show me ___ blocks.)
3. [ ] early literacy behaviors (sound out words, word match, etc.)
4. [ ] letter recognition (upper case and lower case letter names)
5. [ ] make letter sounds (26 letters plus the short vowels a e i o u)
Other Information
6. Shapes and Colors
7. [ ] fine motor control (cutting with scissors, printing letters, etc.)
[ ] printing name (capital first letter and the rest lower case)
8. [ ] personal information (address, phone number, birthday)
9. [ ] writing sample (names, pets, small words)
Here are some suggestions to help your child get ready for Kindergarten.
Refer to the checklist to see which areas your child should work on.
Some of the activities in this packet are intended to be done orally and for short periods of time (5-7 min.) repeatedly, during everyday life, such as when you are in the car, in the bath, waiting for appointments, at the car wash, in line, etc. Some are meant to be written so keep some paper and pens or markers handy for your child to use anytime. Some activities need things you have around the house, such as, a deck of cards, silverware or laundry.
Click on a skill to go right to the suggestions.
Kindergarten Assessment Battery
1. [ ] number identification 0 - 20 (Name this number.)
2. [ ] number concepts 0 - 20 (Show me ___ blocks.)
3. [ ] early literacy behaviors (sound out words, word match, etc.)
4. [ ] letter recognition (upper case and lower case letter names)
5. [ ] make letter sounds (26 letters plus the short vowels a e i o u)
Other Information
6. Shapes and Colors
7. [ ] fine motor control (cutting with scissors, printing letters, etc.)
[ ] printing name (capital first letter and the rest lower case)
8. [ ] personal information (address, phone number, birthday)
9. [ ] writing sample (names, pets, small words)
Here are some suggestions to help your child get ready for Kindergarten.
Refer to the checklist to see which areas your child should work on.
Some of the activities in this packet are intended to be done orally and for short periods of time (5-7 min.) repeatedly, during everyday life, such as when you are in the car, in the bath, waiting for appointments, at the car wash, in line, etc. Some are meant to be written so keep some paper and pens or markers handy for your child to use anytime. Some activities need things you have around the house, such as, a deck of cards, silverware or laundry.
For more ideas and information about the Kindergarten Program visit our class website: http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/list.html
Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Kane
Kindergarten Teachers
Kindergarten Teachers
1. Number Identification
This skill involves your child identifying numbers (being able to read numbers) on signs and other items. To help your child practice this skill...
* have your child read license plate numbers when you are at a traffic light or in a parking lot
* read house numbers, speed limit signs, route numbers, etc. when walking, bike riding, riding in the car
* write down random numbers that you dictate
* use flash cards for teaching or review
* go to http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/themes/math.html for more ideas
2. Number Concepts
Children demonstrate this type of knowledge when they are able to tell how many, more, less, etc. Help your child with this skill...
* with games such as "Show me." Use household objects to have the child "show" the correct number, for example, "Show me 5 crayons." or "Show me 8 spoons."
* counting whenever possible: how many steps in a flight of stairs, canned goods in the cupboard, crayons in a box, puzzle pieces, birds on a wire, envelopes in the mailbox, etc. *Note: It is important for the child to touch objects when counting to ensure one-to-one correspondence as sometimes children can count correctly in sequence but do not show correct one-to-one correspondence.
* playing "Top It" with a regular deck of cards. Take out the face cards and keep the number cards. Divide the cards equally between the players. Each player turns over a card and whoever has the card worth more gets to keep the cards just played. After all cards in the deck have been played, the player with the most cards wins the game.
* adding (up to 10). Try to use real life examples whenever possible. For example, "There are 2 chairs at the table. We need three more. How many chairs will there be altogether?"
* subtracting (from sums 10 or less). "We had 7 cupcakes. Dad ate 3. How many are left?" If your child likes to draw, it may be helpful to have him/her draw a picture to demonstrate understanding of adding and subtracting.
* sorting: match pairs of socks, shoes; sort bigger items from smaller ones; sort by sets (put 3 lollipops in each baggie).
* answering questions: "Which box has more toys? Which is less, 8 or 9?"
* helping with meals to learn about measuring, temperature and time.
3. Early Literacy Behaviors
Knowledge is demonstrated by telling or showing an understanding of books and other print. These activities can be played in waiting rooms with books and magazines. Ask your child to respond to some/all of the following types of cues:
* Show me the first word of the story/on the page. Where’s the last word?
* Find a capital letter. What is it?
* Find the letter "g" at the beginning of a word or in the middle of a word.
* Show me the title of the story or a space between two words.
* Find a word that looks exactly like this one (point to a word such as, the, is,and, said, to, go).
* Use strategies to sound out words.
* Visit the Ridley Park Library to find books to read to learn more about print. http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/ridley/library.html
4. Alphabet and Letter Recognition There are many activities on our class website to help your child practice naming the letters and making their sounds. http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/letter/all.html
You can also help your child build alphabet skills by...
* having your child learn the letters in his/her name.
* having your child identify letters on signs.
* using flash cards to teach, review or match upper and lower case letters.
* using magnetic letters for identification, spelling names, or writing a message. (I am 5. I love you, Mom.)
* tracing letters that you make on unlined paper or a chalkboard.
* learning both forms:
a "capital" or "upper case" and a "small" form or "lower case."
5. "Letter Sounds" at the beginning, middle and ends of words
Go to http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/brooks/phonics.html for more ideas.
It is important for your child to know that letters represent sounds that form the words we use to talk and write and read. You can help your child acquire sound-symbol skills when you...
* play rhyming games with your child. I spy something that rhymes with "bee." Can you guess what it is? (Is it a "tree?" Is it my "knee?" Is it "me?")
* sing rhymes and songs and then discuss the words that sound alike at the end. Our Class Sing Along Songs http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/songs/alphlist.html
* teach tongue twisters or alliterative phrases (the children’s library will be a good source for these): Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
* Shopping Bag Literacy: Use 3 paper shopping bags and write one letter on each bag: B b, C c, and Ss. Then, use real or play food containers to have the child identify the food product and place it in the bag with the correct identifying letter: cookies = Cc bag, soup = Ss bag, bread = Bb bag
7. Fine Motor Control
This is a list of materials that help children stay involved in literacy events as well as develop small motor skills.
• books, books, books, books, books!
• magnetic letters
• small chalkboard and chalk
• MagnaDoodle or Etch-a-Sketch
• drawing paper
• clay or playdough
• crayons, markers, colored pencils
• paints and brushes
• scissors (We use Fiskars scissors in our Kindergarten.)
8. Life Skills
a. Personal Info: It is important for your child to know his/her first and last names as well as the first and last names of parents, brothers and sisters. He/She should know his/her address and phone number including the area code.
b. Social Skills; Please, Thank you, I’m sorry, Excuse me, May I?
c. Sharing: toys, work materials, personal space and attention
d. Following directions: Start with 2 step directions and gradually increase to 3 steps. If your child has difficulty have him/her repeat the directions back to you before carrying out the task.
e. Learning to Listen: Do not allow the child to interrupt others during dinner time conversation or when someone is on the phone. Teach him/her to wait his turn and to speak in turn.
9. Writing Sample For a list of words we are learning to read and write go to: http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/jones/wordstolearn.html
To help your child learn to write words, tell him, "Watch my mouth," then slowly say the word. By looking at how you shape your mouth and where your tongue is positioned, kids can visualize making the sound while they hear it. Always ask your child to guess how to spell a word before you spell it correctly for him. After your child writes her words down, you should do the "adult" writing on the same paper either under each word or in a sentence somewhere on the paper. Point out what letters or sounds were guessed correctly and how close his/her spelling was to the actual spelling. Let the positive praise flow!
In order to create a writing habit, encourage your child to...
* learn to write the names of members of the family and pets
* make a "list" for the store allowing the child to use his/her own spelling.
* copy words from the titles of books, on a cereal box, out of a magazine or write the names of things he/she is fond of, such as, toys and games.
* sign his/her own name on birthday cards, etc. and use a capital letter for only the first letter and lower case letters for the rest of the name.
To help your child learn to write words, tell him, "Watch my mouth," then slowly say the word. By looking at how you shape your mouth and where your tongue is positioned, kids can visualize making the sound while they hear it. Always ask your child to guess how to spell a word before you spell it correctly for him. After your child writes her words down, you should do the "adult" writing on the same paper either under each word or in a sentence somewhere on the paper. Point out what letters or sounds were guessed correctly and how close his/her spelling was to the actual spelling. Let the positive praise flow!
In order to create a writing habit, encourage your child to...
* learn to write the names of members of the family and pets
* make a "list" for the store allowing the child to use his/her own spelling.
* copy words from the titles of books, on a cereal box, out of a magazine or write the names of things he/she is fond of, such as, toys and games.
* sign his/her own name on birthday cards, etc. and use a capital letter for only the first letter and lower case letters for the rest of the name.
Screenings, by appointment only, will be scheduled in August
for new Kdg registrations over the summer.
Kindergarten Orientation will be held the week before Labor Day, 2009.
During the summer you will receive a letter telling you which session
and teacher your child will have. We will meet in the Gym Room.
Morning Orientation 9:30 am Afternoon Orientation 1:00 pm
A Parent and the Kindergartner should attend the meeting.
For more information about Lakeview School and our Kindergarten Program
or for printable and online learning activities to do this summer go to
http://www.mrsjonesroom.com