Kindergarten Readiness WHAT IS KINDERGARTEN?

Kindergarten is an important first experience in the formal OOL While there is not perfect formula that determines when chil- education process. The kindergarten program is designed to ROCKY RIVER CITY SCH DISTRICT dren are truly ready for kindergarten, you can use checklists to help each child make new friends, to work and play with see how well your child is doing in acquiring the skills. Check others, to adjust to new situations, to adapt to a daily routine the skills your child has mastered. Then recheck each month in the classroom, and to begin his/her academic education. to see what additional skills your child can accomplish easily. If the child can make these personal and social adjustments Young children change so fast—if they can’t do it sometime in kindergarten, a firm foundation for future success in this week, they may be able to do it a few weeks later. school will exist. Listen to stories without interrupting In kindergarten each child will learn to: Recognize rhyming sounds •work independently with others Goldwood Pay attention for short periods of time to adult directed tasks •share and take turns Primary Understand actions have both causes and effects •explore and expand abilities and interests Understand general times of the day •express thoughts and ideas Cut with scissors School Trace basic shapes •listen to others Begin to share with others •develop self-control Kindergarten Start to follow rules Activities will be designed for each child to: Be able to recognize authority •build self-confidence Manage bathroom needs Button shirts, pants, coats, and zip up zippers •develop vocabulary Begin to control oneself •identify differences in sounds, numbers, and Separate from parents without being upset colors Speak understandably Talk in complete sentences of five to six words •increase interest in books, numbers, and people Look at pictures and then tell stories •improve coordination Identify rhyming words •learn new concepts Identify the beginning sounds in some words

Identify some alphabet letters ……..and much, much more Recognize some common sight words like “stop” Sort similar objects by color, size, and shape Recognize groups of one, two, three, four, and five objects ROCKY RIVER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Count to ten Bounce a ball If your child has acquired most of the skills on this checklist and will be a least five years old at the end of summer, he/she is Goldwood Primary School probably ready for kindergarten. What teachers want to see 21600 Center Ridge Road www.rrcs.org on the first day of school are children who are healthy, mature, Rocky River, Ohio 44116 capable, and eager to learn. Phone: 440-356-6720 Fax: 440-356-6044 E-mail: [email protected]

General Information Academic Content Standards Math

Www.ohioacademicstandards.com · Numbers, Number Sense and Sets, Counting The Rocky River School District will continue to provide half Operations Patterns -day kindergarten for the 2010-2011 school year. Language Arts: · Measurement Graphs/Tables Letters · Geometry Our environment fosters the pillars of character through -Phonemic Awareness, Word Syllables Money values the use of a positive action program. Recognition and Fluency · Patterns, Functions and Algebra Measurements · Data Analysis and Probability Children must be 5 years old before September 30th to Days, weeks, years -Acquisition of Vocabulary Recognizing clues in · Math Processes enroll in kindergarten. Classifying objects reading Making predictions Kindergarten students all participate in art, PE, library and Identify new words music. Sorting data -Reading Process Concepts of print, Problem solving and We have a comprehensive guidance program within class- Comprehension room. and self-monitoring reasoning using strategies pictures and objects School Mascot– Chocolate the Bear -Reading Applications Using pictures, Reading is our top priority at Goldwood · Informational, Technical Remembering what is Science - Fundations Reading Program and Persuasive Text read and heard Natural vs. Man Made - As a building, we assess students 3 times a year and · Science and Technology What if… provide intervention when needed. · Literary Text Main Idea · Inquiry Sorting objects Putting events in order · Physical Science Solar system Rooms are all equipped with technology including Fact vs. fantasy · Earth and Space SmartBoards. Seasons Characters/ Setting · Life Weather Retelling stories · Scientific ways of knowing Focus on the whole child (creativity, problem solving, Habitats of social skills). plants/animals -Writing Process/ Grammar, Living and Active PTA -Writing Applications/ punctuation, spelling non-living (ice cream socials, Snowflake Palace, book fairs…) -Writing Conventions rules objects Using writing for Ways to measure -Research different purposes Using your senses Important days to remember… Writing organization Scientific tools -Communication Gathering information

Following oral March 4th– 6:30 PM Kindergarten Information Night instructions Schedule an appointment for registration and ROCKY RIVER CITY screening Questioning skills SCHOOL DISTRICT Social Studies Learn more about the kindergarten program Goods and Services · History Importance of Rules Tour classrooms · Economics Natural Resources Meet the staff · Geography Goldwood Primary School Days of the Week · People in Societies 21600 Center Ridge Road Past/ Present April 27-29 Kindergarten Registration and Screening · Skills and Methods Rocky River, Ohio 44116 Holidays · Government Phone: 440-356-6720 · Citizenship Rights and Location/ Direction Map Skills Fax: 440-356-6044 Responsibilities Wants vs. Needs E-mail: [email protected] Recognize Symbols of US

Traits of a Good Citizen