Denise Moore has raised three kids who are now adults, but still remembers how it felt as a young parent with a child setting off to kindergarten for the first time.
The excitement. The jitters. The wonder.
“I’ve been there,” she laughed. “I love the transition. I love this age. It’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, everything is new and exciting.’”
Earlier this year, the preschool manager at Central Sockeye Preschool kicked off something new and exciting for her 37 young charges, ages three to five.
The children will be entering Chilliwack Central Elementary in the fall, a fairly large school with three kindergarten classrooms, or about 60 new faces in their year alone.
Between making friends, getting the lay of the land and logistical challenges such as learning how to go to the toilets or how to open their lunch containers by themselves, it can be a lot, said Moore.
She created Kindergarten Connections, a three-day program meant to help children and their parents navigate the switch to “big school” and have fun learning while doing it.
The first session kicked off in February, which gathered the morning and afternoon preschoolers along with their parents for a get-to-know-everyone lunch. It was followed by a walk to the public library where kids got library cards.
In April, there was a session focused on literacy, and in May, a numeracy session that included a counting-with-dinosaurs book.
In the literacy session, kids were given Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, the classic kids’ picture book that teaches the alphabet, to read and to take home.
The plot, if it can be called that, is straightforward: The lowercase letters of the alphabet race to the top of the coconut tree only to tumble down in a big crash, and the uppercase letters, or the parents in the story, come to the rescue.
“It was one of the most popular books with the children in preschool,” said Moore.
In addition to the reading, the children visited their future kindergarten classrooms and the school, where stations were set up for play.
“We know children learn best through play,” said Moore, reeling off some of the activities, including a Play-Doh station where kids could mould the dough into letters, and a STEM station where they could try to see how many letters can balance atop a small coconut tree.
Funds from Raise-A-Reader went toward the books, toys, equipment and supplies for the event.
This was the first time the preschool offered the program, but hopefully not the last, Moore said. It came about after several discussions between her and the school district and early learning committees about the importance of building relationships with young children and families so they feel integrated within the school system.
“I love connecting families to the community and having our families feel like they’re welcome, and that this is their school and they feel part of their child’s education,” she said.
Going into kindergarten, it’s not necessary for kids to be able to recite their ABCs or count to 100, she said. The focus is on practical skills — how to open their lunch container, how to go to the toilet — and social skills such as sharing, taking turns, co-operating, and listening to others.
Those are some of the things they work on at preschool, and “if they can get the basics and know and feel confident going into kindergarten, the academics are easy. Children are just brilliant. It’s the social skills they struggle with.”
Kindergarten Connections was also a way to connect parents with each other to build a more positive and collaborative school community and foster their kids’ own social and emotional development.
Moore recounted the experience of a single dad whose four-year-old was in the program. The family had been struggling the past year with a family illness and housing difficulties.
Participating in the program helped the dad feel more confident about his daughter’s transition to kindergarten, said Moore.
“He met other parents, built friendships, learned simple literacy tools to support his daughter, and was introduced to her future teacher and school environment.
“When she turned five, her father invited the entire preschool class to her birthday party — something he said he wouldn’t have done without the relationships formed through the program.”
Kindergarten Connections was one of the beneficiaries of Raise-A-Reader, which has been raising funds to help kids and families improve their literacy skills.
The Vancouver Sun Raise-A-Reader campaign has raised more than $24 million since 1997, with this year’s campaign running Sept. 19 to 26.
to donate online
to download a donation form and mail to:
Raise-A-Reader
1125 Howe Street, #980
Vancouver, B.C.
V6Z 2K8
(Make cheques payable to Raise-A-Reader)
PHONE
604-681-4199 ext. 400
