Preparing for a Successful Transition to Kindergarten
From Island Child Magazine
Starting kindergarten is a landmark event. Even children and parents, who have experienced several years of preschool, perceive this transition as a rite of passage, usually met with both excitement and anxiety.
Personally, as a young child, I never understood what the fuss was all about and why I had to relentlessly plead, throw tantrums and negotiate with my parents to get in. The programs back then were split into junior (optional) and senior kindergarten and at age 4, I was not about to wait to get into this big-kid club called kindergarten, especially considering my older brother was in. My parents thought I was too young but ultimately caved in, and there I was, ready to take on the world. With an open and joyful heart, I embraced kindergarten and never looked back.
However, for my older brother, starting kindergarten was a truly different experience. It was not a proactive and seamless process. The trauma unfolded on the first day, when my dear mother and I walked my brother to class to introduce him to his teacher and proceeded to leave. My brother clung to her with terror in his eyes, wailing uncontrollably, which ignited my mother's guilt for trying to leave her child in a strange place to begin with. This activity went on for nearly an entire month.
I didn't truly understand my brother's fear or the importance of taking the proper steps to ensure a happy launch into kindergarten land, until my own child's turn. My son attends a Montessori school and had been in the preschool program since age 3. Although my husband and I, as parents, were ecstatic about this new evolution, we did experience some stress, which we quickly overcame as our son's overall positive outlook about the situation prevailed.
Thankfully, we did most things right:
1. Decided on which kindergarten program we wanted our child to attend. This was easy - since we totally believed in and experienced the positive effects of the Montessori Method, our existing school was the right choice.
2. Requested an enrollment package and information from the school. Although we were somewhat familiar with our school's elementary program, we were open and eager to become extremely knowledgeable about not only kindergarten, but also the entire elementary program.
3. Attended an Open House of our child's new class. We were lucky. Our school offered our child the experience of hands-on time in the actual kindergarten class. This event sealed the deal for our son and eliminated any uncertainties he was facing about this new venue.
4. Met our child's new teacher. We felt it very important to be synchronized with the school's philosophy and interviewed our son's new teacher in depth. This personal time also gave us the opportunity to share our ideas about our child's interests, strengths, and any areas of concern.
5. Talked enthusiastically with our child about starting kindergarten. We found all sorts of wonderful books about the subject and read them together, although intermittently with his other stories, for a more subtle effect. We had detailed discussions about the kinds of work that's done in kindergarten and the new routines to expect.
6. Scheduled an appointment with our child's physician to make sure that his immunizations were up to date. Coming from out of the province, we weren't entirely sure of the differences in immunizations he actually needed so it was critical for us to have this done well before the school year started.
7. Found out how we could be involved in our child's classroom and overall school support. As parents, it was only natural for us to want to be involved and contribute back to the school as much as we could.
8. Made an effort to develop friendships with other parents. Since we ran into other parents regularly at school drop off and pick up times, it made sense to welcome the idea of befriending others with at least that one same thing in common - a child in kindergarten.
In summary, both child-school connections (introducing preschool children to kindergarten and kindergarten-related activities to familiarize the child with the classroom school environment and their new teacher), and family-school connections (the relationship that a family has with their child's school to maintain a supportive educational environment) are vital in ensuring an enjoyable and successful transition to kindergarten.