Supporting a Preschooler's Successful Transition to Kindergarten

(Worth Repeating May 2019 Tip with a few updates to 5 Things to Know or Do and 4 Read Alouds! Link to previous Tips here.)

Learn more about kindergarten in FCPS. 

5 Things to Know or Do:

1. Connect families with their child’s base school.  Encourage them to build healthy home-school connections, attend orientation, join the PTA, visit the school website, sign up for News You Choose, and ask about summer activities for rising kindergartners in order to begin building positive relationships before the first day of school.
2. Talk positively to children about starting kindergarten. Have children share their feelings and ask questions too.
3. Read stories about kindergarten, and/or create a class book about kindergarten.  Consider using the familiar language of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and include photos of the schools children will be entering in the fall.  As children gain knowledge, plan dramatic play activities related to the kindergarten experience.
4. Regularly facilitate activities that support the development of children’s self-regulation skills. 
5. Providing meaningful information about rising kindergarten students to the base school. Information about children’s strengths, areas of development requiring additional support and successful strategies used in the early childhood setting can help ensure a smooth transition.

 4 Children Read Alouds

1.  The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. (Also available in Spanish) School is starting in the forest, but Chester Raccoon does not want to go. To help ease Chester's fears, Mrs. Raccoon shares a family secret called the Kissing Hand to give him the reassurance of her love any time his world feels a little scary.
2.  Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes by James Dean. Pete the Cat is rocking in his school shoes. Pete discovers the library, the lunch room, the playground, and lots of other cool places at school. And no matter where he goes, Pete never stops moving and grooving and singing his song...because it’s all good.
3.  Clifford Goes to Kindergarten by Norman Bridwell. Emily Elizabeth is starting Kindergarten and she's a little nervous. Good thing that the teacher sent a note home that says each child can bring something from home to make the transition a little easier. But the teacher didn't bet on a child bringing something - or someone - as big as Clifford!
4.  Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Ashley Wolff, Joseph Slate. It's the first day of kindergarten and Miss Bindergarten is hard at work getting the classroom ready for her twenty-six new students. Meanwhile, Adam Krupp wakes up, Brenda Heath brushes her teeth, and Christopher Beaker finds his sneaker. Miss Bindergarten puts the finishing touches on the room just in time, and the students arrive. Now the fun can begin!

3 Links to Visit

1. Fairfax Futures: Paving the Way to Kindergarten (PDF)
2. National Association for the Education of Young Children: Transitioning to Kindergarten
3. National Association for the Education of Young Children: Transitions to Kindergarten

 2 Videos to View

1. Stepping Into Kindergarten
2. Transitions from the Children's Perspectives

 1 Point to Access Research

1. University of Chicago: Research Report: A Community Effort to Support the Transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten (PDF)

Fairfax County Public Schools Early Childhood Links:

Previous Early Childhood Tips

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