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Expert Q&A
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| By Harriet S. Worobey, M.A. Early Childhood Educator Director, the Nutritional Sciences Preschool | ||
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I am a preschool teacher and half of my class is going to kindergarten this year. Some parents have come to me saying that their child is having a hard time with the idea of going to kindergarten. We are reading books about it and talking a lot about it in the classroom, but is there anything else we can do and anything parents can do to make this an easier time?
It sounds like you are doing most everything right. Sometimes change and growing up is a little scary for preschoolers (well, adults too!). Perhaps you could invite a kindergarten teacher to come in to visit, or a bus driver, or a cafeteria worker. Have them visit in the same and familiar surrounding of their preschool might help allay some fears. In addition to reading books, perhaps you could have the children act out the storybooks about kindergarten with props. This might help it both seem more real and more in their control. The parents might ask the school system for a chance for the preschoolers to come to visit the kindergarten. If this isn't possible, maybe the kindergarten teachers could write postcards or letters to the preschoolers. Another idea would be for the parents to take photographs of the kindergarten -- the playground, lunchroom, bathroom, classroom and teachers -- and create a "Book of Kindergarten" that they could read with their children over the summer. This would be much more real than a generic book from the library about kindergarten. Another thing that might help parents' concerns is to bring a kindergarten teacher in at night for a parent meeting. This would give parents lots of opportunity to ask questions without their children around. I hope some of these suggestions help!
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