Enterprise Early Education Center First Class Pre-K Enterprise Early Education Center

Questions your family may have What are the most important skills my child needs to have to be ready for kindergarten? How do the teachers find out what my child knows and can do? How can I find out about my child’s progress? What can I do at home to help my child gain the skills and knowledge to be ready to succeed in school and in life?

What are the most important skills my child needs to have to be ready for school? The Alabama Office of School Readiness defines school readiness as a condition whereby children enter school with: • an enthusiasm for learning, • an ability to function in a social setting, • age-appropriate communication and problem solving skills, • age-appropriate physical and emotional skills, and optimal health.

Objectives for Development & Learning Social–Emotional Physical Language Cognitive Literacy Mathematics, Science and Technology Social Studies, The Arts, English Language Acquisition

Schedule of a Typical Day 8:00-8:15 Arrival 8:15-8:35 Whole Group 8:35-8:55 Small Group 8:55-9:15 Read Aloud 9:15-9:30 Large Group 9:30-9:45 Music and Movement 9:45-10:20 Gross Motor 10:20-10:40 Read Aloud 10:40-10:45 Wash Hands 10:45-11:20 Lunch 11:20-12:30 Centers 12:30-12:40 Bathroom/Clean-up Centers 12:40-1:00 Gross Motor 1:00-2:00 Rest 2:00-2:30 Snack and Dismissal

How do the teachers find out what my child knows and can do? In our program, we use a system of ongoing assessment called GOLD. GOLD is an authentic, ongoing, and observation-based assessment system. This means we observe your child during regular, everyday activities; document what we see and hear by taking notes, collecting samples of your child’s drawings and writing attempts, or taking photos, audio recordings, or video clips; We will exchange information with you to gain a more complete picture of what your child knows and can do and use the information to plan experiences that support your child’s learning and meet individual needs.

GOLD objectives GOLD Objectives Birth to 1 year 1 to 2 years Preschool 3 years PreK 4 Class Kindergarten GOLD objectives

How do the teachers find out what my child knows and can do? During mealtimes with a group of 4-year-olds, we always sit and talk with the children. We note when a child is able to engage in conversations of at least three exchanges (Objective 10a, “Engages in conversations”), and when the child regularly seeks to play with one or two other children (Objective 2d, “Makes friends”). When we read books to the children, we observe to find out whether children are able to respond to questions about the story (Objective 18a, “Interacts during read-alouds and book conversations”) and whether children are able to retell a familiar story using pictures as cues (Objective 18c, “Retells stories”). In the Toys and Games area, we might observe a child stringing colored beads in a simple repeated pattern, such as red, blue, red, blue (Objective 23, “Demonstrates knowledge of patterns”) and then accurately counting the beads and announcing, “I have 18 beads on my necklace” (Objective 20a, “Counts”).

15a-Notices and discriminates rhyme 15 a- Level 6, Decides whether 2 words rhyme map/cap- yes, map/mat- yes, mat/cat-yes, cat/cop- yes,no, cot/tub- no, tub/tap-no, cap/tap-yes, tub/tin-yes/no, tin/pin- yes- 7 /9 correct 15a- Level 8, generates a group of rhyming words when given a word top-rop,gop,nop

19 a-Writes name

How can I find out about my child’s progress? We will set up two official family conferences (November and May) so we can meet with you and review your child’s accomplishments and progress. We will provide you with a report that highlights what your child is able to do in different areas of development and learning. The conference is an opportunity for us to share our observations, look over samples of your child’s work, and hear what you are observing about your child’s progress. We will plan together how we can support your child’s development and learning at home and at school. We will also meet and communicate on as needed basis.

What can I do at home to help my child gain the skills and knowledge to be ready to succeed in school and in life? Read with your child as much as possible, ask them to tell you about the story, stop and ask questions, discuss the pictures, have them retell the story to you. Rhyme with your child, alliteration, clap out syllables of words- the focus of PreK is on the sounds more than letters Engage in conversations with your child daily, keep prompting them with questions to explain their thoughts, discuss their emotions with them and encourage conflict-resolution. Help them practice counting up to 5 objects at home, use objects at home to make patterns with your child, identify shapes of objects at home Help them practice writing their name Help them with identifying letters (the goal is to recognize 10-11 by the end of the year, but we will exceed that if your child is ready) Predictable Routines/Chores

How to help at home... Early bedtimes Predictable schedule, keep them informed of events and what is happening that day and the following days LIMIT SCREEN TIME Let them play outside Let them open their own snacks, drinks, dress themselves, drink from a regular cup Help them with holding a pencil, use playdough, hole puncher, tweezers to gain strength in their hands

Questions you may have You can find this information HERE