Welcome to Kindergarten

Let’s get ready for Kindergarten!!!

Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep It is a great idea to establish a school routine one week before school starts (going to bed early and waking up early)

Practice buttoning, snapping, and tucking in shirts.

Read to your child everyday! Find a special reading spot Point to the words as you read to your child Have your child turn the page Search for environmental print while out and about (McDonald’s sign, Stop sign, Wal-mart, etc.) Ask simple questions after reading a story or even after watching a TV show (Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?) Get your child excited about reading by going to the public library or attending a story program

Research has shown that the number one factor in how early the child begins to read is how much a child is read to. Children learn to read the fastest in a loving, supportive environment and it is not a race, but a journey. Our primary goal is for your child to love to read!

Top 10 Ways to Prepare for Kindergarten 1. Talk about social skills: sharing, taking turns, positive words, talk about handling anger. 2. Teach your child it’s okay not to be first or how to be a good loser. 3. Develop fine motor skills: holding a pencil, coloring, cutting with scissors. 4. Print first name with only the first letter capitalized. 5. Learn to follow 2-step instructions. “Please go get your shoes and put them on.” 6. Use good manners: “Please” and “Thank You”. 7. Help your child take responsibility: clean up messes, dress themselves, get their own snacks. 8. Practice number recognition. Count objects daily. 9. Build self-esteem. Praise your child often because Kindergarten is hard! 10. Read to your child everyday.

Independence!! Independence will build confidence and self-esteem!! Walk to class alone Please don’t eat with your child for the first 2-3 weeks (TBD) Teach your child proper restroom etiquette Practice tying shoes Be responsible for personal belongings Independence will build confidence and self-esteem!!

Check Backpacks Daily!

Dress Code Socks must be worn No opened toe/heel shoes No faux-hawks (or any other kind of distracting hair) Shorts and dresses must be below fingertips Bayshore shirts may be worn on any day of the week.

Transportation MUST SEND YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL WITH A NOTE ANYTIME TRANSPORTATION CHANGES! Please make transportation a routine. Too many changes cause confusion.

Please be present and on time!!! Attendance Please be present and on time!!! Students can enter the building at 7:15 First bell rings at 8:00 Tardy bell rings at 8:10 Dismissal bell rings at 3:45 If your child is absent, send a note when they return to school within 3 days!

Lunch Students are assigned an ID number when they enroll Lunch Students are assigned an ID number when they enroll. Pay online at MySchoolBucks or send check/money in a bag with your child’s name on it. Snacks are sold two days a week. There is no limit on how many your child can buy at a time. You may set a limit. Teachers do not monitor student lunch accounts. A menu will be sent home in August. Birthdays All birthday cupcakes/cookies must be store bought and include the ingredient label on it. Birthdays will be celebrated the last 15 minutes of the day. Please let your child’s teacher know a couple of days in advance. Breakfast Bayshore Elementary participates in the Universal Breakfast Program. Free to every student Students get milk, juice, an entrée and a fruit choice Students cannot bring outside breakfast from home

Ideas that you could work on at home with your child… How to hold and turn pages of a book Recognize and know their first and last name Write their first name (capital letter at the beginning, lower case letters throughout) Saying the alphabet (not singing) Counting to 25 Recognize colors and basic shapes

All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at Sunday school. These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life—learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work everyday some. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder.  

We are looking forward to a great year! You can learn more about a child in an hour of play than you can in a year of conversation. ~Plato