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TextPreparing Children for Kindergarten
Office for Children Helps Prepare Children for Kindergarten
The Office for Children encourages parents, child care providers and elementary school staff to work together to help prepare young children for success in school. May and June are ideal months to visit elementary schools to help preschoolers transition into kindergarten.
“Children who are eager to start kindergarten and who already enjoy learning have a greater chance at lasting academic success,” explains Anne-Marie Twohie, the director of the Fairfax County Office for Children, a division of the Fairfax County Department of Family Services.
To help prepare their children to enter school this fall, parents can read books to their children now that describe the kindergarten experience. “Welcome to Kindergarten” by Anne F. Rockwell, “Twelve Days of Kindergarten: A Counting Book” by Deborah Lee Rose and “Letters and Sounds: Timothy Goes to School” by Rosemary Wells are just a few of the children’s books that can be checked out of the library.
The spring months are traditionally the time of year that principals
invite families with rising kindergarteners to visit schools and
introduce their children to its staff and facilities. This helps children
become familiar with the school setting ahead of time.
The Office for Children offers training
courses that help child care providers plan learning experiences that
support children’s social, emotional, physical and academic development.
In this way, child care providers can help foster a love of learning in
young children that will help them succeed in school.
“Children’s readiness for success in school is enhanced when families, schools, child care providers and communities partner long before children enter kindergarten,” Twohie says.
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