Kindergarten Practice at Pre-school

Karen had to go out-of-town quickly to be with her family, so I volunteered to take pre-school. Being last minute, I didn't know what I was going to do and then I got an idea.....

KINDERGARTEN PRACTICE!

The school had sent home a packet, which included a list of things children should be able to do BEFORE entering Kindergarten and what to expect from the Kindergarten year. I thought it would be fun to pretend we were in Kindergarten and work on some of those things.

Of course students need desks, so I turned our coffee table into a make-shift desk, including a name tag for each girl.

In Kindergarten, they have "centers" or different areas in the room where learning and play happen. The school packet mentioned these 4 centers; Puzzle, Art, Blocks and Dramatic Play. So of course this meant our Kindergarten Practice needed these too.

In circle time, we read these books that talk about going to school. We also practiced and practiced and practiced sitting "criss-cross-applesauce", so everyone could see and not be bothered by their neighbor. We also practiced raising our hands to speak, listening to the teacher and had a line leader as we moved from center to center.

The girls LOVED sitting at their "desk".

After they finished their "assignment" (writing their name/writing the alphabet), they turned in their papers to be "graded". They were thrilled to see a sticker and "Great Job!" on their papers as they got their assignments back.

The first day, we made puppets in the Art Center. The next day, the girls could make what ever they wanted using the supplies on hand. Fun, fun.

I was surprised how much the girls liked the Puzzle Center.

At our Dramatic Play Center, we had a variety of flannel board pictures and magnets. I'm guessing the Dramatic Play Center at school might be dress-up or a miniature kitchen, but this worked for us.

I HATE the mess dress-up makes! :)

At the end of the first day, the girls were given HOMEWORK. They were SOOO excited! Their homework was to practice their address, phone number and tying their own shoes.

All of these were listed as things children should know when entering Kindergarten.

I "tested" them the next day. They each had learned some, but had room for improvement. They received a fruit snack for good work.

It was fun to see the difference in behavior these 2 days.... more mature. If they ever got too loud or forgot how to play nicely I'd ask, "What do you think a Kindergartner would do?" or "If you were a Kindergartner, how would you act?"

Abree and I have continued practicing our address and phone number. I think she's got our address mostly learned.

Abree- "Mom, I just keep thinking 3695, 3695, 3695."

Me- "Our address is 3695 Legacy Common."

Abree-"Oh ya, that's what I thought."