Full-Day Kindergarten July 5, 2009

Full-Day kindergarten is becoming quite popular. Parents who work full-time seem to be major supporters of full-day kindergarten programs because, unlike in half-day kindergarten programs, they would not have to find child care for afterschool. Full-day kindergarten programs are found primarily in low-income and minority school districts. Full-day kindergarten programs are also less expensive because the school districts would not have to hire people for the mid-day switch between morning and afternoon kindergarten classes; these people being bus drivers, aides, and crossing guards. Besides the cost, full-day kindergarten programs prove to be beneficial to the learning of kindergarten students. Full-day kindergarten programs will:
“* integrate new learning with past experiences through project work and through mixed-ability and mixed-age grouping (Drew & Law, 1990; Katz, 1995) in an unhurried setting;
* involve children in first-hand experience and informal interaction with objects, other children, and adults (Housden & Kam, 1992);
* emphasize language development and appropriate preliteracy experiences;
* work with parents to share information about their children, build understanding of parent and teacher roles, emphasize reading to children in school and at home, and set the stage for later parent-teacher partnerships;
* offer a balance of small group, large group, and individual activities (Katz, 1995);
*assess students’ progress through close teacher observation and systematic collection and examination of students’ work, often using portfolios; and
* develop children’s social skills, including conflict resolution strategies. (Rothenberg).”
My only concern with full-day kindergarten programs is how these programs would help those students who enter kindergarten straight from home. Even though pre-kindergarten has become popular, not all children start in a pre-kindergarten program. Other than that, I agree with Dianne Rothenberg, the author of this article, in that full-day kindergarten programs can be great for our younger students.
To read the full article, please visit this site.

Are Current Government Programs Enough? July 4, 2009

It is clear from the research that Head Start has been a successful program for the last forty or so years.  http://www.hfrp.org/evaluation/the-evaluation-exchange/issue-archive/early-childhood-programs-and-evaluation It is not clear as to why this program or similar ones have not been made available to toddlers who are not from low income families. It seems that the government – who regulates who is eligible to receive these services – feels that if you make over a certain amount of money you are capable of educating your child without assistance from anyone on their payroll.  Just because you can earn a decent wage doesn’t mean that you will or can devote the time necessary to insure that your child will enter school with the skills necessary to succeed.  In a world that is as competitive and fast paced as we currently are if a child enters kindergarten without having attended some kind of preschool they are at a real disadvantage.  As a mother that was able to stay home until my youngest was in fifth grade (eleven years ago) I would be the first to advocate a child not being put into daycare, but as an elementary school employee I would argue that it is necessary for every child to receive some kind of schooling before entering kindergarten. Many schools offer full day kindergarten and starting approximately the third week of September there is daily learning taking place.  By this I mean everyday something new is introduced.  If a child has never been in the school setting prior to entering kindergarten they are just starting to feel comfortable by the third week of September and by no means are ready to start learning.  The current administration should consider that just because you earn a livable wage doesn’t mean your child would not benefit from attending a preschool program at no cost to the parents.

Using Sign Language in Kindergarten June 28, 2009

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Teaching students sign language at an early age is benificial.  Sign language helps keep a child that is a little hyper, busy.  Any time you teach a second language it is always better to start early.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The value of second language learning in early childhood education is well documented, but when a second language is introduced it is generally a spoken language. Rarely is a signed language such as American Sign Language (ASL) the second language choice

 

http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3325318/Using-a-signed-language-as.html

Should Children Go To Pre-School June 26, 2009

                          

As parents we ask ourselves if preschool is best for our children or not. If your child is not in preschool there is a lot of different activities you could do with your child to prepare them for Kindergarten. For example, read books, have the child be able to recognize their own name in print, colors, shapes, numbers, be able to use scissors, crayons, markers, glue, socialization with other children, give chores, and be able to recite emergency information. This is just a few of the activities to prepare your child for Kindergarten to see a full list please visit http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/kindergarten_prep.html#Literacy

Research shows that when parents and families are involved, children and schools are more successful. It doesn’t matter if you send your child to preschool or not, what matters is you are there for your child