Our annual “Kinder Kamp” was held last night at LME…what a JOYful experience! Thirty-nine incoming Kinder friends and their families joined us stories, singing, dancing, and table activities while parents were given the “inside scoop” from our Kinder Team of experts about daily Kinder life on campus. It’s bittersweet for 
us really…we’re about to send our first LME Kinder friends (now 5th graders) on to middle school world…we remember the evening they joined us before we opened the doors six years ago. As I looked across the gathered group last night, we have some families starting the middle school experience while they are starting the Kinder experience again too! 🙂
Our Kinder Teachers shared some fabulous tidbits, so here are a few to help you along the way…
Things to do to help your child prepare for Kinder learning:
- Read together every single day–lots and lots of books together!
- Share children’s poetry (for the rhyming words and patterns poems present).
- Sing songs together.
- Read and recite nursery rhymes (again, for the pattern and predictions).
- Play with blocks, Legos, and other “building” materials.
- Practice writing with a pencil.
- Practice coloring shapes and designs.
- Practice using scissors (great manipulative skill).
- Practice on buttons, shoelaces, velcro, and zippers (clothing items in particular).
Helpful skills for your child to have for Kinder include:
- Recognize and write first and last name.
- Recognize and count from #s from 0 – 10.
- Recognize colors and shapes.
- Know letters and the sounds they make.
- Take turns.
- Sit quietly and listen to a story.
- Good restroom habits and manners (washing hands, too!).
- Good manners at recess.
- How to introduce self to others.
Three particular websites our Kinder Team enJOYs include:
We hope these ideas help spark some fun learning opportunities in the days ahead as we all prepare for that first important step in the learning journey…Kindergarten Kuteness indeed! 🙂
Van Am Gram 