Aug 17, 2008 - 04:06:35 CDT
Bright yellow nametags with neat printed letters dot some of the desks in Sara Hills' classroom.Near the door of her room at Fort Lincoln Elementary School, on a round table, the name tags for the rest of her students wait to be claimed.
"I like to give them choices," Hills said. "It gives them ownership."
Picking seats is one of many routines Hills will have ready for the first day of school Thursday. She'll also help them pick a cubby and hook for their backpacks and a spot for their reading basket.
For the first time, all kindergarten classes in the Mandan district will go full-time. Hills already taught a full-time class at Fort Lincoln, now the other teachers will join her with that schedule.
There will be a tour of the classroom and a trip to the cafeteria for these first-time students. Mandan Public Schools anticipates 250 kindergarten students this fall. Hills will teach 23 kindergartners.
In Bismarck, the district anticipates 828 kindergarten students. The Bismarck and Mandan districts will have final numbers after school starts.
Kindergarten students at Northridge Elementary School will start school in leased space at Corpus Christi Church. Northridge, which is anticipating at least 102 kindergartners, will have five classrooms at Corpus Christi so that it can keep the remainder of its classes in the school.
Northridge Principal Bob Olson and his staff have made an effort to contact kindergarten families through the district's kindergarten screening day and by word of mouth from other Northridge families.
"There's no other way to know," Olson said.
The screenings helped identify the needs of their incoming students, which will be passed along to their teachers.
At Corpus Christi, there will be a secretary and a counselor who goes over to the school. Music and physical education teachers will come over to give classes. Later in the year, more will be done to get the kindergarten students introduced to the layout and routines of Northridge.
Parents' concerns about their children attending kindergarten tend to vary on whether students stayed home or attended a day care or preschool, Hills said. Stay-at-home families are concerned about downtime, while preschool parents are concerned about academics.
Five-year-olds like Kassidi Hatzenbuhler, who will attend Lewis and Clark Elementary School, already attend day care because both her parents work.
"For us it works very well,"going all-day, said Kassidi's mother, Kari Hatzenbuhler.
Kassidi attended preschool and goes to day care and her family works with her on her alphabet and other skills.
"My day is totally geared toward meeting a set of goals ... I make sure they are prepared for first grade,"their mother said.
But preparing them for first grade does not mean Kari Hatzenbuhler gives them lessons that are beyond their aptitude.
Kassidi tells her mom she knows her address, then goes on to tell it in a sing-song fashion. She forgot the ZIP code.
Her older sister, Kelsi, reminded her. So, Kassidi repeated the ZIP code to show she could do it.
Kelsi will be a fifth-grader at Lewis and Clark. It gives Kassidi reassurance that her sister is there. Kelsi thinks it's great her sister is starting school.
"She thinks it's cool, all this stuff I get to do," she said. "Now she can make more friends."
Kassidi is excited about going to school. She has the Hello Kitty backpack, her scissors, crayons and other school supplies.
"I'm glad Igot my shot for kindergarten," she said.
Rather, she liked that she got her shot in the spring instead of the summer, like her classmates, her mother explained.
Hatzenbuhler hopes kindergarten helps Kassidi with her literacy skills and social skills. At first Kassidi hangs back a little, and giggles when asked questions, but as she gets comfortable she answers with some thought and she moves about her family's living room.
Parents should not worry too much about what they need to know in kindergarten because she will teach them what they need to know, Hills said.
The longer school day gives her time to focus on more than reading. They do activities in math, science and social studies.
The extra time also keeps the class from being rushed.
"Transitions take a long time with little people; getting everyone quiet," she said.
If they are in the middle of a project when it's time for physical education class, they can come back to it later, she said.
The students also will be at school when afternoon activities happen, like assemblies.
To get ready for the first day of school, Hatzenbuhler will make sure her girls have a good night's sleep, then a good breakfast.
A regular sleep schedule also helps gets students ready for school, Hills said.
Probably the only one wrote on Aug 18, 2008 3:33 PM:
LDH wrote on Aug 18, 2008 2:44 AM:
Im am with you wrote on Aug 17, 2008 8:49 PM:
Probably the only one wrote on Aug 17, 2008 5:33 PM:
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