Kindergarten is not all fun and games, and the Umatilla School District wants to make sure children are ready when classes begin in the fall.
To help, the district is offering kindergarten readiness classes for future students and their families.
PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAH BLAKE
“We have a lot of parents say, ‘Oh I don’t ever let them use scissors,’ so that’s one of the things we work on – a lot of things parents are too scared to let kids to,” kindergarten teacher Sarah Blake said.
While future students learn skills they’ll need to know to succeed in kindergarten, parents can also take home lessons – including how to work with their children to prepare them for school.
“We want parents to know what their kids will need to know in kindergarten, sort of a ‘This is what you can do to help your kids,’” Blake said. “A lot of parents don’t realize how rigorous kindergarten is. By the end of kindergarten, kids are expected to be able to read, to do basic addition and subtraction.”
To help families over the summer, the teachers will also have kits available that parents can take home and work with their children.
“Parents can do a lot to help get kids ready. Kids will pick up a lot, even just reading a book every day,” Blake said.
The kindergarten readiness classes run from 6-7:30 p.m. every other Thursday until June 5. A class will also be offered from 9-10:30 a.m. May 9. Classes are at McNary Heights Elementary School, and are designed for students who will enter kindergarten in the upcoming school year.
Families do not have to attend all sessions, but parents must accompany their children.
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