kindergarten readiness – Page 2 – Kansas Children's Discovery Center

Estimation Exploration: Discovery at Home

How to expand it:

Think about how long it would take to get from one room in your house to another room. Think about walking vs running. Decide if you will walk, run, roll, skip, etc., and then estimate the time it takes to get from the starting point to a destination in your house. Have a grownup keep track of the time it takes.
Think about a chore, like making the bed. What steps do you have to take to make the bed? How long do each of those steps take? How long would it take to go through all the steps in making the bed? Estimate your time, then have your grownup keep track of the time it takes you to complete the task.

What kids learn:

Practicing estimation skills is important, because those skills are often used in daily life. For example, when people go grocery shopping, they have a budget to follow. They estimate how much each item costs as it is placed in the cart.
Be able to determine if an answer is reasonable. For example, if a child is asked to multiply 76 x 132 and they answer 732,494. We want them to question that answer and determine that they should have an answer around 7,000 because 70 x 100 equals 7,000.
Children will learn to be able to estimate beyond math as well. For example, when traveling, estimating the time it takes to arrive somewhere is an important skill.
Children will recognize that specific words and phrases such as “about, close, a little more, a little less” and more are linked to estimating.

Vocabulary:

Precision (in STEAM). When more than one measurement is close to each other. If you throw three darts at a dart board and they all stick to the bottom of the board close together, it is precision and not accuracy.
Accuracy (in STEAM). When a measurement is close to the correct number or standard. If you throw three darts at a dart board and they all stick to the bullseye, it is precision and accuracy.

Shaving Cream Sensory Play: Discovery at Home

Materials needed:

Shaving cream (inexpensive brands can be used).
A cookie sheet, pan, or plastic table covering to save your table.
Loose parts discovered in the yard or around the house.
Food coloring
Towel.

Directions:

Create a safe place for messy play.
Lay out the collection of objects.
Take the cap off of the shaving cream, and go to town! Make certain that the nozzle is pointing the right direction first.
Cover the objects with a thick layer of foam.
Enjoy the sensations of messy gooey play. Try something warm or cold. Or frozen. Does temperature change the dynamics of play? Do the kids play longer? Finish quickly? What if you change the color or texture of the shaving cream?

Ways to expand the activity:

Don’t just uncover hidden objects, play hide and seek. What does the object feel like? Describe what you find! Can you find matching objects? Can you tell what it is without looking?
Add drama! Tell a story and create “Search and Rescue” teams.
Play a counting game. How many rocks did you hide? How many did you find? How many are still missing?
Use a fork or kitchen tool to draw through the shaving cream.
Finger paint.
Add watercolors, food coloring or gel coloring.
Place a piece of paper on top of the colorful design and lift off a print of your design.

What do kids learn?

Children gain social and emotional skills through dramatic play. When they pretend, they are experimenting in social roles, practicing language, and solving problems: Don’t panic! How can we get your hands clean? How can we get the foam off of the dinosaur's back?
Basic engineering skills. Engineers solve problems with constraints, in this case, getting something thick, cloggy or viscous off of their hands! They learn to solve problems by using the engineering design process: asking questions, coming up with solutions, testing and improving.

Spatial or visual thinking. Being able to imagine the positions of objects and how they interact is an important skill for learning to navigate the world and later, to learn math and more complex language to express themselves.
Fine motor skills. Kids practice using the small muscles in their hands later used for writing.
Symbolic thinking, or the ability to think about one thing representing something else. When small children begin to connect the idea of saving a toy animal caught in the shaving cream with the first responder who helps us when we call 911, they start building the connections in the brain that allow for reading and life learning later.
Experimentation! When kids experiment, they're learning how to learn. Failure is an important part of experimenting, so let kids try things that won’t work. It’s how they figure things out!
Hand eye coordination. Young children can use activities like identifying something hidden from sight to help improve communication between their minds and bodies.
Sensory play! Sensory play that lets children touch, squeeze, smell and feel, helps build connections in the brain.

Thank you to the Ulmer family for providing photos of this activity!

Tree Climbing and Acceptable Risk: Discovery at Home

Materials Needed:

Your Nature Journal
Colored pencils, markers, paint, old magazines, tape, glue-optional.
Weather-appropriate closing and comfortable shoes for walking, climbing or going wild!

Directions:

Plan a day of unstructured outdoor play! Bring a picnic lunch or a snack if you like.
Now, step back. You will need to monitor for safety of course, but let nature take over.
1. Mud soup is okay
2. Collecting twigs or leaves or rocks is okay
3. Getting dirty is okay
4. Climbing a tree is very okay!
At the end of the day, relive your adventures. Record your most thrilling moments.
1. Draw, dictate, cut and paste, celebrate.
2. How many mountains did you climb?
3. How tall was the tree you climbed?
4. How did it make you feel to stand on the wobbly rock?
5. Did you get any scrapes or bumps, or bruises?
6. Are you feeling braver today than yesterday?

How do kids benefit?

Acceptable risk helps children overcome challenges and instills confidence. It supports future life skills. It prepares oneself for test-taking and talking in front of others through personal growth. What better preparation for the risk-taking and obstacles of the academic world?
Nature teaches us connectedness. Kids learn that living things depend on each other. How better to learn than to become hands-on with nature? Plants give animals food and shelter. They make oxygen for us to breathe. Plants depend on animals for nutrients, pollination, and seed dispersal. Each benefits from the other, which is called a symbiotic relationship.
Unstructured play allows negotiation and compromise. It spotlights leadership skills and develops social-emotional growth. It celebrates creativity.
A rock in the middle of a creek doesn’t move closer to you to make it easier for you to step across. You have to solve the problem yourself. Nature asserts itself and kids naturally take more risks. Failures lead to success. In the future, kids will be more likely to weigh the risks or take a smaller step. Kids learn resilience. They learn that getting wet is worth the risk!

Kids practice perseverance and fortitude. Free play is more authentic and less predictable than simply kicking a ball. With a ball, you kick it, you pick it up, repeat. On the other hand, a tree stump or a log is open ended. You can stand on it, try to pick it up, roll it, jump over it, balance on it, fall off and imagine... as a stump becomes a ship or a plane or a throne where you are King or Queen for a day.
Everyone benefits! Let your kids invite you into their world. Can you climb a tree? Cross a creek bed without getting wet? Build a dam? Wade to the deepest part of the puddle? Accept a dare. How can I pick up a branch without getting poked by a thorn?
Climbing, balancing, and grasping a branch just out of reach enhances fine and gross motor development. Going out on a limb physically places kids at emotional risk as well. Acceptable risk nurtures the spirit of a child which in turn sparks persistence, independence and confidence! Become a role model for your kids and test gravity regularly!

Sink or Float Science: Discovery at Home

Materials needed:

Nature Journal
Bucket, tub or container to hold water
Water
Towel
Natural items found on a walk or in your garden

Directions:

Before you begin, make predictions. What do you think will float? Sink? Why?
Fill the container with water.
Place each object into the water.
Note whether the object sinks or floats!
Conduct your investigation, make observations and record your findings. Perform the experiment where your scientist can easily reach into the container, and where you won’t mind a bit of water dribbling out! Ask:
1. Why do you think some objects float and some objects sink?
2. Is there anything the same about the objects that floated?
3. What is the same about the objects that sank?

Ways to expand it:

Go larger. Use a larger bin to test larger objects.
Place an orange in your container of water. Observe what happens. Next, peel the orange and place the peeled orange into the container. Can you explain what you see?
Float a flat piece of foil on top of the water, then crumple the foil into a ball, and see what happens.
Here is a great resource to explain sink and float facts! https://www.coolkidfacts.com/sink-and-float-facts-for-kids/

How do kids benefit?

Kids need hands-on opportunities to learn big life skills in prediction, classification and independent inquiry. This activity celebrates the scientific process. It triggers curiosity and engages kids in exploring new concepts!
Comparison of heavy or light, and sink or float. They can sort objects by observable properties and characteristics, such as size, shape, color, temperature (hot or cold), weight (heavy or light), and texture.
Basic engineering skills. Engineers solve problems with constraints. They learn to solve problems by using the engineering design process: asking questions, coming up with solutions, building, testing and improving.
Experimentation! When kids experiment, they're learning how to learn. Failure is an important part of experimenting, so it is valuable to let kids try things that won’t work. It’s how they figure things out!

Vocabulary:

Density is what decides whether an object sinks or floats in water. If something is less dense than water, it floats. If something is more dense than water, it sinks. A fluffy pillow has less density than a brick. A crayon has more density than a feather.
Buoyancy is how something can float in water or air. It describes the ability or tendency to float.

Letter Hunt: Discovery at Home

Ways to expand it:

Take a camera with you and capture each letter you find. If you’re able to print them, create words with the prints.
Take the Nature Adventure Journal you made from our previous video and record all your findings! If you haven’t made a journal yet, check it out before you go on your walk!

What kids learn:

Spatial or visual thinking. Being able to imagine the positions of objects and how they interact is an important skill for learning to navigate the world and later, as well as learning math and language.
Symbolic thinking, or the ability to think about one thing representing something else. When small children begin to connect a house on paper to the house they live in, they start building the connections in the brain that allow for reading and learning later.

Rubber Band Process Art: Discovery at Home

Supplies:

Rubber bands (up to five)
Cardboard box, cereal box, or cake pan
Paint
Paper
Scissors

Directions:

Cut a square opening in your box.
Put Rubber bands around your box over your square opening, use about 2 - 5
Put sheet of paper in the open area of the box, under your rubber bands
Use your finger to brush paint on the underside of the rubberband
Now pull back the rubber band and watch the paint spread onto the page
Add as much paint as you want to the rubber bands and follow step 4 until you feel like it is complete

How to Expand it:

Experiment with different shapes and sizes of rubber band and observe differences.
Use the rubber bands to make a song while you paint!

What Kids Learn:

Fine motor skills. Kids practice using the small muscles in their hands later used for writing. This activity is great for practicing the pincer grasp, or using the index finger and thumb together to grab an item, an important developmental milestone for small children.
Experimentation! When kids experiment, they're learning how to learn.

Vocabulary:
- Process Art: an artistic movement as well as a creative sentiment where the end product of art and craft is not the principal focus. Process art is about the journey, not the destination!
- Force: energy caused by a push or a pull, in this case, the pull created by your hand when you pull the rubber band, and the push created by the rubber band against the paint.
- Potential Energy: The amount of energy an object stored up in something. A rubber band stretched by your fingers has lots of potential energy!
- Kinetic energy: The amount of energy an object has when in motion. When your hand releases the rubber band, it loses potential energy but gains kinetic energy.

In the News: KCDC preparing parents, kids for kindergarten

In the News: State of Education looks at Topeka’s cradle through career successes, challenges

Katie Moore, Topeka Capital-Journal
November 28, 2018

"Last summer, the museum hosted Camp Kindergarten, a five-week program that simulated a kindergarten classroom. Mosier said an important component was that parents sat in on the classroom. Readiness is about more than a student knowing their letters and numbers, she said, and includes social and emotional development.

Before entering kindergarten, students from an impoverished home have a 30 million word gap, said Sarah Sharp, general director of early childhood and elementary education for Topeka Public Schools, meaning they are exposed to 30 million less words than a child from an affluent home.”

A Teacher’s Six Simple Steps For the Start of School

by Nicole Meier

Ready or not, the first day of school is coming very quickly. Here are just a few ways you can help your kindergartner (or any child) have a successful first few days and a stupendous year! I love alliteration. Therefore, why there had to be six tips.

Sleep. Our body needs sleep. Children need even more sleep as they are growing and developing. An average preschooler (ages 3-5) needs 10-13 hours of sleep. Elementary aged students are recommended 9-11 hours sleep each night. So a kindergartner age wise is right at the 11-12 hours of needed rest. This can be difficult with our busy lifestyles, but it is so important for your child to be successful in school (and be bearable at home too). Making sure your child has a set bedtime routine is one key for them getting a great night of rest. Make sure reading a bedtime story is part of that routine. It is also normal for kindergartners to come home and fall asleep right away the first few weeks of school. Their bodies are adjusting to a lot of stimuli. If possible, do not plan a lot of evening activities the first couple weeks of school for young children. Let their bodies and brains rest.

Support. Let your child and her teacher know you support the teacher. Be positive about his teacher in front of him child. Conflict is a part of life and if you have one with the teacher make an appointment with the teacher to discuss it, don't talk about it in front of your child. Your child will mess up, just like we all do, teachers too. Making mistakes is part of the learning process. We learn more from failure than success. When the inevitable note or phone call comes, remember teachers aren't out to get your child. They want what is best for your child. Communicate with your teacher and work together to problem solve. If you work together and your child knows you will support the teacher there will be less disruptions/misbehaviors.

Spend time talking about your child's day. Ask questions about their day. Make sure to focus on the highlights and positive things. If your child brings up an issue absolutely discuss it with them, but be careful not to interview for pain. We can get in a mode where mama or papa bear comes out and we can make mountains out of molehills. Allow your child to try and problem solve as much as possible. Some great starter questions might be: What was the best thing that happened at school today? Tell me something that made you laugh today? If you could choose who would you sit by in class? Why? Where is the coolest place at school? If I called your teacher tonight, what would she tell me about you? When were you the happiest today? Who would you like to play with at recess that you have never played with before? Who in your class do you think you could be nicer to? Tell me about three different times you used your pencil today at school. The list really is endless.

Step up. Get involved in your child's education. Being a part of your child's school shows your child you value their education. Show up to parent nights, school activities, parent/teacher conferences. Life is all about relationships. Develop a relationship with your child's teacher. Volunteer at the school. This can take on many different forms, ask at your school what needs they have. Get involved in your PTO/PTA. Working parents can be involved too. Ask if there are at home jobs like cutting out lamination, putting together packets, tearing workbooks and other odd jobs. There is room for everyone. It takes us all working together.

Supplies. This goes along with stepping up. If you are a working parent and it is hard to get to the school to be involved, ask if there are supplies that are needed. I can guarantee there will always be something that is needed. Most teachers spend their own money on their students and classroom. There are lots of supplies that allow teachers to do extra hands on learning that are not always provided by the schools. Show you support your child's education by getting supplies. Every little thing helps!

Smile & Separate. Especially young children who have been with their parents a lot may be nervous or anxious about starting school. The best thing you can do for them is to calmly reassure them that they are going to have a great day, smile real big and separate from your child. If at all possible keep your emotions in check until you are out of your child's sight. Then go have a good cry if you need to. Your child's teacher is going to be ready with their own smile to take your child in and care for them and keep them safe. Especially if your child is throwing a fit or is anxious, the sooner you can separate the sooner they can practice self-regulation skills (with the help of safe adults if needed) and have a great day!

Six simple steps, but not always easy. I hope your child has the best year ever! The days can be long, but the years are short. Enjoy this exciting time!

Nicole (Nikki) Meier is a kindergarten teacher at Farley Elementary in USD 437. She has an Elementary and Early Childhood degree from Evangel University and is Nationally Board Certified in Early Childhood. She has taught all day Kindergarten starting in 1998, as well as running an after school program K-5 for two years. She teaches over 100 kids a day to swim each summer and also enjoys teaching others through presentations and workshops. Nikki has been honored numerous times for doing what she loves to do. Highlights are being named National Kindergarten Teacher of the Year in 2003 and being a state semi finalist for Kansas Teacher of the Year in 2014.

In the News: Editorial: Community must step up for kindergarten education

The Editorial Advisory Board
The Topeka Capital-Journal
May 25, 2018

Each fall, thousands of Topeka children take their first important steps into a school classroom when they start kindergarten. In Kansas, children start kindergarten if they are 5 on or before Aug. 31 of their kindergarten year, but age is only a part of being ready to start school.

No single factor makes children ready for kindergarten. Readiness is a combination of physical, social and cognitive skills. Many people assume familiarity with numbers, letters and shapes is the most important part of being ready for school. However, communication skills, curiosity and enthusiasm about learning are also important for success.

More Discovery at Home Projects

More Discovery at Home Projects