Activity Packet The Ovington School

P.S. 176

Kindergarten

Welcome to the Ovington School! 

Kindergarten is a year of growing socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually. Your involvement, interest, and enthusiasm will help make this a wonderful year of growth for you and your child. 

Many families ask how they can help their child transition successfully to kindergarten. 

Imagination and creativity are everywhere. Take a moment to imagine the kindergarten world to assist in the preparation: letters, numbers, stories, sharing, blocks, puzzles, play, paint, and play‐dough.  As you talk with your child about their day, celebrate their best ef‐fort on the work they do. 

The enclosed activities are recommended guidelines for you to assist in this exciting tran‐sition from preschool to kindergarten!  Remember that kindergarten is a “child’s garden.”   Many times the process is more important than the product, and learning is accom‐plished by doing, touching and experiencing. 

We look forward to our partnership with you and your child! 

1.  Have lots of conversa ons. 

2.  Play 20 ques ons (for example,one of you 

thinks of a person, animal, place or thing 

and the other asks 20 ques ons to try to 

figure it out) 

3.  Before bed, talk about what each of you 

hopes to do the next day 

4.  Go to a park and throw a ball back and 

forth. 

5.  Play Hopscotch. 

6.  Jump rope. 

7.  Plan a birthday party for someone in your 

family. Together, write out a list of items 

you’ll need. 

8.  Teach your child what fruits and vegeta‐

bles are and have your child pick them out 

and sort them when you shop. 

9.  Read together. 

10.   Introduce your child to the alphabet and 

the alphabet song. 

11.   Visit the local library and get library 

cards. 

12.   Set up a “reading corner” somewhere in 

your home. Use pillows, cusions, blankets 

and stuffed animals to make it as comfort‐

able as possible. 

13. Have your child’s friends over 

14.   Write a list of some of the rules in your 

house.  Explain why each rule is important. 

15.   Tell each other 3 things the other is good 

at. 

30 things you can do with your child to help prepare for kindergarten

Choose at least two of these to do each day 

16.  Visit a museum.  Before you go, talk about what 

you hope to see there. 

17.  Teach your child a song your remember from 

when you were a child. 

18.  Paint, using a simple set of watercolors. 

19.  Ask your child to help you measure ingredients 

when you work. 

20.  Organize the books in your home 

21.  Show your child how to hold a pencil. Prac ce 

wri ng le ers, such as the le er of his or her 

name. 

22. Play “What’s the same?” Ask your child to leave 

the room for a few minutes while your rearrange 

some things. Then have your child return and try to 

figure out what’s the same and what’s different 

23.  Count together 

24.  Sort objects into groups of the same number 

25.  Make up silly words that start with the same 

sound. Then, teach your child the le er (or le ers) 

that make that sound. 

26.  Go on a walk and collect a few interes ng objects.  

When you return, draw pictures of what you col‐

lected. 

27.  A end a community event where there will be 

children your child’s age. 

28. Find a book about star ng school and read togeth‐

er. 

29.  Make a visit to the school before kindergarten 

starts. 

30.  Be exited about the big day! 

CREATE A HOME LIBRARY BY COL-LECTING AND ORGANIZING BOOKS

AND MAGAZINES SO THEY ARE READILY AVAILABLE TO YOUR

CHILD.

HAVE FAMILY READING TIME WHERE INSTEAD OF WATCHING

TV, THE FAMILY WILL SIT AROUND AND READ ANYTHING,

NEWSPAPERS, CATALOGUES, MAIL.

CREATE PROJECTS TO BRING CHARACTERS TO LIFE LIKE PUPPETS OR

MASKS.

READ DIRECTION SIGNS AND LICENSE PLATES WHILE

TRAVELING IN YOUR CAR. SEE HOW MANY DIFFERENT STATE LICENSES YOU CAN

FIND

CREATE AND PLAY WORD GAMES SUCH AS WORD SEARCHES OR

CROSSWORD PUZZLES.

TEACH YOUR CHILD TO FOL-LOW DIRECTIONS BY COOK-

ING OR DOING A CRAFT. COOKING IS ALSO A GREAT

WAY TO LEARN MATH.

READ AT THE BEACH!

IF YOUR CHILD SPENDS A LOT OF TIME WATCHING TELEVISION WHY NOT

READ ALONG WITH TELEVI-SION SHOWS BY TURNING ON CLOSED CAPTIONING.

GO SHOPPING AND HAVE YOUR CHILD MAKE A LIST

AND LOOK FOR ITEMS WHILE

MAYBE THEY CAN READ BOOKS IN COMIC BOOK OR MAGAZINE FORMAT

PLAY BOARD GAMES THAT INVOLVE SPELLING, SUCH AS SCRABBLE, BOGGLE,

YATZEE. PLAN A VACATION IN A FAR AWAY PLACE AND LEARN ABOUT

THE SIGHTS TO SEE, THE WEATHER, THE LANGUAGE FROM

THAT PLACE.

Directions: Cut the cards and match the words that ryhme.

Reading Strategies

Retell & Summarize

Visualize

Make Connections

Good readers think about the beginning, middle, and end of the text they are reading. Readers try to retell and summarize the important events or information in their own words.

Good readers use words to make a movie in their minds. These movies can include things characters see, sounds they hear, smells, tastes, and emotions.

Good readers think about what they already know about the text they are reading. Make

text-to- text,

text-to-self,

and

text-to-world

connections.

Free Educational Websites for Kids

PBS Kids

Educational games and videos from Curious George, Wild Kratts and other PBS KIDS shows! Starfall

A children's website that teaches basic English reading and writing skills. The main demographic is preschoolers, and kindergarteners. It teaches children how to read by using games and phonics. ABCya

Provides educational games and activities for school-aged children. The games on the website are organized into grade levels as well as into subject categories such as letters, numbers, and holidays.

Storyline Online

Streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. Readers include Oprah Winfrey, Chris Pine, Kristen Bell, Rita Moreno, Viola Davis, Jaime Camil, Kevin Costner, Lily Tomlin, Sarah Silverman, Betty White, Wanda Sykes and dozens more. e-Learning for Kids

A source for childhood learning on the internet available from anywhere and without charge. Go Noodle

Movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts.