Beginning March 3, Springfield Public Schools will host kindergarten registration and welcome events for the 2020-2021 school year.
At Thurston Elementary, the morning is filled with smiles, reading, and snacks. But the school year did not start out that way. Many students struggle to transition from home to school.
Importance of Registration for Students
Thurston Elementary kindergarten teacher Cheri Westerkamp has been teaching for 31 years, and has taught kindergarten for 21 years. Westerkamp said she became a teacher because she loves seeing kids learn and grow.
“When kids come in…they may or may not know letters of the alphabet or even being able to recognize their names,” said Westerkamp. “And then by the end of the school year, they are old hats at this.”
Welcome events allow parents to ask questions about topics related to school—including lunch and riding the bus. Westerkamp said these events are important—especially for students who have not attended preschool—because it exposes children to school before their first day.
“Often we get kids that have never been away from parents and it scares them to death to come,” said Westerkamp.
Kindergarteners Recall First Day of School
6-year-old Thurston Elementary student Dainan Herchenroder talked about his first day of kindergarten.
“I was scared,” said Herchenroder. “There’s a lot of people and I didn’t know them.”
Now, Herchenroder said his favorite part about school is playing with his friends.
Westerkamp encouraged parents to bring their children to welcome events, registration, and back to school nights so students can meet their teachers, classmates, and know that school is not scary.
“The more parents can do that, the better the child feels as far as coming to school and being left at school,” said Westerkamp. “Do they still miss mom and daddy? Of course they do. But knowing that we're not scary, that's the most important part.”
6-year-old Thurston Elementary student Raelynn Castle also said her first day of school was scary.
“On the bus—when they went back to my aunt’s house—I cried on the bus because I was scared and I missed my mom,” said Castle.
But Castle said going to the playground made attending school less scary, and now she does not miss her parents as much.
Tips for Preparing Kids for School
Before attending school, Westerkamp said helping kids learn to count can be beneficial.
“By the end of kindergarten, they have to be able to count to one hundred,” said Westerkamp. “By the end of first grade, they have to count to one thousand—which is huge.”
Westerkamp also provided her top five tips to help parents transition their students into kindergarten:
- Give your child Play-Doh to work with. “Our kids often come in with weak [hand muscle] memory, and that's why they struggle with being able to write and color and stuff, because their muscle memory is not where it needs to be.”
- Show them the alphabet. “Get them to say the alphabet. If they can recognize the alphabet letters—huge thing.”
- Counting. “Count as high as they can possibly count.”
- Environmental print. “What are they seeing around them?”
- Asking questions. “Having them answer [questions] and not always accepting, ‘I don't know.’ Exploring the world around them is huge.”
More information about the kindergarten registration process can be found on the Springfield Public School’s website, or parents can contact their student’s school directly.
Springfield schools will hold registration and welcome events on the following dates:
Centennial: March 10, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Douglas Garden: March 12, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Guy Lee: March 11, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Maple: March 12, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Mt. Vernon: March 3, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Page: March 12, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Ridgeview: March 5, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Riverbend: March 12, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Thurston Elementary: March 11, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Two Rivers – Dos Ríos: March 5, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Walterville: March 5, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Yolanda: March 10, 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.