Moving Up! Families - Kindergarten

---

Does your child have starting school jitters? Do you

New experiences can be exciting, scary, unnerving and wonderful.  A great way to calm your child's anxieties (and yours too!) is to read some books about starting school.  Click here to see a long list of books which can help ease your whole family's transition to school. Pick out a few titles every week and start preparing for the future!

Note:  The book list is divided up by age in years, starting with 1 year old through 6 years old and ending with a parent section.  Spanish titles are in red. SCCL after the title indicates that this book is available from the Santa Clara County Library System.  To find out more about their holdings, visit their website by clicking here.  Other titles may be available from online booksellers or other library systems.

What will my child do in Kindergarten?

They will have lots of fun and engage in lots of learning!   Some schools offer full day Kindergarten and some schools offer part-day Kindergarten.  Take a look at these sample schedules to get an idea about the flow of the day. Thanks to Ms. Tran (Rose Kindergarten) for sharing her half day schedule and to Ms. Bernal (Robert Randall Kindergarten) for sharing her full day schedule!

♥  SAMPLE DAILY SCHEDULE  ♥
HALF-DAY KINDERGARTEN
8:00      Writing Journal
8:15      Language Arts
9:00      Math
9:30      Recess
9:40      PM Class Arrives
9:50      Mon. & Fri. (Music)
             Wed. (Yoga/Social Studies)
             Tues. & Thur. (Phys. Ed.)
10:15    Calendar
10:35    Centers
11:10    Clean Up
11:15    Recess
11:20    AM Dismissal
11:35    Same as Morning (8:00 - 9:30)

♥  SAMPLE DAILY SCHEDULE  ♥
FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN
8:00    Greeting
8:15    ELD Practice
           Musical Share
8:30    Calendar                
8:45    Board Language
9:00    ST Math
           Literacy Centers
9:45    Read Aloud
            Shared Reading
10:00   Recess
10:15   Board Math
10:40   Math
11:00   Writing
11:20   Read Aloud
11:35   Lunch
12:25   Systematic ELD
1:05    Songs
           Clean Up
1:20    Dismissal

Top 10 Things to Do The Summer before Kindergarten

1.     Focus on Language ~
          Speak Up! Read! Write!

2.     Use your Muscles ~
          Get your big muscles moving!  Little muscle practice! 

3.     Explore your World ~
          Grow your brain!

4.     Practice Kindergarten Academics ~
          Learn your ABCs!  Get counting! Experiment and ask “Why?”

5.     Early to Bed and Early to Rise…
          Set in place home routines and schedules now so you are all ready when school starts.

6.     I Can Do It!
          Work on independence.   Practice self–control.  Be a good friend.

7.     You are You ~
          What makes your child unique?  Celebrate your culture and tell family stories.

8.     Be Smart about Electronics ~
          Limit “screen time” to no more than 1-2 hours per day.

9.     Health Matters ~
          Set in place healthy habits to last a lifetime.  Practice good hygiene at home. Remember - safety first! 

10.     What Will Kindergarten Be Like?
            Let’s find out by reading a book...

More Resources

Want to download a Kindergarten Readiness Handbook?  This free resource is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Chinese and covers important topics like the "building blocks of kindergarten readiness" and a "countdown to kindergarten calendar".  Click above to go to the First 5 Santa Clara County kindergarten readiness site.

Registration Information for Milpitas Unified School District
Kindergarten Registration 
Transitional Kindergarten Registration