No Tears For This First Time Kindergarten Mom

My son starts Junior Kindergarten this week.  Its a gradual entry, so in my mind, he doesn't officially start until next week as his first full day won't be until then.  This time of year you see lots of blog posts, articles and media about sending kids off to school for the first time and the tears that may come from mom and/or dad. Last weekend my mother in law told me she bawled when my husband went off to kindergarten. Maybe the tears will hit me later, but right now I am so excited and so proud of my son, the tears are no where to be found.

My son, just one day old

My little boy is a sweet and social kid.  He's been in daycare so he's used to being in a group of kids, used to following instructions and being away from his parents.  I know he'll be a bit timid going to a new school and the transition will be hard as he leaves the daycare friends he's had for the past three years. But I also know that in a month or two he'll have new friends and thrive learning so many new things and getting more and more chances to be a big kid.  And that makes me so proud.  Proud that over the past four years we've done what we needed to do to get him ready for this next step.  Proud that he gets so excited over new accomplishments whether its learning the monkey bars or holding a pencil correctly or jumping higher than he could before.  Excited that he will continue to learn social skills like compassion, kindness and respect. Even the tough moments that he will face such as disappointment, losing and being left out are opportunities for him to grow and to learn that he can choose his reactions to those moments.  These are key moments in life and they shape the person you become.  I am here for him to navigate these challenges and help him thrive in spite of them.

I look at him and just can't help but be excited to see what he will continue to grow up to be.  To watch his interests grow and knowledge increase and his life become bigger as he starts school.  I guess there is a bit of sadness too, but its such a pleasure to watch this kid grow.  I've got a smile planted on my face and I watch with pride as my baby continues to surprise me, make me laugh and amaze me with the person he continues to become.  Looking forward to a great school year ahead!

Learning To Read: Sight Words For Kindergarteners

My son starts JK in just one short week.  And while I think he's pretty prepared to start the program, I've also been looking into what I can do to assist him as he starts this big new adventure.  My sister (who must have been a teacher in another life) is super organized when it comes to getting activities together that will help her kids learn the outcomes intended for their age group.  Thankfully she is happy to share with me!

Learning to read is such a huge accomplishment for a young child and I can't wait for my son to reach this milestone.  I loved reading as a kid and that enjoyment has followed me all the way through my life and I hope my kids feel the same.

My niece reading to my daughter when she was a baby

Once your little one has a grasp of the alphabet and of letter sounds, a great next step is to move on to what is called 'Dolch Pre-Primer' words and the ability to recognize certain words by sight.  These are commonly used words that will help pave the way towards learning to read.  A list of these words can be found here. Another term used when helping kids learn to read is 'popcorn' words.  These are words that 'pop up' often in every day reading and writing and can also be referred to as sight words.  Here is a great online game for kids to help with sight word recognition - Monkey Madness Movie Theatre.

Here is a quick and easy craft to assemble at home to help learn sight words is a 'word wall'.

What you need:

-Bristol board
-Scissors
-Glue stick
-White paper

Get your child to pick out their favourite coloured bristol board.  Write or type the pre-primer sight words (a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, find, for, funny, go, help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, little, look, make, me, my, not, one, play, red, run, said, see, the, three, to, two, up, we, where, yellow, you) on a piece of white paper and cut out each one so that each word is a separate piece.

Post three pre-primer words using tape or glue onto the bristol board and hang it in your child's room. Practice those three words and then on the start of the next month, post three more.  Kids get so excited when they start to be able to recognize the words when they see them out at a store or in a book.  Happy reading!

When should children see an optometrist?

Starting preschool or kindergarten can be a very exciting time in a child's life.  There is so much to see and do!  But imagine not being able to properly see stories that are being read or words or letters on a page?  The Eye See...Eye Learn® program wants to make sure that all parents are aware of what their program offers so that no child will experience difficulty learning due to vision problems.

The Eye See...Eye Learn® program provides comprehensive eye exams by local optometrists (or eye doctors) to junior kindergarten students in participating school regions. The eye exams are covered under provincial health insurance (or OHIP) when you show your child’s health card. This means that there is no out-of-pocket cost for the eye exam. If the child requires a pair of glasses, they will receive them FREE of charge courtesy of our participating sponsors.

The Eye See...Eye Learn® program was developed to raise awareness among parents of the importance of having their children's eyes checked upon starting school. Children, who cannot see the board, focus on a picture or follow words in a book may struggle to achieve their full learning potential. Vision problems can also impact their hand-eye coordination for physical activities and even impact their social development. In fact, 80 percent of learning comes directly through vision.

A few facts...

-Each year, fewer than 10 per cent of children have an eye exam before entering school, despite the fact that 25 per cent of all children have a vision problem significant enough to impair their ability to learn.  Eye exams can also detect asymptomatic, but potentially life-threatening, eye conditions.
-Five to 10 per cent of preschool children have an undetected vision problem
-Approximately 60 per cent of children with literacy problems have an undiagnosed vision problem
-80 per cent of all learning is visual,  so children who cannot see the board or focus on a picture or follow words in a book may struggle to achieve their full learning potential
-Vision problems can impact a child’s hand-eye coordination for physical activities and even their social development

To ensure Ontarians understand the importance of comprehensive eye examinations for children, the Ontario Association of Optometrists (OAO) has launched a video called Sarah’s Story and expanded the Eye See…Eye Learn® program.  Please make sure your children’s eyes are examined by a Doctor of Optometry before they begin kindergarten.

Click here to find a list of participating optometrists in your area.