Welcome to the 2024/2025 school year! We are so lucky to have you. I am ready for a terrific year full of learning how to be communicators, risk-takers, thinkers and principled life-long learners. I am excited about building a partnership together to create success for your child.

10 Ways to Prepare Your Child for Kindergarten.

1. Read books every day. Enjoy the experience and practice sitting and listening to the story. Book knowledge is important.

2. Build strong fine motor skills - practicing holding a pencil, coloring, cutting with scissors, picking up objects with fingers, zipping up a coat/backpack, twisting water bottles open, and putting on and taking off my shoes. 

3. Learn to follow 2-3 step instructions: "Please go get your shoes and then put them on." "Please go get your backpack, grab your folder, then put it away."

4. Use good manners, "Please" and "Thank You."

5. Print the first name with the first letter capitalized. 

6. Talk about social skills: sharing, taking turns, using positive words, and handling anger, sadness, and feelings.  

7. Practice your child taking responsibility for cleaning up messes, dressing themselves, getting their own snacks, and opening their own snacks, and 100% independent bathroom self-care. 

8. Practice counting 1-10: count objects daily. 

9. Practice identifying the names and sounds of letters.

10. Build self-esteem. Praise your child often because Kindergarten is hard!

contact: enersena@aaps.k12.mi.us