December 2009
Sarah had been in preschool since the age of 2, and was an enthusiastic and very energetic little girl. She was very excited that she would be going to kindergarten next year and could not wait to ride the bus with the other children.
Early in the school year, Sarah’s teachers observed that she as struggling to gain pre-reading skills such as rhyming and remembering the names and sounds of the letters in her name. The teachers knew it was Sarah’s dream to go to kindergarten and they were determined to make her as ready as possible.
The teachers implemented a plan to help Sarah learn her letters and sounds. They used her love of music and movement and included activities that included letters and sounds. She particularly learned to love rhyming and the teachers introduced her to come simple jump rope rhymes which she would sing in the gym while jump roping.
The teachers kept careful observations of Sarah’s progress and shared her successes with her parents. Sarah’s parents helping by playing games in the car on the way to school with her siblings.
Sarah was recently assessed on her early reading skills – she quickly completed the picture naming section and was able to name every single rhyme for the pictures in the assessment. Sarah met all the targets for her literacy skills. The teachers are still working with Sarah on her letters and sounds but they are confident she is ready for kindergarten. Now the question is, will kindergarten be ready for Sarah?
Find out more about Children, Inc.’s Ninth District Montessori classroom
