How crayons, paint and play are foundational to learning in transitional kindergarten
4 months ago

How crayons, paint and play are foundational to learning in transitional kindergarten

LA Times  

In California, by 2025-26 all 4-year-olds will be eligible for universal TK. Many districts have already enacted the program, including the Los Angeles school system. Many parents are unsure if they should send their 4-year-old to a full day school program and are wondering, “What will my child do at school? They will learn foundational skills for school, such as how to stand and walk in a line, how to hold a pencil or scissors, how to use materials properly, such as glue, crayons, markers, etc. We use a variety of materials, such as Play-Doh, clay, paint, beads, etc., to build fine motor skills and hand strength, as well as lots of PE activities to work on gross motor development.

School Learn  paint  foundational  learning  skills  program  younger  play  transitional  students  universal  crayons  school  kindergarten  learn  tk

History of this topic

What is transitional kindergarten? Here’s what public school’s new grade has to offer.
4 months ago

What is transitional kindergarten? Here’s what public school’s new grade has to offer.

LA Times  

Universal TK provides a free, high-quality preschool option for all California families with 4-year-olds. TK serves as a bridge between preschool and kindergarten, providing more structure and routine for children, yet is still grounded in play-based activities to support their development and learning. TK is aligned with the California Preschool Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations, which were recently revised to more …

Letters to the Editor: Why standardized testing for 4-year-old students makes no sense
7 months ago

Letters to the Editor: Why standardized testing for 4-year-old students makes no sense

LA Times  

Transitional kindergarten students clap to songs with their teacher on the first day of school at Lenicia B. Weemes Elementary in Los Angeles last August. To the editor: As a former kindergarten teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District and National Board Certified teacher, I completely agree with educators and parents who oppose using the standardized DIBELS test on …

California public school enrollment drops again, but transitional kindergarten is up
7 months, 1 week ago

California public school enrollment drops again, but transitional kindergarten is up

LA Times  

Transitional kindergarten students clap with teacher Matilde Lopez, right, and coach Claudia Mesa, left, on the first day of school at Weemes Elementary in Los Angeles. Enrollment at California’s public schools continued to decline this year, but by only.25%, or 15,000 students, state data showed, a much slower pace than the steep declines experienced during difficult pandemic years when classes …

California is rolling out free preschool. That hasn’t solved challenges around child care
8 months ago

California is rolling out free preschool. That hasn’t solved challenges around child care

Associated Press  

CONCORD, Calif. — A year before I-Ting Quinn’s son was old enough for kindergarten, she and her husband had the option to enroll him in “transitional kindergarten,” a program offered for free by California elementary schools for some 4-year-olds. Transitional kindergarten’s academic emphasis was appealing, but Ethan would have been in a half-day program, and options for afterschool child care …

Preschool? Transitional kindergarten? Is there a difference? Parents are stressing out
8 months ago

Preschool? Transitional kindergarten? Is there a difference? Parents are stressing out

LA Times  

Yelena Hagooli has done everything possible to give her 4-year-old son the best start in life. So what do we do now to set them up so they do well in school, so they get into the right college, etc, etc?” As California’s major expansion of public education — the addition of TK, a new grade level for 4-year-olds — …

‘I don’t want to go to school,’ a child cries. When parents leave here’s what teachers do
1 year, 4 months ago

‘I don’t want to go to school,’ a child cries. When parents leave here’s what teachers do

LA Times  

Students watch a video during Miriam Bernal’s transitional kindergarten class at Germain Academy for Academic Achievement on the first day of school. About 7:45 a.m. the 4-year-olds in Lourdes Serrano’s transitional kindergarten class realized they would be braving their first day of school alone. “I don’t want to go to school,” one student said tearfully, words that began echoing from …

LAUSD’s first day: ‘Boo hoo’ parent breakfast, more 4-year-olds, ambitious academic goals
1 year, 4 months ago

LAUSD’s first day: ‘Boo hoo’ parent breakfast, more 4-year-olds, ambitious academic goals

LA Times  

Sebastian Mariscal strutted smiling onto the school bus that would take the 5-year-old from South L.A. to Brentwood for his first day of school. So began one family’s experience as a new school year opened Monday in Los Angeles Unified — a day of anticipation, hope, joy and anxiety for students of all ages — and for those who work …

Nervous about the first day of school? Get your little one ready with these tips
1 year, 4 months ago

Nervous about the first day of school? Get your little one ready with these tips

LA Times  

Teacher Ana Tramp waits with transitional kindergartners, who are ready to be picked up from Vejar Elementary School in Pomona. First day of school jitters are natural for both young learners and parents — especially as California elementary schools are enrolling 4-year-olds in transitional kindergarten. It’s not yet time to worry about academics, said Gennie Gorback, the past president of …

Schools struggle for bodies and potties one year into California’s big preschool expansion
1 year, 7 months ago

Schools struggle for bodies and potties one year into California’s big preschool expansion

LA Times  

Two years ago, Gov. “The response by local school districts has been quite tepid, and we haven’t seen the surge in family demand that the governor expected,” said Bruce Fuller, a UC Berkeley professor of education and public policy. “We have to undo that.” Aides are hard to hire Despite the statewide teacher shortage, educators from most of the 18 …

California lawmakers approve bill to make kindergarten mandatory, again
2 years, 3 months ago

California lawmakers approve bill to make kindergarten mandatory, again

LA Times  

August Russell clings to his mother, Natalie Russell, on his first day of kindergarten in Altadena in August 2021. California is one step closer to mandating that children attend kindergarten, a requirement that would come after droves of the state’s youngest students skipped the grade during the pandemic, heightening learning gap concerns. A bill approved by the state Senate this …

Newsom proposes transitional kindergarten for all California 4-year-olds in budget plan
3 years, 7 months ago

Newsom proposes transitional kindergarten for all California 4-year-olds in budget plan

LA Times  

Transitional kindergarten, or “T-K” classes, would be provided to all 4-year-old children in California under a budget proposal by Gov. “People are not left behind as often as they … start behind.” The expanded transitional kindergarten program would take effect for the 2022-23 school year and would be phased in over three years. “Kindergarten enrollment dropped tremendously over the past …

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