Kindergarten Readiness

3 Kindergarten Readiness Classrooms

At Mother Goose, our purposeful play blends with the curriculum and assessment to form our strategy to help every child succeed now, in kindergarten, and beyond! We have combined the Central Learning Domains, the Illinois Guidelines and Standards for early learning with readiness expectations outlined in the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) and developed our unique approach to help your child get Ready for Kindergarten. So, understand that it is natural for our discussions on kindergarten readiness and transition to begin when your family enrolls regardless of your child’s age. We know that kindergarten readiness starts during infancy and our approach to this readiness is evident in every aspect of our methods and in every classroom of our center.

• In the Infant Classroom, all senses are actively managing input in the readiness process as we support content learning by creating a language-rich verbal environment full of warm, loving, and meaningful interactions that identify and describe objects, emotions, and engagements.
• In the Toddler Classroom, physical development tops the list as children move from being held in a teacher’s arm to toddling around on their own. We support content learning by encouraging language development through songs and chants; and link literacy to movement while students enhance their locomotor skills, and spatial awareness.
• In the Twos Classrooms, the independent nature of children drives the experiences provided through the day in an environment that is language-rich with letters, numbers, colors, stories, and rhymes – linking literacy to music; and ready to respond to changing interests, abilities, and needs of students.
• In the Preschool Classrooms, our nurturing daily experiences and routines offer guidance that brings learning to life. We support content learning through imitating and pretending, creating with art, working with time, measures, numbers, writing, recognizing words and understanding books from all angles of what, when, where, who, why, and how. This is an intentional yet flexible environment where all children participate fully as we tap into their natural curiosity so they may apply investigative processes to gain deeper understanding.

While getting Ready for Kindergarten is not a simple task, we make it look easy because it is our labor of love to help children move through learning progressions from birth to Kindergarten as they develop 50% of their adult intelligence. The focused work in each classroom represents a Readiness Stepping-Stone to kindergarten that spans the full early learning development sequence. Then the time will come to transition to elementary school…

During our students’ last year in the PreKindergarten (PreK) program, we conduct meetings designed specifically to create a smooth transition between preschool and elementary school. An initial meeting is held at the beginning of the school year, to outline what to expect throughout the year regarding all components of readiness, how this readiness will be measured, and future meeting dates. The 14 readiness measures of the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) will be discussed in detail and at-home activities shared as part of our “What Kindergarten Teachers Want Your Child to Know” Series.

Pre-Kindergarten students and their families will have opportunities visit and experience an actual public kindergarten classroom in our district. Toward the end of the PreK school year, Mother Goose will share with the parents a list of things-to-do as we come together to prepare for a smooth transition. This list may include required enrollment documents such as dental exam, new physical and shot records, and where to find your school’s supply list. We will host kindergarten registration week, where families commit to registering their child during that time so that everything is completed prior to their first day of Kindergarten. We will miss our little learners after the transition; however, we will welcome them back each day to our School Age Program.

It has been said that a person’s zip code is a key determining factor in that person’s future… Mother Goose is located within a Tier 1 School District where we found that at least 75% of children entering Kindergarten were not prepared for school success. As we work to dispel certain factors related to zip codes, our Mission is to Promote Progress Toward Kindergarten Readiness. It is our intention that Mother Goose students enter Kindergarten Ready to meet and even exceed the 14 measures for readiness in literacy and math outlined by the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) which is administered by teachers to all Illinois Kindergarten students. We are accomplishing this by adhering to the Illinois Early Learning Guidelines for Children Birth to Age 3 (IELG) and the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards (IELDS) designed for children ages 3 to 5; and building the foundation for success in school and in life through meaningful experiences that meet children’s strengths, interests, and needs.

Learn More about KIDS (View and Download a PDF)