OH - Kimberly Beek - Pre-K teacher in Sherwood

Students entering the Young 5s program should be 5 by September 30th. Most students entering the Young 5s program are between 4 years, 11 months and 5 years, 5 months upon the start of the school year. I have two groups of students with 13 students in each group. My students attend school all day, every other day on an all year alternating calendar schedule.

The students in the Young 5s program are chronologically ready to enter the school setting, but may not be developmentally ready to endure the rigors of the kindergarten curriculum. The Young 5s program allows these students a year to develop the foundational skills needed in language arts to enter kindergarten the following school year.

The kids LOVE movement activities and we have incorporated flashlights and light balls to discover letters in the dark. They love the freedom to move around the room and this has really helped them to learn how to help each other to learn about the letters. When they hear a student who voices they are struggling, students will go to that child and take them to the place in the room that will help them find the letter they need. They also state the letter so the child hears it again as they see it. It is amazing!

This supplement, Alive Studios, would be amazing to add to my Language Arts curriculum. I LOVE that it incorporates several modalities and encourages the kids to interact with the animals as they learn letters. Having that animal literally jump off the floor or board to help children learn the letters and other pre-reading skills is amazing. I have watched many videos about this curriculum and have had the opportunity to listen to Cynthia Kaye speak through ESGI virtual PD conferences to explain the program.

It is so important to build a solid foundation in pre-reading skills with my PreK kids so they are ready to use those skills to learn to read. This supplemental curriculum is perfect for engaging young children and reaching even those children that struggle with learning skills.

My ultimate goal is for EVERY child to be engaged in their learning but it is a daunting task and goal to reach. This could be the ultimate ticket to meeting this goal in my classroom. I want every child to show a years growth in my classroom, another daunting task. With this interactive and engaging curriculum, those children who need more interventions to increase skills can engage with the class as a group, in small groups, and even one on one. Those children who need a challenge can move forward with the curriculum one and one and learn how to apply their pre-reading skills to reading. I can only imagine what this supplement could do in my classroom!