Transitional Kindergarten Homework
Deb Meng, Transitional Kindergarten Teacher in Elk Grove, provides an example of developmentally appropriate TK homework for November.
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For my TK class, I send home Grab Bag actives for homework for the 1semester. Then in Feb. I begin the monthly calendar homework like the one shown. My Grab Bag Homework concentrates on fine motor (thongs with cotton balls & tweezers, playdough activities, cutting & tearing practice, etc.), hands on counting activities, unifix cube activities and sharing. Each activity is in a bag with all materials needed. I rotate about 7 to 8 activities at a time till all students have experienced them. Then I change the activities.
What great ideas, Margaret! I bet the children build confidence as they work through their developmentally appropriate homework activities. We’d love to have you share photos of the bag(s) and an example of your directions. Please contact our Office Manager, Cristiana Tibbats, at 916-780-5331. Thanks. Ada
My son just started TK and got homework on day 1, where he’s supposed to be read a poem and then read it back to me. Umm, he can’t read. Call me crazy, but I would expect the school to help with that. Why is it that in Finland kids aren’t pestered with it until much later, yet my son is practically supposed to do it already? Because TK teachers can’t wait until kindergarten to crush the joy of learning?
My son has a ravenous appetite for new books and has been reading to for at least an hour a day since he was a baby. I am seriously afraid that our horrible approach to early education in this country will ruin that by insisting on performance metrics at inappropriate ages.
TK homework is an oxymoron, and I resent having taken the first step on a painful, years-long fight to keep learning fun for him.
I am a TK teacher and experienced educator. Perhaps the teacher was hoping it would be interactive with the parent and child. My TK monthly home activity menu requires 3 books a day of lap reading with a loved one and interactive activities that require 5 to 10 minutes a day.
The biggest lesson I learned in my first year of TK after teaching K for 18 years, was to slow down. In my district we promote developmental learning in TK to give the children time rather than cramming a curriculum into their young minds. Play is the core of our curriculum.
CKA promotes developmental learning in TK and Kindergarten. If you look under the tab for TK on our website you will see power points and other appropriate curriculum. Bring up your concerns at a conference and direct the teacher to our web site http://www.californiakindergartenassociation.org. You could give her a gift of membership and send her the web site link for her to sign up for our conference.
Reading to your child is the best form of education for young children.
Debra Weller
CKA President
Professional Storyteller
International Early Childhood Consultant