Kindergarten Readiness

February 6, 2025

AES PrincipalPrincipal, Ashley Bodkins abodkins@aspenk12.net

Important Dates to Know

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Kindergarten Registration Opens

March 3rd

Kindergarten Kick-Off

May 13th 5:00

1st Day of School

August 13th

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Kindergarten Registration will open on

March 3rd

www.aspenk12.net

Panelists

• Ashley Bodkins: AES Principal
• Renee Giles: Early Childhood Resource Connecter (Aspen Family Connections)
• Julie Markalunas: Roaring Fork Early Language and Literacy Alliance
• Tina Pearson: Wildwood PreSchool Director
• Leslie Bixel: The Cottage at Aspen School District Director

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Topics Covered

• Cognitive
• Adaptive & Fine motor
• Social/Emotional
• Communication
• Gross Motor

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Who are our Kindergarten Teachers…

Beth Wille

Jackie

Pistoia

Trevor

Root

Hollis Magee

Maddy Baer

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AES

Social Emotional and

Mental Health Team

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• Shea Robinson - SEL Coordinator
• Steven Crooke - Social Worker
• Jordyn Costa - School Psychologist
• Ericka Dries - Hope Center School Based Clinician

Social Emotional Milestones

• Emotional regulation (Zones of regulation)
• Problem solving
• Levels of problems and appropriate reactions
• Bodily Autonomy and personal space
• General social skills (Playing, dealing with name calling, being caring, asking how to play)

• Connect all Pitkin County children, youth and families with a wide range of community resources.
• Whether you need support navigating economic assistance and benefits, academic and extra-curricular support, social/emotional and mental health counseling, legal advice and mediation, summer activities –
• Or anything else – we’re here to help you find and access it.

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What does this mean for your family?

My work as a Resource Connector is focusing on prevention and engagement within our community.

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Aspen Family Connections is a resource hub whose priority is to best support your family.

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Renee Giles- Early Childhood Resource Connector

rgiles@aspenk12.net

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Aspen Family Connections is a family resource center created to…

ASPEN FAMILY CONNECTIONS OFFERS THESE FREE SERVICES

Case Management If you want longer-term support, our expert team is there to help

Connection to Resources We have access and connections to many local resources – and if you need something more, we are dedicated to helping you find it.

Workshops and Prevention Activities Throughout the year, we provide a wide variety of training events, workshops and parent support gatherings, at no cost

Work with any family in Pitkin County with children 0-18 We are here for ALL families regardless of financial means, cultural background, language or need

Mental Health We make referrals to many providers with different areas of specialization, and help access funding for mental health supports, both for children and adults

After school and summer activities Busy children are flourishing children – we help find ways for families to keep their children active and stimulated

Team Approach We build a team of support around families, to make finding services easier, and avoiding duplication of effort

Confidentiality We value your privacy to the highest agree work to the highest standards of confidentiality

Responsive to community needs We tailor our work to the cultural, linguistic and other needs of our community members

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Tina Person and Leslie Bixel

Preschool Directors

Wildwood and The Cottage

Whole Child

The whole-child approach considers all parts of a child's life, including their physical health, mental well-being, social skills and citizenship, emotional health, and cognitive skills.

Cognitive Development

Reasoning and Thinking Skills

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Uses classification skills. Uses symbols and images to represent something not present. The child thinks symbolically and engages in socio-dramatic play. The child recognizes and recalls, makes connections and observes and explores.

Expectations for Kindergarten Readiness Milestones for Pre K

• Self regulation
• Engagement (focus time / persist)
• Problem solving
• Make connection - show curiosity
• Number and letter concepts/ interest
• Symbolic representation
• Follow 3 step direction

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Strategies For Home

• Repetition
• New Language
• Open Ended Questions
• Thinking
• Problem Solving
• Measurement and Data
• Focus Time

Marian Krogh

mkrogh@aspenk12.net

District Physical Therapist

Getting around

Walking independently

Running - in control + in a specific direction

Stairs - alternating gait pattern

Playing

Throwing + catching Climbing

Kicking + receiving Pedal a tricycle

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Balancing

Hopping Balancing on one foot 5-10 seconds

Skipping Walk on a balance beam

Jumping - over objects

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Sitting

Floor sitting *All for about 10 minutes

Desk/table sitting

Prone lying

Walker Mills

wmills@aspenk12.net

District Occupational Therapist

Fine Motor Milestones

• Shows a dominant hand preference
• Uses a mature pencil grasp
• Traces and draws simple geometric shapes (visual motor integration)
• Has experience cutting with scissors
• No longer sits in the “W” position during play and circle time

Mature Pencil Grasp

Hand Strengthening Strategies

• Lite Brite
• Peg boards
• Tweezer activities (Operation)
• Clothespin games
• Lacing beads
• Break crayons into smaller pieces
• Use q tips to paint
• Write on vertical surfaces!
• Improves shoulder and elbow stability
• Increases core and improves posture
• Naturally puts wrist into extension

Hand Dominance

• Integral part in developing fine and gross motor skills
• Increases hand and finger strength needed for handwriting, scissor skills, and manipulating items such as zippers and snaps

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Ways to Facilitate Hand Dominance

• Practice bilateral tasks: opening jars, coloring, legos, cutting playdough
• Present objects at midline

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Visual Motor Integration

• Visual motor skills are essential for the coordinated and efficient use of a child’s hands and eyes.
• These skills enable children to perform academic tasks such as copying letters or numbers, form shapes, and copy patterns.

Activities

• Mazes
• Dot to Dots
• Throwing and catching a ball
• Lacing activities and stringing beads
• Copying designs
• Obstacle Courses!

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No W Sitting!

• Limits trunk and core strength
• This negatively impacts fine and gross motor skills
• Limits crossing midline
• Crossing midline is vital for motor development
• Limits dynamic balance
• Discourages hand dominance

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Seating alternatives:

• criss-cross applesauce, side sit, long sitting
• Working in prone position (on stomach): increases shoulder stability and improves trunk control

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Independent Self Care Skills

• Washing hands
• Understand the importance of hand washing and how to correctly perform the task
• Clean up and transition skills
• Opening and closing snack and lunch containers
• Donning and doffing shoes, jackets, gloves, ski pants- including snaps, buttons, and zippers.
• It is easier to practice buttons, snaps, and zippers when the child is not wearing the item
• Following a bathroom routine: wipe, flush, wash hands

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Julie Markalunas

Roaring Fork Early Language and Literacy

Julie Markalunas Hall, M.A., CCC-SLP, CALP

Speech Language Pathologist, Certified Academic Language Practitioner

jmarkalunas@gmail.com

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Liz M. Bollinger, M.Ed., CALP

Special Education Teacher, Literacy Specialist, Certified Academic Language Practitioner

lizmbollinger@gmail.com

CREATING AN EARLY READING ADVANTAGE

Mission

Develop Foundational

Early Language and Literacy Skills

to Support Reading, Writing and Comprehension

In Elementary School.

Use data to inform instruction

Create alignment between preschool and kindergarten classrooms

Early Literacy & Instruction

• “Early literacy is not about learning to read in preschool; it is about building the important foundations needed for a smooth transition into early reading and writing in the primary grades.”

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• “The best instruction for children includes a balance between child-centered and teacher-directed approaches.”

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- Lucy Hart Paulson, Louisa Moats -

LETRS for Early Childhood Educators

Essential Skills for Reading and Writing Success

• SOUND AWARENESS (PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS)
• Hearing, recognizing and playing with sounds
• WORDS (the- caterpillar- is- furry.)
• SYLLABLES (ca-ter-pil-lar) RISING KINDERGARTENERS:
• INITIAL SOUNDS (/k/- /at/) *identify first sound in words
• PHONEMES (/k/-/a/-/t/)

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Activities:

• “I hear with my little ear, something that starts with /b/
• Picture puzzles
• Clapping out, , robot, tapping, humming syllables
• Emphasize initial sounds, bouncing sound
• Read books with rhyming words (“Is your mama a _______?”)

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Essential Skills for Reading and Writing Success (Cont’d)

ALPHABET KNOWLEDGE

• Letter names
• Letter sounds

PRINT KNOWLEDGE RISING KINDERGARTENERS: *Read left-to-right, top to bottom *18 uppercase letter names

*Words are made of letters *15 lowercase letter names

*Spaces between words -2015 Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework

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Activities:

• Picture story/word story-
• Writing name (model→ trace→dot-to-dot→starting point→self
• Alphabet bingo

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Vocabulary (oral language)

• Speaking and listening

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Rising Kindergarteners:

*the more words heard and interactions had

result in better reading and understanding

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Activities:

• Multiple reads- 5 Ws and 1 H
• 3 Ts- tune in, talk more, take turns (spend time talking about play)
• Model how to do something (how to make a simple recipe)

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Essential Skills for Reading and Writing Success (Cont’d)

Essential Skills for Mathematics

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Kindergarteners should be able to demonstrate basic math skills, including counting, addition, subtraction, measurement, and problem solving. They should also be able to identify shapes and colors.

The BEST way for your child to learn these skills is through PLAY!!

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Number sense

• Understanding numbers and how they relate to each other
• Counting to at least 10
• Reading and writing numbers
• Finding one more or one less than a number

Measurement

• Sorting objects by size, color, or shape
• Ordering objects by size

Number operations

• Adding and subtracting small numbers
• Developing a sense of quantity and numerical order

Problem solving

• Using logical thinking and past knowledge to solve problems
• Recognizing that there may be more than one way to solve a problem

Question and Answers

Ashley Bodkins

abodkins@aspenk12.net

AES Principal