Let’s Get Ready with Cedar Valley Publishing

I am in St. Louis today talking about getting ready for Kindergarten at the Parents as Teachers Conference.  Parents you are your child’s first and foremost teacher and this organization is a great resource for you! Check it out:  www.parentsasteachers.org

Nothing makes me happier that seeing kids reading my books!!! Check out this review!! It makes my heart sing!

Check out 4 Fabulous Familes and the book review they did for Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten.  Here’s a little snippet of it – please visit their website HERE to read the rest of this wonderful review:

I recently won some books from the Let’s Get Ready series by Cedar Valley Publishing. As an aspiring teacher myself, I have been working with my girls for some time on their kindergarten readiness skills: letter recognition, shapes, colours and memorizing our phone number in particular. I am absolutely delighted with these books.  https://4fabulousfamilies.blogspot.com/2009/10/cedar-valley-publishing-review.html

I will never forget the day I was finally hooked on reading. I was blessed by the presence of my friend Mary Isham one day in 9th grade.

Yes, you read it right. It took me until 9th grade to finally love reading. I wasn’t a born a reader, nor was a child-bookworm.

Even my school librarian knew I dreaded school assignments that forced me to check out books and report on a particular subject—or any subject at all. I was not a struggling reader, but I never found an interest to read anything beyond my homework assignments; which had too much reading in and of itself.

So, back to that glorious day in 9th grade…

I was walking into the school library and noticed my friend Mary Isham having an animated conversation, mostly to herself, as she openly expressed her concerns with the librarian. She was a cute and bubbly girl, dressed in her cheerleading outfit for the big game that night and seemed to be having some sort of problem.

I walked closer and overheard Mary tragically exclaim, “I can’t bear to part with it, I just can’t, you know.  I can’t stand the thought of it being put back on the shelf and no one reading it – I have checked it out three times and have read it over and over for weeks and the thought of it all alone waiting for someone to read it makes me sad.”  Mary spots me walking in and gushes, “Stacey save me!  This is such a great book and I have to turn it in today and I hate to see it sitting on the shelf alone, please, please take it and check it out…it is such a great book.”

I remember her words vividly.

That was it! 

I couldn’t believe that someone could love a book so much that she was having such a dramatic scene about returning it to the library,

So, I figured it must be good, right?  As pleaded, I took the book and checked it out.  I went home, rushed to my room, and opened its first page. I was hooked!

I even missed the football game that night.

When it was time to return it, I checked out another Victoria Holt romance book and the librarian smiled as to say something about that being a life changing event for me.

I didn’t appreciate it until now. Yes, being hooked on reading became a life-changing event for me.

Thank you Mary Isham!

What’s your favorite book? What title can cause you to get dramatic and overly-animated?

Well, whatever book it is, please introduce that book to your child, friend, family member or co-worker.

You never know, it might be a life-changing event for them too!

Copyright 2007-2009 – Stacey Kannenberg, Cedar Valley Publishing, Author of Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten! and Let’s Get Ready For First Grade!

Care to share your favorite book with us?  What about a favorite author or series?  Reading can be a wonderful life-altering experience; the right book can be the key that unlocks the door.

Homework for Parents…

• Stop, Drop, and Listen!
• Unload the backpack/homework folder with your kids daily.
• Read with your kids every night for 15 minutes.
• Play repetitive games with your kids.
• Ask open ended questions to help your kids communicate.
• Be involved in school activities and join your PTA/PTO!

7 Things Kindergarteners Need to Know…

At the beginning of the school year, kids will be asked to:

1.    know the uppercase alphabet and name the letters out of sequence or mixed up, such as: B, D, X, K, J, M, O, etc.
2.    know the numbers to 10 and identify the numbers out of sequence or mixed up, such as: 2, 5, 9, 8, 1, 3, 4, etc.
3.    identify basic colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
4.    identify basic shapes: circle, diamond, rectangle, triangle, oval, and square.
5.    identify basic coins: penny, nickel, and dime.
6.    count objects to 10.
7.    show how far they can count toward 100.

During the year, Kindergarteners will need to know…

• both upper and lower case letters, in order and out of sequence
• numbers to 30, in order and out of sequence
• more colors and shapes, including hexagon and octagon
• more coins, such as quarter and dollar
• their name, address, and phone number
• how to get dressed themselves for outside play
• how to use the bathroom independently

…in order to make that first year a success!

2009 © Stacey Kannenberg, Cedar Valley Publishing, autora de ¡A Prepararse Para Kindergarten!, Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten!,  Let’s Get Ready for First Grade!

1. Empower the kids to be involved in packing and planning and being a part of organizing your trip!
2. Purchase small travel-size dry erase boards and plan some activities using them such as:
   • The Drawing Game:  draw a cow, draw an octagon, draw a car, draw the number 48, etc.
   • The True or False Game:  Have kids put a T for True or an F for False to a series of family questions such as:  Grandma Martha used to drive a motorcycle; Aunt Beth is adopted; You have 4 first cousins; etc.
   • The Person, Place or Thing with 10 clues Game:  Select a category between, person, place or thing and write down the answer and have the kids ask clues to figure out the answer.  For example – for a person, the kids might ask, do I personally know this person or is it someone famous?
   • The Yes or No game:  Ask questions and the kids will write yes or no – Do you like pizza?; Would you like to scuba dive someday?; Might you be a teacher?; Sail the ocean?; Travel to the North Pole?
   • Perfect for Tic-tac-toe and hang man games!
3. Bring books for quiet time reading for the kids to enjoy.  Set the timer and tell the kids it is quiet time to either take a nap or read! Of course our books are perfect for kid fun or playing school or teacher in the car:  Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten!, the Spanish/English of iA Prepararse Para Kindergarten! or Let’s Get Ready For Kindergarten!
4. Bring travel-size colors and a coloring book with a tray to do activities!
5. Purchase blank books in the dollar bin and create travel journals documenting the trip.  Purchase some vacation-themed stickers and allow the kids to either use the camera to take some pictures or get them cheap disposable cameras that they are in charge of using!
6. Print off the computer start and stop maps to where you are going and let them draw points of interest that they have seen along the journey!
7. Bring electronic devices, if they already use and a DVD for movie time!
8. Bring prepacked healthy snacks ready to go to keep the kids happy!
9. Crank up the radio and sign along together to your family favorites!
10. Share family stories about how they will be seeing on the trip or about how Mom and Dad met, some of the things Grandma and Grandpa used to do and stories when Mom and Dad were kids!
11. Pack travel-size cold water for the kids, put them in pull-ups to avoid accidents in the car seat or plane, bring wipes for quick clean ups and toilet paper for emergency stops!
12.  Have an extra change of clothing with easy access as well as favorite stuffed animals and blankets to encourage sleep time.
13.  Count to 25 by finding 25 white cars; 25 red cars, trucks, cows, etc.
14.  Before you leave home, guess the number of VW Bugs you will see along the way or Smart Cars or Windmills or flags and start counting.
15.  Play “I Spy” something red, something red, white and blue or something moving, etc.

Happy traveling with kids!

It’s nearing the end of school and you know what that means don’t you?  Field Trips!!  What a great opportunity to volunteer as a chaperone.  Not only do you look like a hero in the eyes of your child, but you get to know your child’s classmates as well.  Remember, your child is less likely to be bullied in school if you personally take the time to get to know each child in your child’s class.  Mike and I love field trip time, and try to make as many of the trips as we can.  We have been to the zoo, the museum, the apple orchard, the pumpkin patch, the dairy farm, the corn maze, the animal safari and so much more.  Each trip has been an amazing experience with wonderful stories to share – and I not only get to share them with my daughters, but with the parents of the other children who weren’t able to attend.  

Last week, Mike and I were in charge of four kids (out of 57) from our school at the Milwaukee Public Museum.  Mike was with one of the girls, revisiting the butterfly exhibit and I had Megan and the two boys looking at insects…when the fire alarm went off.  We could smell smoke and could hear the fire trucks coming.  I am so proud of how all the kids stayed calm as we exited the building and waited patiently outside until we were given the “all clear” sign to return.  Thankfully, it wasn’t anything serious and no damage was done.  We were so happy that the weather was a mild 55 degree day with sunny skies while we outside waiting.  In April, one never knows what kind of weather we will have in Milwaukee! 

Now that the Museum Trip is done we are looking forward to the River Walk and the Zoo for Megan and Field Day with Heidi and Megan.  I love Field Day!!  At our school, Field Day, is an entire day spent outside doing active circuits like: duck-duck-goose, tug-of-war, sack races, bean bag toss, etc. 

Ask your school if you will be having a Field Day and get involved.  It’s a great way to meet other parents and teachers from your school.

Happy Volunteering!

• Write full name and phone number
• Know upper and lower case in/out of sequence
• Know colors and shapes
• Know numbers 1-50
• Count to 100
• Recognize patterns
• Skip count by 5’s and 10’s to 100
• Know money and value
• Read basic sentences
• Know days of the week and months of the year
• Understand weather concepts
• Know letter sounds

Here are the 7 things kids will be tested on in their first Kindergarten assessment test:

1. Know the uppercase alphabet and name the letters out of sequence or mixed up, such as: B, D, X, K, J, M, O, etc.
2. Know the numbers to 0-10 and identify the numbers out of sequence or mixed up, such as: 2, 5, 9, 8, 1, 3, 4, etc.
3. Identify basic colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
4. Identify basic shapes: circle, diamond, rectangle, triangle, oval, and square.
5. Identify basic coins: penny, nickel, and dime.
6. Count objects to 10.
7. Show how far they can count toward 100.

Make learning this fun!!! Practice this information when driving with your child, searching for shapes, colors and letters to make learning interactive.  Counting is a great activity for bath time.  Shopping with your child is a great time to practice coins.  Empower your child to get ready for Kindergarten!

Some more tips to help include these seven things in your daily living with your youngsters:

• Pick out shapes, one a day, in a room.  First, print a circle and hang it up in that room and then all day, find that shape in the room and make a list.  Go slow to begin with, perhaps one shape a week.
• For the grocery store, give each child their own list (around ages 3-5), that they had to pick out themselves, find the price and write it down on their list paper.  If we just had a few things to buy, one child would stand up by the register and read the price of the item as it was scanned – sometimes, the checker even let the kids scan the items themselves!
• For ABC letters, use the newspapers – a different letter each day.  By dinner, the kids must choose one page and circle all of that letter (upper- and lower-case letters being separate).
• Kids count change each day when hubby comes home from work – one child counts per day and then have them put the money in a bank that has separate slots for each coin.
• For colors, take the kids to a fabric shop.  Tell them the colors you are looking for, for a project, and have them go find what they like and talk about the colors and selection options.

Education needs to change, and it needs to start at preschool and Kindergarten Roundup.  Kindergarten Roundup is happening all cross the country in February.  Schools say that they are testing our children at Kindergarten Roundup.  They are not testing Kindergarten concepts but are testing fine motor skills to determine if there are any learning issues, but parents are not aware of that!! Kindergarten roundup is where parents should be told about the Kindergarten assessment testing on the Kindergarten curriculum during the first few weeks of school in fall. 

This is not happening!  WHY?

Milwaukee Public Schools has a billion dollar budget and spent $20 million dollars on consultants last year.  That money is not filtering into the classroom.  I could walk into any classroom at MPS and ask the students what is wrong with education and I am sure they would nail it. I asked my second- and fourth-grader that same question about their public school in Random Lake, WI and here is what they said:

1. Mom, in fourth-grade, we only get one recess for 20 minutes…and they wonder why we are obese.  Note: Our school just received a huge grant to combat childhood obesity at our school.
2. It was 60 degrees outside last week, and on that day, our elementary principal made an announcement that if you did not wear your heavy winter jacket with hats and gloves you would be allowed to play outside but had to stay against the wall outside.  My kids had to stand against the wall because I put them in a shirt with a heavy long sleeved sweatshirt under a sleeveless down jacket, no hat or gloves.  I personally did not wear a jacket that day because it was 60.  My kids were not allowed to run around on that day and half of their classmates had to stand against the wall because their parents dressed them inappropriately for the weather.  Are you kidding me?  It was 60!
3. Mom, we only have 10 minutes to eat.  This is a problem that comes up during my workshops.  Many teachers and parents complain that we have a problem with our allotted time for school lunch.  Note to educators, it takes 10-15 minutes to get through the line, leaving only 10 minutes to eat and that is simply not long enough and think of all the food that is being wasted!!!
4. State testing begins in third-grade.  My daughter tells me in fourth-grade, for the entire month of October she is talking a test twice a day.  No one ever goes through the test with her to tell her if her answer is right or wrong.  So, she wants to know how these tests help her learn, especially since they ask the same question over and over and she isn’t sure if she is answering it correctly over and over.  If she takes a spelling test, she gets the answers back so she learns from her mistake!  Her question is, how is she learning from all these tests?  Good question, Heidi!  Mom does not know the answer!  Do you?
5. In Wisconsin, we have Sage Funding, meaning schools get money from the state to guarantee that we have a 15-to-1 student/teacher ratio.  Unfortunately, the money was given to schools but schools were not enforcing the sage requirements until last year.  Might this be happening in Illinois?
6. Education will never change until we start empowering parents and kids into the process.  Case Study:  Harvard, Illinois, Washington Elementary School.  I did a presentation last year to 40 families of which 38 could NOT speak English.  With the help of one of their bilingual Kindergarten teachers, we shared with the kids and the parents what they would need to know for Kindergarten and the school could see a definite improvement in this group.  Some of these families even joined the PTO and became active in their school.  If you teach a child to wear their seat belt they will teach everyone or remind mom when she is not wearing it to buckle up – so if you teach a child what they need to know, like their shapes and colors or count to 100, they will keep reminding their to parents over and over that they need to practice!!  It’s about empowering parents, kids and teachers to all work together to embrace education!

Education needs to change and this story needs to be told! Please share it with all your friends.  How would you change education?