Priming your child for a day in kindergarten

Just some ideas for things you might find fun:

  1. The week’s morning song. If possible, get your child acquainted with the song (usually mentioned in the weekly EFD Newsletter). Some of you are clearly doing this already. Many of the kindergarten kids contributed fiercely to “Go Down Moses” last week!
  2. Talk about what day today is. We review the weekday each morning in kindergarten. There’s always an opportunity to talk about what month it is too, or what season.
  3. What words contain this letter? Again, something we talk about every morning. A child picks a letter from a stack of cards, and we try to find words that include the letter. This is a game that can be played almost anywhere, any time. (You don’t need a stack of cards!)
  4. Talk about the menu: We ask every day at the morning meeting if anybody knows what we’re having for lunch. On Mondays it’s hard for Lucia the cook to know, for logistical, vegetable delivery-related reasons. But on Tuesdays there’s always soup and bread, and Lucia sends out the week’s menu as soon as she can afterwards. Knowing something about the day gives a sense of ownership and control. And the rest of the children are impressed by the ones that have appropriate and interesting information.
  5. Retell stories. We’ve read (or rather: Lise has read) and play-acted “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” this week. The kids know it more or less by heart already. (“Les Trois Boucs bourrus” in French. “Bukkene Bruse” in Danish.) It’s a fun story to tell together.
  6. Sing songs: Popular songs in the kindergarten right now are “Un éléphant qui se balançait“, “Hode, skulder, kne og tå” (“Têteépaulesgenoux et pieds“), “Hjulene på bussen” (“Les roues de l’autobus“) and “De skøre knogler”. Please tell us if the children are particularly fond of any songs at home! (In any language.)