EMS ISD Kindergarten Teachers Make Sure Moving into Early Education is a Breeze

Whether your youngsters begin pre-kindergarten or kindergarten this fall, the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District specializes in smoothly transitioning them into the programs. 

Teachers and staff are focused on making  the experience as easy and stress-free as possible. They ensure their students have fun, spend their days working on age-appropriate lessons and activities, and prepare them for their next steps. 

Pre-K provides a safe environment with teachers trained to handle all situations. Emphasis is placed on addressing each child’s individual needs for such activities as tying shoes, zipping jackets, and even wiping noses. Plus, children learn through purposeful play. 

“Teaching and learning happen while students are actively playing, and everything we do in pre-K is to prepare our students to be successful as they advance into kindergarten,” said Rocio Young, a pre-K teacher at Hafley Development Center.

Pre-K teachers typically greet students, guide them to put away their backpacks, and begin their work. Classroom assistants aid with meals, after which they join the teacher for circle time to review the calendar, complete writing and reading group lessons, and participate in reading aloud together, singing, or
classroom discussion. 

Then, students work at their tables on a specific task or join in small group lessons. Next, they go to play centers. In a typical pre-K classroom, there are math, science, literacy, art, drama, construction, technology, puzzles, and sensory tables. The daily schedule also includes a 20-minute recess, and a 15-minute snack break. Students also have specials time, when classrooms are visited by the librarian or counselor, or they use the computer lab or STEM cart full of hands-on activities.

Kindergarten offers similar activities and even more.

“Our classes offer both ‘seat learning’ time and fun instructional games, activities, and songs,” said Ashlee Szymanski, a kindergarten teacher at Lake Pointe Elementary. “We also have recess, lunch, and what we call ‘specials’ time, when students rotate between PE, art, or
music class.”

Success in both programs is reached through collaborative efforts between teachers and parents, the latter of whom are encouraged to assist their children with recognizing letters and sounds, and on numbers and counting.

“We want to be educational partners with parents, so we set strong foundations of support and encouragement for our young learners,” Szymanski added. 

Parents with questions about their children’s experience can easily communicate with their teachers by email, telephone, or the Remind or SeeSaw mobile applications. Also available are in-person or virtual conferences.