The ABC of Child Care: K is for

ByChristie Burnett

K is for Kindy Transition

Beginning school is a major milestone in young children’s lives, and research confirms that a happy transition to school is vital in setting foundations for future academic and social success. Child care centres provide a perfect platform for educators and families to work together to provide each child preparing for school with a solid foundation and a positive, successful transition to school.

A positive transition to school program will focus on all areas of development and consider the knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes children need to succeed at school.

Often parents focus on the early literacy (learning about the alphabet, pre-reading and pre-writing) aspects of kindy preparation however it has been established that;

  • Well developed social skills,
  • The ability to communicate confidently,
  • Thinking, reasoning and problem solving skills, and
  • Emotional stability and resilience,

are key to a child’s smooth transition. A well run child care centre will have a dedicated transition policy and program to assist to prepare the child and family for this major change.

To read more about successful transitions, check out my previous posts;

  • School readiness: What the teachers say
  • School readiness: It’s not about reading and writing
  • Preparing for the Practicalities of Starting School
  • The Preschool Balancing Act
  • A Fine Line

Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.

2 Comments

  1. miss carly says:

    Completely agree. I wrote an article in relation to this for a website and emphasised the need to look beyond the academic side of learning and look more at the skills, knowledge and attitude that your children have in relation to all domains of learning.

    Great post as always 🙂

  2. I knew very little about transitioning to school, until my oldest was preparing to go. I do home day care myself, but he's (still) the oldest child I've cared for. My poor little guinea pig! But one of the things that surprised me, but which seems obvious now, is how many non-academic skills kids need to prepare for kindergarten. Basic independence, social skills, and the ability to sit still and listen to instructions are all really important. I do work with kids on letters and numbers and so on, but it really is important to remember all the other things that go into success in school. Thanks for pointing that out!

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