Several kindergarteners to be are ready to hit the ground running when they reach Allemands Elementary next month, thanks to the debut of a new summer camp project.
Camp Kindergarten was a two-week long summer camp for students readying to enter kindergarten at the school this year, offered free of charge. 30 students attended the camp this year, and Allemands kindergarten teacher Logan Cancienne said the hope is that the camp roster grows larger next summer and over the coming years.
The camp’s first week was June 12th-15th and the second week was June 26th-29th with a Parent FAQ Session on the 30th.
Cancienne came up with the idea for the camp, brainstorming it as an opportunity to help students for what’s become more of a jump from pre-K to the full-time kindergarten level than it has been in the past. She brought the idea to Allemands Principal Lisa Perrin, collaborated with her fellow teachers and once the camp was approved, things quickly swung into motion.
“Each year, we have students coming into kindergarten from Allemands Pre-K, Head Start, different daycares in the community, and some with no previous schooling,” Cancienne said. “Our goal was to reach out to all of these students to build the kindergarten readiness skills and social skills needed for school.”
Cancienne, entering her sixth year as a kindergarten teacher at Allemands, said building relationships with the students before the start of the school year can be very beneficial.
“So, hopefully when they arrive in August, they’re not crying and wanting to go home with Mom … we’ve had a lot of that,” Cancienne said. “Now, it’s more like, ‘Wow, I remember her!” And they’re more comfortable and excited to see us.”
She added that the curriculum these days for kindergarten is more rigorous than many people might realize.
“There’s the misconception that kindergarten is just playtime, centers, and socialization,” Cancienne said. “In St. Charles Parish, we follow rigorous curriculums for all subject areas. By the end of kindergarten, students are expected to read stories, write words independently, and solve math problems. We want to provide students with engaging, interactive experiences to excite them for their kindergarten year and give them a head start on their learning.”
Each day of the camp was split into morning and afternoon sessions, with a group of students attending for one or the other. Parents were able to choose which was preferred. There was a focus on math and counting in the first week, and there was story time every day. The second week focused on language arts – writing names, identifying letters and sounds and other skills.
The teachers made the lessons fun and playful, however, and there were lots of games over the two weeks.
““We had some sort of game or activity for each lesson,” Cancienne said. “We wanted to make learning fun. They were able to walk around and see the school. They were able to get familiar with it.”
The teachers also were able to meet their upcoming students and get their own head start on learning how to best meet the needs of each of those students.
“What kids need support in what areas, and which kids are able to help the other students,” Cancienne said. “We’re getting to know the kids before starting school. If someone is having a very hard time adjusting, we can work with them and figure it out.”
At the end of each of the two weeks, parents were surveyed for suggestions and feedback.
Be the first to comment