Parents                       

Educators                 

Community Partners

Welcome to Kindergarten's enrichment resources were developed with knowledge of the significant role that play has in early childhood development and learning. We are proud to share the poem Just Playing which illustrates just how and what children develop and learn through play.

(with the permission of author and copyright owner Ms. Anita Wadley)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Early Literacy Resources

The Welcome to Kindergarten team provides resources for Parents, Educators and Community Partners.  Materials found on this site will help to support the activities of the programs key stakeholders.

 

Featured Enrichment Early Learning Resources

The WTK newsletter "Show and Tell" is available three times yearly: September, January and April. 

WTK Newsletter - Spring 2010 - English  

WTK Newsletter - Spring 2010 - Français

Read Archived Newsletters 

Welcome to Kindergarten CD

The Welcome to Kindergarten Program provides parents and their pre-school children  with the resources and experiences to begin their child’s formal education with a foundation in early learning and literacy, nurtured within their home.   

Welcome to Kindergarten CD
Music and Lyrics by Bob Schneider
Children’s singer and songwriter, Bob Schneider, has recorded ten songs for the Welcome to Kindergarten program. The songs are fun, interactive and encourage children and their families to join in by singing, dancing and moving to the rhythm of the songs. 

Order the Welcome to Kindergarten CD 

WTK CD order form -  English  

WTK CD order form -  Français  

Download the WTK CD lyrics so your kids can sing along!

WTK CD lyrics - English

WTK CD lyrics - Français

 

Welcome to Kindergarten My Story Scrapbook

A new resource for the WTK Orientation developed with the publishing assistance of Pearson Canada. In this new book, the story of a WTK Orientation is told so the child and family can revisit their experiences and then do activities together that can be shown on the scrapbook pages.

How will this new resource enrich your WTK program?

• The story will help families recall what happened and what they learned at their WTK Orientation.

• The At Home activity suggestions reinforce the messages given at the WTK Orientation.

• The scrapbook provides a place for the children and their parents/caregivers to respond to the suggested activities.

• If children are encouraged to bring their Story Scrapbook to school for show and tell/sharing time, teachers can gather important information about the child’s early learning experiences in the home.

Scrapbook order form - English

Scrapbook order form - Français

 

Welcome to Kindergarten Calendar

Download the months of May, June July and August 2010.

 WTK Calendar - English   

 WTK Calendar - Français

For each calendar month, family activities are suggested that are fun and will help the child develop understandings that are the foundation of reading.

We, at the Learning Partnership, hope that our Welcome to Kindergarten™ calendar of activities will be used by parents and caregivers to help children develop curiosity, imagination and confidence as they begin to prepare for their adventures in learning.

There are four building blocks that make up the foundation for reading and writing.

Reading begins with talking and listening
Children who become good readers are children who are good talkers. That is, they have a big vocabulary and are able to talk in sentences.

Stories and books: The backbone of early reading
When children listen to stories either from books or through storytelling, they come to understand such things as the beginning, middle and end.  They broaden their understanding of the different ways people act and speak; they learn to predict an outcome; they learn to follow a sequence of events and pick out important details. These are some of the main skills needed for reading.

Play and language
Children’s play is one of the most important ways children learn language. Most parents see the value in playing language games but do not realize that make-believe play is one of the most important activities for the development of language. This is not only true of listening and speaking, but of reading and writing as well.

Reading and writing are all around
Reading and writing are everywhere in any child’s world. Seeing adults read and write in every day life helps children understand the importance of these skills in getting along in the world. Being unable to read and write is one of the biggest barriers to a successful life.