First 5 Marin Helps Kids Prepare for Kindergarten

While most children are still enjoying summer vacation, some kids are already getting ready for their “first day of school.” More than 200 Marin County youngsters have been participating in “Summer Bridge,” the kindergarten preparation program offered by First 5 Marin.

Each year, First 5 Marin runs the Summer Bridge program, a comprehensive kindergarten preparation course for children with little or no preschool experience. (In Novato, the program is known as “Kinder Academy.”) The program is intended to familiarize children with a school schedule, a classroom environment, working with a teacher and interacting with other students. The children also learn basic classroom skills that are critical for future learning in kindergarten. The program allows children to arrive at the first day of school ready to participate and learn, rather than being afraid, unfamiliar and unsure.

This year, First 5 Marin offered 12 Summer Bridge classrooms throughout Marin County— five in San Rafael (June 30th to July 30th), four in Novato (July 6th to August 6th), and one each in Marin City (June 14th to July 16th), the San Geronimo Valley (June 28 to July 30th), and West Marin (June 21 to July 22). Each classroom welcomed up to 20 children each.

Summer Bridge is provided at no cost to families. Regular attendance is required, as is family participation. Children enroll in Summer Bridge through their participation in First 5 Marin School Readiness programs (in the five communities above). First 5 offers school readiness activities throughout the year, and Summer Bridge is a key component of the program designed to get young children ready for school.

Curriculum – The five-week Summer Bridge program follows a carefully designed curriculum that introduces and reinforces basic classroom activities and beginner school skills. The curriculum focuses on four basic areas of child development: social/emotional development (adjusting to new situations, respecting the classroom, following classroom routines, playing well with other children); physical development (gross motor skills like running, jumping, climbing, balancing, and fine motor skills like using pencils, markers, crayons, scissors); cognitive development (enjoying and valuing reading, counting and using numbers, concentrating and focusing, and working with colors, shapes and object names); and language and communication development (listening, following directions, speaking and answering questions).

Pre- and post-attendance assessments show that children participating in Summer Bridge make statistically-significant gains in all four areas of child development. All skills are necessary for success in school.

The curriculum was developed by Marin Head Start, and reviewed by child development experts, teachers and school personnel. The curriculum is intended to develop the skills and attributes that teachers, education experts and other professionals consider when looking at a child’s “school readiness.”

Daily Schedule – To help the children prepare for a kindergarten schedule, the Summer Bridge program follows a regular schedule each day, Monday to Friday for five weeks. Class begins at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at 11:30 a.m. Every day includes an “opening circle time” with a welcome greeting and a calendar activity; snack and outside physical activity and play; large group instruction (numbers, letters, and shapes), small group instruction, learning centers (with teacher-directed activities), clean up and a closing circle with story time.

Children’s Health – The Summer Bridge programs places a major emphasis on children’s health, both in teaching healthy habits and in getting health screenings in preparation for kindergarten. This year, the goal is to refer children with health concerns to community clinics and other providers for appropriate vision, hearing and oral health screenings or treatment before school starts. (The State of California now requires children to have dental exams before school, as well as an up-to-date immunization record. Summer Bridge staff helps by providing information about free and low-cost health insurance for Marin County children, as well as referrals to clinics or services for those who need medical care before kindergarten.)

Nutrition – A special Summer Bridge program teaches the benefits of healthy eating habits. The children learn about the “food pyramid” and the importance of selecting fruits, vegetables, grains and proteins each day. Children—and families—learn the importance of starting the day with a healthy breakfast and packing a healthy lunch for school. All the students received a BPA-free water bottle and a lunch box with individual compartments, allowing them to place foods from different food groups in each compartment. It is always a big hit with teachers, parents and children.

Raising a Reader – Working with the Parent Services Project and local libraries, Summer Bridge offers the “Raising a Reader” program to promote the enjoyment of books and pre-reading skills (and to encourage regular visits to the library). This program provides each child with a book bag and books to be taken home for family reading time; books are returned and rotated with each child in the class. The program fosters healthy brain development in young children, and encourages parent-child bonding and early literacy skills vital to success in school.

Family Fridays – A key component to the Summer Bridge program is the development of parent and family involvement; this is accomplished through mandatory “Family Fridays.” The purpose is to make parents feel comfortable in the school setting, introduce them to school and classroom systems, familiarize them with the teacher, and help them transition into the elementary school culture as parents who are engaged in their children’s learning and participate actively. This year, many special activities were offered on Family Fridays, including a visit from “Wildcare” of San Rafael, teaching appreciation of nature, animals and our natural environment.

“First 5 Marin’s Summer Bridge program changes lives,” said Mary Jane Burke, Superintendent of Marin County Schools. “My wish is for every child to be as engaged in the classroom as the children who participate in Summer Bridge. It makes school a positive and successful experience when the children are prepared, know what to expect and are ready to learn.”

Success in school leads to success in life. At First 5 Marin, we want kids to be ready…ready to participate and ready to succeed!

First 5 Marin is an independent government agency dedicated to children’s health, school readiness & community and family support for Marin County kids—from the prenatal stage through age five.