Any one involved in a Primary Readiness Progr

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Home : 2006 : January : 30

Any one involved in a Primary Readiness Progr
By teach4041

Hi there
I am a teacher in northern Alberta Canada. My first year teaching, I taught Primary Readiness - it was a grade between Kindergarten and grade 1 for children who were new to school or not quite ready for grade
1.
I am teaching at a school now where I have been for the past 3 yrs. Our students are able to start school as long as they will be 5 before March so many of my students arrive at school at 4 1/2. There is not a lot of parental involvement and probably 75% of the children arrive at school with little or no skills. They do not know numbers, colours, shapes or alphabet. Many have

not been read to, they do not know how to hold a pencil let alone print.
We are now as a board using testing, and I am finding that based on this testing out of my current class of 13 2 will go to grade 1 as they have repeated Kindergarten, and 3 will be ready.
Because of the age the children are starting, I would like to put a proposal to our local board to begin a Primary Readiness Program. I would teach this along with Kindergarten and it would allow these young children a second year without retaining them in Kindergarten and allow them to mature and develop the skills needed to succeed.
I am interested in talking with anyone who has this type of a program, what you teach in it and research if there is some about the success of the program.
Thanks very much for your help.
Carolyn