Have you ever wanted a clear and easy way to communicate what a child should know before entering kindergarten? With a letter to next year’s parents, you can send home a quick summary of everything their child should know! Today, I wanted to share the letter I send home every year.
Every spring, I start testing students who come into kindergarten the following year. I know schools gather information about these students in a variety of ways. Some schools hold kindergarten round-ups. Some take the first few weeks of the school year to observe and determine which students should be grouped.
I like to use digital assessments to keep track of each student’s information and make the process more engaging for the incoming students.
Assessment for Incoming Students
I work at a small private school, so I don’t have a huge influx of students coming to test. The front office notifies me when a family has applied, and I test each child individually.
After each test, I meet with the parents and go over the assessment with them. I always give them some things they could work on over the summer. I also let them know what resources they could use (such as starfall.com for letter recognition).
The office completes the family’s paperwork and sends them home with a supply list. I decided to write a letter to attach to the supply list for the parents to keep at home. This letter reminds parents about my expectations for the beginning of the school year and provides them with a little direction about what to focus on over the summer.
Beginning of the Year Skills
The following skills are what I want parents to focus on the most over the coming months before school starts:
- Number recognition – I want them to know their numbers to 10 at a minimum, but more is always better.
- Letter recognition – Preferably, they will come in knowing all of their letter names and some of their letter sounds. Many parents tell me that their child knows the letter names, as evidenced by repeating the alphabet song. They are shocked when I inform them that they need to know their letters out of order and in isolation.
- Name writing – capital at the beginning and lowercase for the rest.
( preferably not so large that it takes up the entire paper : ) - Belts and buttons – just say no to accidents!
- Listening skills – If children can sustain their attention while reading books at home, chances are they will be able to do it in the classroom as well.
Letter to Next Year’s Parents
I made sure to add to the letter that all children learn at a different pace. While these are the skills I would LOVE to see mastered by the first day of kindergarten, it’s not the end of the world if they aren’t.
Being realistic, some parents will take this letter and make sure their child knows every single thing I listed. Other parents will toss it in the circular file. I know not every parent will work on these things diligently over the summer. If I can get a few of them to do it, my job will be SOOO much easier at the beginning of the year.
This letter is meant to empower parents with the information needed to start their children off on the right foot at school. It also serves as a call to partner with them to increase their child’s academic growth. If parents can see their child’s education as a partnership between teachers and parents right from the beginning, everyone wins!
If you would like a free copy of this letter to share with your parents, just fill out the info. below!
I’ve also created a more visual representation of the letter to next year’s parents if that would work better for you, or send both home together!
Need some more assistance with parent communication? Check out my tips and tricks for parent conferences!
