Young Fives ‐ Palo Alto Unified School District

Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
YOUNG
FIVES
A
program
for
young
kindergarten
aged
children
and
their
parents
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Young
Fives
is:
• A
program
offered
by
the
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
(PAUSD)
• Designed
for
children
who:
o  Are
age
eligible
for
kindergarten
but
are
not
developmentally
ready
o  Exhibit
signs
of
immaturity
or
youngness
• Intended
as
an
extra
year
of
kindergarten
• A
parent
participation
program
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
History
1975
1985
1987
2009
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Our
Philosophy
is:
For
the
children:
To
help
children
stretch
and
move
toward
their
potential
cognitively,
socially,
emotionally,
and
physically
To
help
children
learn
to
be
part
of
a
group
and
to
move
beyond
their
own
needs
and
desires
To
help
children
be
flexible
and
resilient
To
help
children
become
responsible
for
their
actions
To
help
children
become
problem
solvers
To
help
children
feel
confident
To
help
children
love
learning
and
school
For
the
parents:
To
help
each
parent
gain
an
understanding
of
the
age
appropriate
milestones
and
expectations
for
five
year
olds.
To
help
each
parent
learn
effective
ways
to
become
actively
involved
in
his/her
child’s
education.
To
help
parents
build
a
life
long
community
of
peers
for
both
their
children
and
themselves.
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Building
Blocks
of
Kindergarten
Readiness*
Self‐regulation:
Comforts
self,
pays
attention,
controls
impulses,
follows
directions,
negotiates
solutions,
plays
cooperatively,
participates
in
circle
time,
handles
frustrations
Social:
Expresses
sympathy,
relates
well
to
adults,
curious
and
eager
to
learn,
expresses
needs
and
wants,
engages
in
symbolic
play
Self-care: Performs
basic
self‐
help
and
care
skills
Motor
Skills:
Uses
small
manipulatives
well,
has
general
coordination
Academic:
Engages
with
books,
recognizes
colors,
shapes,
and
letters,
counts
ten
objects,
writes
own
first
name,
can
recognize
rhyming
words
*
“Basic
Building
Blocks
of
Readiness”,
Applied
Survey
Research
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
The
Parents’
Role
• Parents
act
as
teacher
assistants
• Several
parents
work
in
the
classroom
each
day
• One
parent
per
family
is
required
to
help
one
day
each
week
• Parents
attend
two
evening
discussion
meetings
per
month
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Daily
Schedule
8:30
‐
8:45
Nametags,
stow
lunch
boxes,
and
outside
play
8:45
‐
9:10
Rug
time
‐
Teacher
and
children
Workparents
set
up
individual
activities
9:10
‐
10:15
Activity
time
–
Workparents
work
with
groups
of
children 10:15
‐
10:25 Clean
up
–
EVERYONE
helps
10:25
‐
11:20
Snack
and
outside
time
Adults
monitor
and
engage
children
in
outside
activities
11:20
‐
11:30
Yard
cleanup
–
EVERYONE
helps
11:30
–
11:40
The
run
‐
Children
run
two
laps
as
a
group
11:45
–
12:05 Lunch
‐
Children
eat
in
small
groups
with
adults
12:05
–
12:10 Children
come
into
the
room
and
select
a
book
from
bins
to
“read”
quietly
on
the
carpet
12:10
–
12:15 Final
rug
time
12:15
Dismissal
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Fine
Motor
Students
will
practice
and
learn
fine
motor
skills
that
will
make
them
successful
in
kindergarten:
Pencil
grip
Scissor
cutting
Writing
first
name
Coloring
in
the
lines
Crossing
midline
Activities
to
support
fine
motor
development:
Clay
Play
dough
Short
crayons
Short
pencils
Easel
Chalkboard
for
working
on
different
planes
Painting
Small
manipulatives
–
puzzles,
small
piece
building
materials,
etc.
Tactile
materials
‐
rice
and
beans,
sand,
shaving
cream,
gak
Using
pincer
grip
for
picking
things
up
Sewing
Woodworking
Taking
apart
machines
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Gross
Motor
Students
will
practice
and
learn
gross
motor
skills
that
will
make
them
successful
in
kindergarten:
General
coordination
and
strength
building
Ball
throwing,
catching,
kicking
Running
Jumping
Skipping,
hopping
Jump
rope
Riding
tricycles,
scooters,
two
wheelers
Activities
to
support
gross
motor
development:
Soccer
drills
Basketball
Dodge
ball
Bikes,
trikes,
and
scooters
Hula
hoops
Bean
bags
Ropes
Scooter
boards
Wooden
spoons
and
wooden
eggs
Tag
Hide
and
seek
Movement,
dance
The
run
–
run
two
laps
every
day
October,
2010
Photograph
by
Graur
Codrin
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Pre‐Reading
Students
will
practice
and
learn
pre‐reading
skills
that
will
make
them
successful
in
kindergarten:
Recognize
colors
Letter
recognition
and
beginning
phonemes
Concepts
of
print,
engage
with
books
Read
own
first
name
Recognize
rhyming
words
Activities
to
support
pre‐reading
development:
Shared
reading
Interactive
readalouds
Nursery
rhymes
Picture
books,
oral
stories,
poems,
fairy
tales
Singing
the
alphabet
song
with
a
visual
Puzzles
Rhyming
games
Simple
board
games
Finger
play
and
direction
songs
Drawing
pictures
with
adult
labeling
Dictating
stories
Letter
sounds
as
they
emerge
Plays
–
acting
out
stories
Directed
drawing
lessons
–
drawing
a
person,
animal,
etc.
Sequencing
Tying
projects
to
literature
Pointing
out
words
on
posters
as
recited
Individual
name
cards
used
for
calling
children
to
lunch
Dress
up
and
dramatic
play
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Self‐Regulation
Students
will
practice
and
learn
self‐regulation
skills
that
will
make
them
successful
in
kindergarten:
Comfort
self
Pay
attention
Control
impulses
Follow
directions
Negotiate
solutions
Play
cooperatively
Participate
in
circle
time
Handle
frustrations
Body
awareness
Being
part
of
a
team
–
i.e.
clean
up
Activities
to
support
self‐regulation
development:
Discussions
–
small
and
large
groups
Books
Developmental
assets
Modeling
Role
playing
Positive
reinforcement
Team
games
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Self‐Care
Students
will
practice
and
learn
self‐care
skills
that
will
make
them
successful
in
kindergarten:
Washing
hands
Covering
nose
and
mouth
when
sneezing
and
coughing
Toileting
Helping
to
take
care
of
minor
cuts
and
scrapes
Carrying
own
lunch
box
and
backpack
Independence
with
putting
on
and
taking
off
jackets,
sweatshirts,
socks,
and
shoes
Independence
eating
lunch:
opening/closing
containers,
cleaning
up,
recycling
Activities
to
support
self‐care
skills
development:
Books
Songs
Realia
Discussions
Modeling
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Social
Competence
Students
will
practice
and
learn
social
competence
skills
that
will
make
them
successful
in
kindergarten:
Use
words
to
express
emotions
Use
verbalizations
to
enter
play
Successfully
enter
play
Relate
well
to
peers
Include
others
Using
words
to
express
needs
and
wants
Accept
losing
Use
manners
Play
cooperatively
Use
Conflict
Resolution
and/or
Social
Problem
Solving
to
solve
problems
Express
sympathy
Relate
well
to
adults
Engage
in
symbolic
play
Curious
and
eager
to
learn
Activities
to
support
social
competence
skills
development:
Role
playing
Books
and
stories
Modeling
from
adults
Organized
games
Extended
play
time
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Writing
Students
will
practice
and
learn
writing
skills
that
will
make
them
successful
in
kindergarten:
Appropriate
pencil
grip
Write
own
first
name
Draw
symbolic
pictures
to
illustrate
an
idea
Draw
a
person
with
realistic
body
parts
Activities
to
support
writing
skills
development:
Use
short
–
½
inch
crayons
and
short
pencils
Very
limited
marker
use
(because
markers
are
too
long
and
require
too
little
pressure)
Direct
instruction
on
letter
formation
Direct
instruction
on
drawing
Tracing
Dotting
out
letters
with
correct
formation
and
starting
point
Copying
Oral
cues
Giving
individual
short
lines
for
each
letter
in
a
word
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Math
Students
will
practice
and
learn
math
skills
that
will
make
them
successful
in
kindergarten:
Counting
Sorting
Number
recognition
–
numeral
and
quantity
Weight
and
measurement
Graphing
Patterning
Sequencing
Activities
to
support
math
skills
development:
Every
Day
Math
curriculum
for
Pre
K
Puzzles
Counting
children,
objects,
calendar
Sorting
classroom
and
collected
materials
Weight
and
measurement
of
children
and
things
Graphing
Pattern
blocks,
tangrams
Dominos
Math
games
Sequencing
pictures,
stories
Cooking
Blocks
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Science
Students
will
practice
and
learn
science
skills
that
will
make
them
successful
in
kindergarten:
Bugs,
snails,
silkworms,
spiders
Trees,
wood
Apples
Farm
and
pumpkins
Constellations
Animals
The
body,
senses,
skeleton,
heart
Eggs
Gardening
and
composting
Recycling
Color
mixing
States
of
matter
Volcanoes
Camping
activities
Activities
to
support
science
skills
development:
Books
Realia
Graphing
Experiments
Nature
walks
Class
fish,
worm
compost
bin,
silkworms
Cooking
Art
projects
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Geography,
History,
and
Culture
Students
will
practice
and
learn
skills
in
geography,
history,
and
cultural
awareness
that
will
make
them
successful
in
kindergarten:
The
globe
Maps
of
the
world,
the
United
States,
and
California
Thanksgiving
history
Presidents
Medieval
Times
Literature
based
cultural
celebrations
Activities
to
support
geography,
history,
and
cultural
awareness:
Postcards
students
and
families
send
in
Cultural
sharing
Large
pull
down
maps
Globe
Books
Discussions
Art
projects
Castle
Day
–
a
reenactment
of
medieval
times
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Vocabulary
and
Language
Development
Students
will
increase
their
vocabulary
and
develop
their
language
skills
to
make
them
successful
in
kindergarten:
Students
will
speak
in
full
sentences
Students
will
use
expressive
language
Students
will
orally
participate
during
large
and
small
group
time
Students
will
use
language
to
problem
solve
Students
will
learn
and
use
new
vocabulary
Students
will
learn
and
use
academic
vocabulary
Activities
to
support
vocabulary
and
language
development:
Direct
instruction
Realia
Repetition
Using
words
across
the
curriculum
Teaching
many
words
that
mean
the
same
thing:
i.e.
large,
huge,
enormous,
tremendous…
Focusing
on
using
full
sentences
when
speaking
Literature
Nursery
rhymes
Sharing
time
Telling
riddles
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Family
Engagement
Parents
will
increase
their
knowledge
of
the
five
year
old
child
and
learn
skills
for
working
as
an
assistant
in
the
classroom:
Developmental
milestones
Appropriate
expectations
–
developmental
and
academic
Limit
setting
Values
clarification
Children’s
friendships
Social
Problem
Solving
and
Conflict
Resolution
Building
community
Parents
role
in
their
child’s
education
Activities
to
support
parent
education:
Large
and
small
group
discussions,
activities,
and
reflections
Burning
issues
Word
pictures
describing
cognitive,
emotional/social,
physical,
and
language
characteristics
of
five
year
olds
Teacher
modeling
Opportunities
to
apply
new
learned
parenting
skills
in
the
classroom
Ongoing
teacher
feedback
and
support
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
Enrichment
In
Young
Fives
we
offer
a
variety
of
enrichment
activities
beyond
the
regular
classroom.
• Movement
• Music
• Field
Trips
• Lunch
Groups
• Extended
Day
October,
2010
Young
Fives
‐
Palo
Alto
Unified
School
District
We
Build
Confidence!
Students
will
increase
their
level
of
confidence
to
be
successful
in
kindergarten:
Speaking
in
an
audible,
confident
voice
Being
appropriately
assertive
Relating
well
to
adults
Engaging
with
peers
Making
and
increasing
friendships
Solving
conflicts
Activities
to
support
confidence
building:
Individual
sharing
–
getting
up
in
front
of
the
group
regularly
Role
playing
Plays
‐
informal
literature
based
Trying
new
activities
and
things
Identifying
tasks
that
are
hard
and
celebrating
accomplishments
Conflict
Resolution
and
Social
Problem
Solving
strategies
Stories
Positive
feedback
October,
2010