By Melissa Hermiston
Cariboo-Chilcotin Partners for Literacy
Starting kindergarten is a huge – and sometimes difficult – milestone for children and parents alike. While some kiddos make the transition to elementary school with ease, others can take a little longer to settle in.
With the help of early years facilitators in the community, Cariboo-Chilcotin Partners for Literacy has been offering a fun-filled and free kindergarten transition program to help both the child and caregiver prepare for the start of school.
Block Builders are play-focused parent participation classes for children who will be entering kindergarten in the fall. The classes are based around the use of the ever-popular Lego building blocks. Program leaders help to facilitate activities between parent and child, which aim to build upon a huge range of literacy skills – communication, following direction, storytelling, patterning, sequencing, counting and more.
One such activity is called “Build a Story,” which includes a reading a quick children’s book as a group, then allowing the children to create something from that story – a scene or a continuation of the story - using base plates and building blocks. Once children are done with their creation, they present to the rest of the group, which encourages confident public speaking and sharing skills.
Plenty of time for “free building” is also included to allow little ones to express their imaginations and creative skill with the building blocks.
The hour-long Block Builder sessions also feature activities that little ones will likely experience in Kindergarten, such as learning to write their name, singing songs at circle time and lining up for snacks.
CCPL staff in Williams Lake will be facilitating Block Builders sessions between Feb. 2 and March 2 on Thursdays from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. To find out more and to register, email donya@caribooliteracy.com or call 250-392-7833.
Melissa Hermiston is the marketing and social awareness facilitator for Cariboo-Chilcotin Partners for Literacy.
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