Supporting Kindergarten Transitions at Lopez Island Family Resource Center
As a new school year begins, it’s a big time of transition—graduates head off to college, elementary students move up to middle school, and preschoolers take their first steps into kindergarten. To ease this transition, the Lopez Island Family Resource Center (LIFRC) offered multiple programs over the past year, giving incoming kindergartners positive, supported experiences both at Lopez Island School District (LISD) and with their new peers before their very first day.
For the past two summers, LIFRC has hosted a Kindergarten Welcome Picnic at Lopez Elementary. Families gathered to share a picnic dinner on the playground, giving students a chance to meet one another in a familiar setting surrounded by their parents—without the bustle of older students around. Ms. Kendra, the Kindergarten teacher, Martha (LISD Principal), and Brady (LISD Superintendent) joined the event to welcome their newest students with big smiles.
New to the lineup this summer was a special camp just for incoming Kindergartners: “Fairy Tales & Creature Tails.” With Kindergarten beginning later in the week than the rest of the elementary grades, this camp not only created a perfect opportunity for some last-minute fun and learning, it also filled a vital gap for necessary childcare.
New to the lineup this summer was a special camp just for incoming Kindergartners: “Fairy Tales & Creature Tails.” With Kindergarten beginning later in the week than the rest of the elementary grades, this camp not only created a perfect opportunity for some last-minute fun and learning, it also filled a vital gap for necessary childcare.
Outdoor learning was also a key part of the summer through Seed to Sprout, a six-week gardening program held in the Lopez School Garden. While the program welcomed all preschoolers, many incoming Kindergartners participated, learning about plant parts, beneficial insects, and what seeds need to grow. Each week, families joined circle time to read a gardening story and take part in related activities, from crafting “bug hotels” out of recyclables to exploring which nasturtiums were mild enough to eat. The program wrapped up with hands-on projects in the school’s Sensory Garden, just outside the Kindergarten classroom, where students painted rocks, made plant tags, and crafted wind chimes to leave their personal mark.
Through the books, campers explored big topics—like bravery and trying new things—and connected them to their own feelings about starting school. They also practiced important classroom-readiness skills such as sitting together, taking turns, and listening with open hearts.
Learning happened in the most natural way possible for children—through play! Campers counted feathers at the beach, made up rhymes, strengthened fine motor skills by cutting and gluing, and built everything from “just right” beds for Goldilocks to tall block beanstalks for Jack. They wrote letters to family members, created safe landings for Humpty Dumpty, and shaped Gingerbread cookies from playdough.
One highlight was reading a new version of The Gingerbread Man, where the character explored a school using a blueprint. Campers studied a blueprint of Lopez Elementary and then designed their own, carefully noting the places most important to them: Ms. Kendra’s classroom, the MPR (lunchroom), the office, and—of course—the playground!
Together, these programs nurtured pro-social and resiliency skills in a developmentally appropriate way, using intentional routines and carefully scaffolded experiences. Parents shared how much the programs boosted their children’s confidence—one parent said, “This was exactly the kind of program my kid needed to give them more confidence for their first day of Kindergarten.”
These programs were made possible thanks to support from Wellpoint, Sunset Builder’s Supply, No Child Left Inside, LISD staff and Master Gardener volunteers, and Lopez Thrift Shop. A heartfelt thank you as well to LISD for providing the space to host these special opportunities.