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Connection Collection

Annotation from the Connection Collection

You are viewing a record from the Connection Collection, a searchable annotated bibliography database. It links you with research-based information that you can use to connect schools, families, and communities.

Annotation:
This manual describes an approach for enhancing children's transition to kindergarten. The approach systematically addresses the multiple social connections that affect children's transition to school, including interactions between teachers and children, children and peers, parents and teachers, as well as preschool teachers and kindergarten teachers. It offers a variety of transition strategies that can be tailored to the individual needs of families and schools and describes a framework and the key principles in formulating a community transition plan. The manual is meant to provide a springboard from which communities can develop their own specific transition strategies. The researchers identify five guiding principles for enhancing children's transition to kindergarten: fostering relationships as resources; promoting continuity from preschool to kindergarten by focusing on family strengths; tailoring practices to individual needs; and forming collaborative relationships. The authors explain the Ecological and Dynamic Model of Transition (Rimm-Kaufman & Pianta, 1999) as a basis for this approach. They discuss planning, implementation, and the collaborative team in detail. This manual provides the "how to" for districts or schools in planning and implementing kindergarten transition programs.

Suggested Citation Style:

• Kraft-Sayre, M. E., & Pianta, R. C. (2000). Enhancing the transition to kindergarten. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia, National Center for Early Development & Learning.