R-T Editor Goes Back To School

Jun 20, 2002 | Headline News

That?s my new nickname, thanks to the five-year-olds I recently spent two weeks with as part of the afternoon class in the Trenton R-9 Jumpstart Program.

?The Lady Who is Lots of Fives.?

That?s my new nickname, thanks to the five-year-olds I recently spent two weeks with as part of the afternoon class in the Trenton R-9 Jumpstart Program.

In part to let the community know about the many activities available to children during the summer and in part looking for interesting feature story ideas, it was decided that three of our staff members would pick a summer activity out in which to participate and then write about their experiences. Having never had the chance to go to kindergarten when I was a child, I thought it would be a good idea to find out just what those little five-year-olds are expected to do as they prepare for their first year of full-time formal education.

Trenton R-9 personnel were very supportive of what I wanted to do and permission to participate came quickly. But I was also reminded that if I was to have the full experience, I would have to follow the same rules required of the other participants. That would include not only providing proof of immunizations, residency and parental information (I used my husband for this one), I also had to take part in the kindergarten screening process.

Because of a timing issue involving a vacation that had been planned for a couple of months, I signed up to be screened the very first day. So bright and early at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, May 28, I found myself sitting at Rissler Elementary School among a group of five-year-olds, waiting to be tested.

The first order of business before testing began was to make sure all the appropriate paperwork was completed. Moms, dads and other legal guardians were lined up waiting to complete this task, which moved along rather quickly due to the experience of those working with this part of the screening. As the documents were being signed and questions answered, each child was called, one by one, to follow a counselor downstairs and begin the testing process.

The test that is given is called the DIAL 3. Students participate in four sessions which test a child?s knowledge in such areas as ABC?s, problem solving, identification of sounds and letters, shapes and colors, and ?same and different.? Motor skills are examined through a series of jumping, skipping, use of scissors, buttoning and zipping clothing items and tying shoes. Children are also given a hearing test.

Kindergarten teachers give the tests to the children, which allows them to witness the student-to-be?s abilities as well as give them a chance get to know the students on a personal level. As the child goes through each portion of the test, they are given ratings as to the level of their ability and this information is used to help assign the students to a teacher for either participation in the Jumpstart Program during the summer or, should they choose not to participate, where the child should be placed in the fall.

Rissler Principal Kathy Nolke noted that the children are encouraged to take part in Jumpstart, which is an introduction of some of the activities in which the students will be participating when they get to kindergarten in the fall. Most of them do that, with this year?s program having nearly 60 students in either the morning or afternoon session.

It is important to note that while a child may not know or be familiar with some of the concepts tested, that?s alright. The teachers with whom I visited assured me that students are worked with during school time to help develop those skills.

My first test involve the ?self-care? session, where instructors Ann Constant and Jane Cooksey ran me through a series of activities in which I had to show I could snap, button and zip articles of clothing as well as tie a shoelace. Nervous as I was, I managed to get though that and on to my next test with kindergarten teacher Susan Provance.

Having known Ms. Provance from the first week I moved to Trenton some 24-plus years ago, getting serious about this testing took a little longer. But as we moved through each section of the test, she explained why it is done and what a teacher is looking for. In this case, she was checking my articulation, knowledge of rhyming words and basic problem solving.

One of the activities I had to complete was recitation the ABC?s, using the alphabet song. I?ve never been much of a singer, but was the requirement and so, rotten voice and all, I sang the version I remembered for all those years ago.

It was at this point that I met a little girl who would become one of my classmates, although our encounter was not what I would have imagined making a friend at that age would be.

Once I finished my testing with Ms. Provance and we were visiting about the screening process, kindergarten instructor Bev Speck came over and brought with her a grinning five-year-old Chloe, whom I came to discover keeps that smile on her face all the time. Mrs. Speck introduced Chloe and said she had something she would like to tell me. Excited that I may have made my first new friend, my heart sank when she informed me that I was too big to be taking this test. But that sinking feeling did not last for long as once she found out I was going to be attending the Jumpstart program, she offered her services in showing me around and making sure that I could get to where I needed to be. (It later turned out that she would be in my class.)

After Ms. Provance had marked my folder, I moved on to having my hearing and sight checked, then continued to teacher Lynn Griffin, who checked my skipping, jumping, hopping and catching abilities. We also worked on building a pyramid with blocks and used scissors, cutting a half circle as well as following the line of a dinosaur drawing. As she repeated the names of different shapes, I wrote those shapes on a piece of paper as well as writing the letters S, B, E, T and W.

The final test came with instructor Marsha Hurst, who worked with me on concepts. I was required to identify parts of a body (hand, arm, leg, etc.) as well as colors and shapes of plastic pieces she placed in front of me. As part of that exercise, I had to identify big and little pieces, then separate the items based on size after she had demonstrated what she had wanted. As I watched Mrs. Hurst, I noticed she was placing the items by colors in groups of three, but didn?t realize that the items were also grouped based on size. When asked to repeat the demonstration, I grouped them by three?s rather than by size, which Mrs. Hurst assured didn?t mean I had done the exercise incorrectly. Her theory was I was ?thinking outside the box.?

Mrs. Hurst completed the marking of my folder, which was then handed to me and I was sent back upstairs to the table from where I had started. The folder was given to Dorothy Allnutt, the school counselor, who in turn sent me to another table to sign up for the Jumpstart Program, which would begin the next Monday.

I was now ready for school.

On Friday: ?You?re never too old to learn.?

by Diane Raynes