by Rachel Stepp

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It’s that time of year again when 4-year-olds are starting to register for kindergarten for the fall. Many schools host events for collecting information about these rising wee ones, and it can all become very businesslike and formal. Blech.

And while parents are completing forms and answering questionnaires, their little darlings have to do…something. Why not give them something fun to do, while building their excitement about school at the same time? One way to make the registration process more exciting for students and parents is to give it a theme, and my personal favorite theme is Kindergarten Round Up!

Here’s how to add a little “yee-haw!” to your kindergarten registration process.

Involve Your Current Kindergarteners

Your current kindergarten students can be role models for the younger students. The kindergarteners can create decorations that will allow future students to see some of the work they will eventually be doing. These work samples/decorations also let parents know what to expect from their students during the following year. Here are some decor ideas:

Cowboys/Cowgirls:

Kindergarteners can color or draw cowboys and cowgirls and then attach their pictures to the faces.

Writing Samples:

Have students write about their favorite farm/ranch animals, experiences with horses or cows or other farm/ranch animals, or what they think being a cowboy or cowgirl would be like. Affix rope in a curvy lasso pattern around bulletin boards displaying these items for instant cowboy-mania!

Provide a Simple Project

In addition to looking at the kindergarteners’ work, the rising elementary schoolers can work on their own projects. They can make farm animals to either add to the kindergarteners’ bulletin boards or to take home–they can decide which they’d rather do.

To make a pig:

For pigs, use basic shapes such as circles and triangles to allow children to make pig faces. Circles of different sizes can be faces, eyes and noses. Triangles can be used for ears.

To make a chick:

Use a paper plate that has been folded in half. First, the children can color it yellow, and then they can attach a yellow circle for the head, an orange triangle for a beak, and orange feet.

These activities will help involve the 4-year-olds in the registration process, and, even better, they’ll get a glimpse of all the yippee-ki-yay fun they’ll experience next year!

Rachel Stepp is a graduate student at The University of Georgia.

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