First Blog Post!
Celebration! You found your way to “Hooray for TK”! I hope this is a space where you can connect with others, get some classroom ideas, and voice any thoughts you may have about the current TK world.
What is TK?
TK stands for Transitional Kindergarten. In the state of California, children were required to be 5 years old by December 2 to enter Kindergarten. However, both educators and research literature felt that those kiddos whose birthdays were between September-December, were not developmentally ready to take on 21st century Kindergarten. Thus, California changed the age cut off date for entering Kindergarten to September 1, and Transitional Kindergarten was born. Transitional Kindergarten consists of those 4 year old’s whose 5th birthdays fall between September-December .
Pioneering the TK World
Currently, there are no standards or curriculum for TK. There are few resources online for this new grade level and many administrators are unsure of what a typical TK program should look like. One of my colleagues summed it up perfectly by saying, “We are essentially pioneering our way through this brand new program.” I am hoping that this blog will offer tools and resources for you to access for this wonderful and exciting new grade level.
Who Am I?
My name is Katherine Barker, and I am currently a Transitional Kindergarten teacher. I have taught in both Kindergarten and Preschool, and I have loved colliding my past experiences in both settings to help create this new program. TK is by far my favorite grade level that I have taught. We have the freedom to allow our students to grow developmentally while challenging them academically. I hope to continue to help build TK into a well-developed and well-rounded grade level that offers our children a place to grow emotionally, physically, socially, and academically.
I would love to hear your experiences with TK. Are you a new teacher in this program? What have been your experiences thus far? Are you a parent? What are your thoughts/concerns regarding TK? Feel free to comment in the box below, I welcome all feedback!
