PRINCETON, W. Va. -The transition to pre-K and kindergarten can be difficult for young kids and their families. However, Mercer County Schools have held an event for more than a decade to make this new experience less scary.
It’s their “Readiness Roundup,” which returned to the Chuck Mathena Center for the second year to help answer questions that students and their families may have.
“We actually came last year and really enjoyed it, so we were excited to come back this year…” says Tori Webb who came to get Hudson Webb ready for kindergarten, “…Come on out. There’s so many opportunities here; they get cool prizes, you learn so much, and I would say do it for sure.”
The Roundup introduced the ‘new’ in a fun way, letting a kid take their potentially first bus ride with Ms. Frizzle and meet their new teachers and other school staff at fifteen tables set up with gifts and games. There were also fifteen more tables with community entities giving out resources for families.
“I think, when you have events like this, and you bring in your community partners and your families, you’re really supporting that child, and it’s been great to do this and it’s really good to show what Mercer County Schools is all about,” says Amber Riffe, pre-K/elementary supervisor for Mercer County Schools.
Riffe says this year brought a great attendance, with a big draw being all the goodies, like books or stuffed support animals, that attendees can take home with them. However, they are also taking away valuable information about the upcoming school year and how these future students can begin the learning process before classes begin.
“At every table, the teachers and the staff that’s working that table, they are explaining what they can do at home with Play-Doh and how that helps them develop or what they can do with cooking at home and how that’s math, so they’re getting things at each table that they can take away from this…” says Riffe.
Riffe says, while the Readiness Roundup is not mandatory, it is “one hundred percent imperative” to calm concerns and answer questions in a fun, family event.
However, if you missed this event but would still like information about preparing for kindergarten and pre-K, Riffe says you can find it on the Mercer County Schools website or Facebook page. She also says you can give her a call or email with any questions you may have.
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