There are moments you will always remember as a parent — the first time your child toddled across the room to you, her first haircut, her first bath. I clearly remember waking each of my daughters up on their first day of kindergarten. I remember looking at their sweet, sleeping faces and thinking about the adventure that was ahead of them.

For many of us it seems to happen too soon. The transition from preschool to kindergarten can be exciting as well as a little overwhelming. There are lots of things to learn, people to meet as well as routines and procedures to understand and follow. Think of it as starting a new job in a new town or in a whole new job field. “We all have a responsibility to respect this transition and give our children every opportunity to approach this transition with confidence,” said Dr. Randi Payne, principal of Mount Wolf Elementary School in Northeastern School District in York County. Children need to hear from us that this is an exciting time and that we think it is important and special.”

Five-year-olds are not the only ones experiencing big changes. As families, we are also shifting our schedules and expectations. This can also produce excitement and even a little stress.

In 2011, in an effort to support families and soon-to-be kindergartners, witf launched “Ready, Set, Go — Kindergarten!” The event was designed to be a celebration of the kindergarten transition and a resource for families to connect to good information to support their child. Held at the witf Public Media Center in Swatara Twp., “Ready Set, Go — Kindergarten!” brought together local community groups and businesses who planned fun, engaging activities for the children and distributed important information about literacy, health, science, nutrition and art.

Stephanie Gomez-Wilson’s daughter Rhianna had been talking about going to kindergarten since she was 4: “We were ready. ‘Ready, Set, Go — Kindergarten!’ was just the perfect way to celebrate and maintain her excitement.” Rhianna was one of 146 soon-to-be kindergartners who practiced getting on and off a school bus, created art, conducted experiments and learned how to roll a pretzel at the event. “The variety of activities was really amazing and fun,” said Gomez-Wilson. “She had a great time and so did we.” Rhianna is having a successful year in kindergarten.

“Ready, Set, Go — Kindergarten!” featured activities that were so fun, the children had no idea they were learning so much. From strengthening fine motor skills by rolling pretzels to climbing on a fire truck or writing a postcard to themselves, children played inside the Public Media Center and out. Every member of the Class of 2024 left with a new book about getting ready for kindergarten and a cinch bag courtesy of our sponsors.

Children also had fun playing with PBS characters Curious George and Clifford the Big Red Dog. There were lots of hugs and lots of pictures. All through the event, families could pick up information cards about how to re-create the activity at home. Families could also connect to agencies that might be able to support them and their children on their educational journey.

“I think witf being involved in something like this is phenomenal,” said Gomez-Wilson. “Public media has been part of my life for a long time and to see it promote things I believe in as a mom is wonderful.”

Do you have a child going to kindergarten this fall? Go to witf.org and click on the education page to register your child for this year’s event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 11 at the Public Media Center, 4801 Lindle Road, Swatara Twp. If you have any questions about the event or if your business might like to be a sponsor, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 717.910.2806. We’ll see you there!

Science is about trying to make sense of the world. The idea of explaining science to young children can feel overwhelming to many adults. But luckily, explanations about science aren’t what young children want at first. They want to play! Curiosity drives children’s interest in science and we can all appreciate curiosity. So where do we start?

witf and Whitaker Center For Science and the Arts invite you and your 3-7 year old to join us for Ready, Set…Explore, a series of Saturday morning science play dates where you and your child can spend time together and play with science. Each event is shaped around a science concept and a well-loved PBS character who will be at the event to explore along with you. All events are held in the beautiful Kunkel Gallery in Whitaker Center in Harrisburg specific Saturdays from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM. The events are free for families thanks to some wonderful community partners. Just RSVP by clicking the link below.

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

― Albert Einstein

The human brain likes to group and organize everything. It makes us more comfortable when things fit. We compare new experiences to old experiences unconsciously, trying to find a link, trying to make things make sense. Sometimes, as grownups who care and work with children, we find ourselves grouping them that way as well. We talk about "typical learners", as though that exists, and "typical development". Though we can point to developmental benchmarks, especially in very young children and those benchmarks can help us support children more effectively, we need to be careful with labels.

In her book "Raising A Left-Brained Child in A Right Brain World", Katharine Beals points to the danger of labeling children, including her own three children and asks the question, "Why does my inquisitive child dislike school?" For Beals, the answer is the child's approach to learning. Beals describes left-brained children as shy, transition-wary, children who may prefer to work alone, or may express intense interests in one particular topic. She highlights the struggles these children may have in social aspects of school or collaborative work and calls on families and teachers to see the value in alternative approaches to learning.

For me, it was a particularly interesting perspective as I see the struggles of one of my daughters who, in Beal's definition, would be "right brained". Intuitive, spontaneous and creative, my daughter struggles to understand the need for assessments, testing, and "right answers". So to me, the question really is "Is there a typical learner?"

Teachers have a tough job. Differentiating or individualizing instruction to meet the needs of 25 or more people with differing approaches or styles of learning is an arduous if not sometimes impossible task. Families and teachers need to work together to share what we know about our children and to listen to each other, free from labels. One place to start is to spend time is family conferences discussing learning style not just learning outcomes. Teachers support the idea of families observing student learning. Creating a shared understanding of your child's strengths and weaknesses benefits the teacher, the family and the child. We need to approach our children as Einstein calls us to—geniuses who may be fish trying to climb trees.

What if curiosity was contagious?  Come celebrate your little one’s curiosity at a free Ready, Set, Go Family event at the witf Public Media Center, 4801 Lindle Road in Harrisburg.

Saturday, November 12 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM join your friends at witf for a free Curious George Pajama Party!  Come dressed in your pjs for a screening of the Curious George movie…BYOP (bring your own pillow).  We’ll  “camp out”  and watch the movie on the big screen.  Before the movie starts, go on a dinosaur dig, make a sailboat, meet Curious George, share some stories and have a snack (cookies, milk and bananas anyone?).  At witf, we think learning is fun and curiosity is contagious!

We also had fun exploring great activities all over the witf Public Media Center.  We made pretzels with Tom Sturgis Pretzels, climbed on fire trucks and a cool piece of Volvo Construction equipment, explored Sutliff Street sponsored by Sutliff Chevrolet and learned amazing things from our friends at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.  We enjoyed exploring language and writing in Kiwanis International’s Literacy Lane, were scientists (lab coats and all) with Harrisburg Academy and took home a beautiful keepsake tile from Color Me Mine. Plus while we bounced in a bounce house, got  our faces painted and hung out with Clifford and Curious George, our families got lots of great information about helping kindergarten students be successful in school.

I was seven months pregnant on September 11, 2001. I remember watching the news coverage at work, stunned as I saw the planes hit the Towers over and over, wondering at the world that my husband and I were bringing a tiny baby girl into. Olivia, my oldest daughter, was born two months to the minute that the first plane hit the World Trade Center.

I have read countless articles over the last 10 years about talking with children about that day in September, both as an educator and as a mom. What could possibly make sense to young children about something that made no sense to me? How can I promise them that they will be safe? How can I protect them from the knowledge that there are people who would dance in the streets at the deaths of 3000 people who did nothing more than go to work or get on a plane that day?

Sometimes, we could all use some ideas to extend our kindergartner's learning at home. Check out this information regarding "Environmental Print":

Environmental Print

You might hear this phrase when talking to your child's teacher about print that regularly occurs in your child's environment, like the brand name on cereal boxes or the logo on a store you commonly visit. Recognizing this familiar print can make your child feel more confident in his or her ability to "read".

Getting ready for the big transition to Kindergarten can be exciting and a little scary for some children. Sharing stories with children can be a great way to start conversations, think about questions and connect with your child.

Tips for Reading Together:

As you start reading, look at the cover with your child and ask her what she thinks the story may be about based on the picture.

Pause periodically as you read to ask your child what he thinks might happen next.

Ask your child if they have ever felt the way the character in the story is feeling.

Follow your child’s lead if he has questions or points things out in the book.  The side stories that develop from reading together can help you connect with what your child cares about and is thinking about.

As you finish reading, ask your child for her opinion of the book.  Did she like it?  What was her favorite part?

Is your child going to kindergarten this fall? Come celebrate this milestone for you and your child at Ready, Set, Go...Kindergarten! Saturday, August 11, 2012 from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM at the witf Public Media Center, 4801 Lindle Road, Harrisburg, PA 17111.  This is a FREE family event designed specifically for you and your soon-to-be kindergartner you can meet PBS characters!

There are moments that stay with you as a parent. I clearly remember waking each of my daughters up for their very first day of kindergarten. Looking at their sweet, sleeping faces, thinking of the adventure that is ahead for them and wondering, "How did this happen? Weren't they just babies?" Then the rush of new back-to-school clothes and a backpack, breakfast and photographs and then out the door to "big school" as my daughter Olivia called it. For many of us, it all seems to happen too soon and we want our child, who looks so small climbing on the school bus, to be ready. But what does kindergarten readiness mean and are there really things we can do as families to prepare our little one for this transition?