Our Transitional Kindergarten is designed for children who will benefit from an additional year of preschool before heading to elementary school or whose birthdays simply do not align with elementary school regulations.
Our TK Program continues to build on the foundation laid in the child’s earlier years years at Parker, while introducing elements designed to create an age-appropriate bridge between the preschool and kindergarten experiences.
In order to accomplish this, the TK consists of a longer school day than our other programs. The schedule is carefully crafted to ensure the long periods of uninterrupted free-play that are central to early childhood learning, along with a gradual increase in more structured times of the day.
Our curriculum gives children the opportunity to experience teacher-led activities that are still meaningful and engaging for the children. We also continue to value emergent curriculum based on the children’s interests and questions.
Just as importantly, the TK program provides children with an additional year to cultivate and fine-tune their social and personal development. The mastery of self-regulation takes time and practice, and teachers endeavor to find the tools that work best to support each student. Our teachers value a classroom culture of self-expression, inclusion, and respect, and strive to ensure that each child feels supported and appreciated for their own unique contributions to the group.
The Basics
Children continue in our Transitional Kindergarten class as a third year of their Parker School experience. Most TK children are not age-eligible to attend Kindergarten (September through December birthdays), although some with summer birthdays may choose Parker's TK and to defer kindergarten by a year. This is a class of 12 children, and two teachers make up the TK teaching team. All children in this class attend 5 days a week from 8:30AM to 12:45PM.
In addition to the TK program, childcare options are available on a limited basis each day of the week. TK childcare also includes the possibility of one afternoon per week on the Little Red School Bus.