Hot Springs rounds up kindergartners

HOT SPRINGS - The annual Kindergarten Roundup at Hot Springs Elementary proved successful for the small school district as a total of 14 kiddos were registered for the kindergarten class of Fall 2012.

“They come in so excited,” kindergarten teacher Mary Ann Nyberg said. “ A lot of the time, they think kindergarten starts the very next day and we have to tell them, ‘no, you have to wait a few weeks.’”

The process of the Roundup is organized by many in order to produce the best placement results for each child in regards to their health, development and language skills. 

Hot Springs Elementary Nurse Nancy Snope, who will be retiring at the conclusion of this current school year, takes each child to her office for assessment of thir eyesight, hearing, and physical stats such as height and weight. The eye exam is not your average eye chart with large-to-small letters; however, it is a chart filled with pictures of houses, animals and other simple-to-identify objects for the average 5-year-old. From a distance of about 10 feet, the child is asked to identify the different pictures of varying size.

Five-year-old Landyn Massey easily passed the eye exam by identifying the pictures Nurse Nancy administered. 

“That’s a house,” he said. 

“And this one?” Nurse Nancy asked as she pointed to another picture.

“A car,” Landyn answered.

Nyberg explained the importance of gathering information about each child for not only placement, but also to better meet the child.

“When they come to me [during Roundup], I ask them questions to see if they know their own personal information, like their name, their birthday, where they live. And then we play games to see what colors and numbers they can identify. This all allows me to get an idea of where they’re at coming into kindergarten and it also gives me a chance to get to know each child individually so that I’m not a total stranger on the first day of schoool.”

Along with spending time with their teacher-to-be, Hot Springs kindergartners must also visit with speech therapist Taylor Salmi of the Sanders County Educational Cooperative during Roundup. Salmi takes each child through a series of exercises to identify their current language capabilities and to see if they will require any extra attention in the fall. 

To a child, it’s all fun and games and meeting new people, and time lapses differently for them. In a few short months, they will begin what will potentially be a lifelong pursuit of education, which can further determine what they will be ‘when they grow up.’ A week before that journey begins, Nyberg will host her annual Kindergarten Picnic, which is a day of games and socialization for parents and children starting out at Hot Springs Elementary. 

“It helps the kids get to know each other before school starts,” Nyberg said. “And for me to see how they play with others. It will be a lot of fun.”