Click on this link to see how students at the Alternative High School helped Providence

Follow the link to see the Calgary Herald’s photo gallery of the ribbon cutting ceremony at McKenzie Towne!  http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/photos/Providence+School+opens+McKenzie+Towne/6117286/story.html

With many schools having open houses starting this month parents are starting to think about kindergarten and grade one!  Some school readiness skills can be easily practiced at home to prepare your child for the big jump!

Many kids, especially boys are not particularly motivated by fine motor activities, which play a large part of the kindergarten/grade one day.  Fine motor activities however, can be very fun!

Getting kids involved in cooking/baking activities encourages fine motor skills by working on controlled scooping, pouring, stirring and kneading.  Utensil use such as a plastic knife, preschool scissors, cookie cutters and pitchers are all good tools for developing fine motor skills. 

Playing with playdough using a variety of playdough tools like rollers, cutters, tweezers and tongs are also great ways to work on hand skills.

Buying large coloring sheets from the grocery store and putting them up on the wall or an easel is a great and motivating way to work on tracing, coloring and refining pencil grasps.

Paper and pencil tasks can also be done in many different positions, not necessarily sitting at a desk!  Try lying on the floor propped up on elbows or attaching painting or coloring sheets on to the wall or easel.