The jump from Pre-K to Kindergarten may not seem like a big one, but when you're only about three feet tall, that jump can be more difficult than it may seem.

About 30 youngsters gathered at the Lillian Gregerman Band Shell in Onset Thursday afternoon for the annual Wareham School Kindergarten Rally. There, incoming kindergarteners and their families were welcomed to the school district.

“It gets them excited for Kindergarten, and it gets them to see some old friends and meet some new ones,” said Denise Tobin, special education team chairperson for Pre-K and Kindergarten.

At the the rally, students were led in a Kindergarten cheer, and storyteller Big Ryan acted out a series of “tall tales” that left the youngsters looking for more.

The event was grant-sponsored from the Office of Beyond School Time, which runs the after school CARE program and others and also helps acquire different grants for Wareham Public Schools.

“It’s part of the transition,” said incoming Decas Principal Donna Noonan. “It's a big change for them going into Kindergarten, and it helps them just knowing that the day is almost here.”

Noonan said the school had an open house a few nights ago, which was one of a number of events the school has to help students get ready for the new school year.

Each child present also received a book provided by Department of Early Education as part of a grant they gave to the Office of Beyond School Time.

“Every child leaves here with a book,” said Tobin.