KINDERGARTEN
A joyful place for five year olds where each day is a learning adventure!
Kindergarten is taught using a themed-approach. Five-year olds bring great curiosity to the classroom. Our themes kindle this enthusiasm for learning. We begin the year with explorations of what is familiar: ourselves, our emotions, our family, and our school family. We then branch out to interesting things in our environment while at the same time immersing ourselves in the alphabet and the sounds that letters make. Next, we embark on a month-long learning adventure of outer space. Coordinated with the science teacher, this thematic unit provides an in-depth understanding of the sun, moon, and planets within our solar system. Over the holidays we learn about diversity as we study holidays in other cultures and then compare those traditions with our own family traditions.
In the first semester, our learning journey goes full circle: starting with the self and community, venturing into the larger world, soaring into the galaxies, and then a safe return to global traditions and the joys and celebrations of our own hearth and home.
During our second semester the children have input into what they would like to learn more about. We brainstorm topics of interest and then vote on what we would like study. For many, it is their first experience with the democratic process. We use a hands-on learning approach as the children “build” their knowledge through use of language arts, visual arts, music, drama and play. We always build from the familiar—what they know, to what they would like to learn, and then complete the unit with re-visiting all the things we discovered during the unit. The children are invited to share things from home that add to our learning.
Kindergarten is a prime time for children to learn about social interactions. Much time is given to learning how to cooperate, share, and care for others. Everyone’s ideas are valued and we strive to be safe and fair in our interactions. Play is a valued learning tool.
Our kindergarten math program is called Everyday Math from the University of Chicago. This program is used school-wide. In math, we teach them the basics of number recognition, numeral writing, and working with partners to problem solve. They also cover geometry, measurement, time, graphing and patterns.
In language arts we use an approach that incorporates all our senses—tactile, visual and auditory as students learn the necessary skills to become emergent readers. Music is an integral part of teaching as the children learn to spell colors through songs; create rhymes; or even learn their vowels.
Children’s learning differences in kindergarten are valued and respected as all begin their joyful journey of life-long learning.
Kindergarten Art Students meet once a week with the art teacher. They are given the opportunity to become familiar with the variety of media available. They work with clay, markers, tempera paint and watercolors, collage, printmaking (using Styrofoam plates and water based inks), colored pencils, and constructions. The time in the art classroom also gives them the experience of setting up and cleaning up for projects, learning the vocabulary associated with the various media, and being responsible and cooperative citizens outside of their regular classroom. The art teacher endeavors to nurture the individual creative spirit of each student while building self-confidence and skills
Kindergarten Science Throughout the elementary science program, our students will build an understanding of: How all things are connected, how change affects all things, how science connects to all we do, and what it means to “think like a scientist.” Each year topics are revisited in increasing depth, building upon understanding from prior years. Kindergarteners are introduced to: weather and the seasons, leaves and trees, the Earth, moon and sun as they look in our sky, matter that can be sensed and measured, forms and properties of energy, our bodies and our senses, how to care for our bodies inside and out, animals and their differentiators and needs, plants and seeds and their needs, and the different kinds of ecosystems and how they and their parts are impacted by change. Elementary Science is a fun adventure in discovery, complimenting a child's natural curiosity.
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