Reading
We use both phonics and whole language to teach reading, which incorporates
reading, writing, listening, and speaking. I try and expose your child to all different forms
of language to fit their different learning styles. We read, speak, listen and talk about
books in the form of sentence strips, story and experience charts, class writing, songs,
poems, nursery rhymes, big books, etc. This year we will be using Jolly Phonics to help
teach the letter names and sounds of not only the 26 letters of the alphabet, but also
vowel combinations and blends (ch, sh, th, oi, ou, ai, ee, etc…)
Please Remember
Children are not all developmentally ready to read at the same time. Please don’t be
overly concerned if other children are learning to read and your child is not. Some children
are just not ready, but with time, patience, and support, these children become excellent
readers, often passing up those children who were early readers. Just enjoy your child!
Read to them as much as you can and they will eventually start to read to you. If I feel
that there is cause for a concern, I will notify you.
You can help at home by reading to your child every night or day. It is one of the
most important things you can do for and with your child. After reading with your child,
talk with them about the story. See if they can retell the story; name some characters;
discuss where the story took place; explain what the problem was. Do not overly discuss
the story as your main emphasis is on enjoyment and spending time with your child.
Writing
At the beginning of the year the focus is on one-word writing that we do primarily in
the form of class books. Sometimes the children will dictate to me what they want to say
and other times they will try and write it themselves. As the year progresses, we will take
on a more formal writing in which we will write 2 or 3 times a week in a journal. At this
time when journal writing is introduced, the writing will depend on their readiness. When
we do “writing” at school, we will see various developmental levels of the children. Some
will be at the scribbling stage where they write random letters; some will write the
beginning sounds; some will write ending sounds; some will add a vowel even if they do not
know which one to use, and others will be attempting to write short sentences by sounding
out the words. This is called developmental spelling and we praise the children for their
efforts, no matter where they are.
Handwriting
In kindergarten we work on writing the first name with a capital letter
at the beginning and lower case letters for the rest of their name. Please
reinforce this at home now, so that the children develop good writing habits.
Children will also be taught the correct pencil grip and the correct formation of
each letter as it is introduced, but will not be expected to master the forming of
letters until first grade.
Social Studies, Science, and Health
Basic concepts are taught through videos, guest speakers,
field trips, and hands-on experiments. Group discussions and
participation are encouraged. We will be exploring many units this year
such as: all about me, the five senses, seasons, how to be a good citizen,
community helpers, fire safety, pumpkins (life cycles), Thanksgiving,
holidays, snow, mittens, penguins, our country, presidents, egg to chick
(more life cycles), and seed to plant.
Math
We do a lot on hands-on activities in kindergarten and teach math
conceptually. We use a variety of manipulatives to learn about patterning,
sorting, graphing, shapes, greater then/less then and equal to, length,
weight and capacity, and addition and subtraction. The math program we
use is called Math Expressions and is very kid-friendly. The most
essential thing in Math in Kindergarten is to teach kids how to count
to 100, and start to form a “mental number line.” We use the number
line as the essential tool to teach number sense, so they can eventually
UNDERSTAND numbers.
Music
We do not see the music teacher in kindergarten, but we do plenty of singing on our
own! We sing many songs during calendar and learn many songs throughout the year that
are related to what we are learning in class.
Art
Again we do not go to art class, but we sure do know how to
make a mess in our own room creating beautiful artwork. We trace,
color, paint, glue, draw, and cut to work on our fine motor skills and
improve on our creativity.
Social and Emotional
Not all lessons in the kindergarten classroom are academic. We spend a great deal of time
learning how to be a good friend, being nice to everyone and problem solving when things
are not going quite our way. We also talk at great lengths about our school community and
rules that we for our classroom and our school. The children will be working in small groups
almost everyday and will need these basic problem solving skills to successful adults.