Wyndcroft School

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What’s New in Kindergarten?

Kindergarten is an exciting time for learning with the start of reading and learning basic mathematic skills. Through instruction in phonetics and literature appreciation, kindergarteners blossom as readers. Children write basic sentences and practice their letter formation. Our kindergarteners also become confident mathematicians as they add and subtract, tell time, and count coins. They also explore the world through engaging themes and units. A highlight of the year is the 100th Day Celebration.

The following is a typical kindergarten daily schedule at Wyndcroft:

6 periods with the classroom teacher learning Language Arts, Mathematics, and Social Studies
3 periods with Special area teachers (Art, Computer, French, Library, Music, Physical Education, Science)

Language Arts

In kindergarten, children develop their listening skills, speaking skills, and oral reading skills. They engage in a variety of writing experiences. Kindergarteners learn the structure of a story, understand the meaning of a story, and predict story outcomes as they read various forms of literature. They practice sounding out initial and final consonants, short and long vowels, and blends. Children apply phonetic skills to decode new words, learn word families, and examine sight word vocabulary. They also gain an understanding of the concept of a sentence and learn to identify a table of contents and glossary. The children experience poetry and literature on a daily basis.

The following are our language arts objectives for kindergarteners:

to build upon pre-reading skills
to read and appreciate literature
to form letters correctly
to understand the concept of a sentence
to write a simple sentence
to develop early creative writing skills
to work on comprehension skills, such as predicting outcomes, main ideas, and sequencing
to develop listening and speaking skills
to identify initial and final consonant sounds
to identify short and long vowel sounds
to gain an introduction to blends and digraphs
to apply phonetic skills to decode new words
to identify sight words

Textbooks: Kindergarten Works Take Home Readables, Kindergarten Works Big and Little Shared Books, Kindergarten Works Source Bank, Peter Possum Handwriting, Steck Vaughn Long Vowel Readers, teacher-made short vowel readers

Mathematics

Kindergarteners explore numbers, operations, classification, time, value, and measurement. They solve problems, use graphs, look for patterns, count coins, examine shapes, measure amounts, and estimate.

The following are our mathematics objectives for kindergarteners:

to identify groups of 0 through 12
to count through 100
to add and subtract to 12
to use picture and bar graphs, charts, and patterns
to know number words one to ten
to identify coins
to understand coin values
to count groups of coins up to 50¢
to tell time on the hour and half hour
to know the days of the week and months of the year
to measure to the nearest inch
to know basic shapes and solid shapes
to estimate the closest number
to comprehend the terms "greater then" and "less than"
to identify the place value in a two digit number

Textbook: Mathematics K (Harcourt)

Social Studies

Kindergarteners explore seasons and holidays with appropriate customs, art, music, literature, and food. Geographical locations in the world are also explored, such as rainforests and polar regions. This is a multi-disciplinary course that includes art, music, literature, and writing.

The following are our social studies objectives for kindergarteners:

to become aware of the world
to explore multicultural events
to be a healthy individual
to become a member of the classroom as well as the global community

Special Subjects:

Art

Beginning in kindergarten, students explore art through the three lenses of space, light, and texture. There are three focuses of art at this stage:

Space: line arrangement
Light: primary colors
Texture: experience

The following are our art objectives for kindergarteners:

to reinforce skills and techniques met in previous grades
to model with clay
to paint with greater skill
to quill with paper to learn the techniques of scratch art, tape transfer, mosaic creation, and collage
to use fabric crayons

Computer

As in prekindergarten, this course focuses on the basics of computer usage, the care of input devices, and the practice of responsible use and care of hardware and software.

The following are our computer objectives for kindergarteners:

to use input devices (e.g. mouse, keyboard) and output devices (e.g. monitor, printer) to successfully operate computers
to communicate about technology using developmentally appropriate and accurate terminology
to use developmentally appropriate multimedia resources (e.g. interactive books, educational software) to support learning
to work cooperatively and collaboratively with peers and others when using technology in the classroom
to demonstrative positive behaviors when using technology
to practice responsible use of technology systems and software
to begin the practice of keyboard familiarity

French

Kindergarteners continue to build upon their introduction to French language and culture through visual, oral, and aural methods of learning. They use new materials, such as coloring worksheets, to reinforce new vocabulary. Topics are expanded and added to enhance the language learning experience. Kindergarteners learn greater numbers, additional colors, simple weather expressions, extended family members, basic foods including fruits and vegetables, and table setting vocabulary. They explore French culture through videos, songs, and stories. Children discuss holidays and plan a special art project for Noël. Children participate in French activities throughout the year.

The following are our French objectives for kindergarteners:

to reinforce basic French vocabulary met previously
to introduce new French vocabulary
to count in French to 50
to use simple French greetings
to identify parts of the body in French
to set the table using French vocabulary
to name fruits and vegetables in French
to identify family members and pets in French
to listen to and comprehend basic French stories

Library

Kindergarteners learn about the organization of materials in the library as well as evaluation and selection techniques. They hone their listening and viewing skills, and gain an appreciation of literature.

The following are our library objectives for kindergarteners:

to increase awareness that materials in the library media center have a specific order
to understand how to keep materials in order
to learn that the library media center has books to borrow and use
to be aware that many children of all ages use the library
to choose a book to borrow with assistance of the librarian
to take proper care of books that are borrowed
to follow circulation procedures
to attend to the sights and sounds of storytelling
to be aware of favorite books and main characters

Music

Kindergarteners continue to focus on developing an awareness of basic musical skills and a basic appreciation of music. They learn basic rhythm and melody. They gain basic appreciation by listening to a variety of music, hearing stories of composers (age-appropriate), and understanding the different families of musical instruments.

The following are our music objectives for kindergarteners:

to develop feeling for steady beat and rhythmical movement
to differentiate between fast-slow, soft-loud, strong weak, short-long, same different, high-low
to differentiate between singing and speaking voices
to match tones and melodic contours through echo singing
to be aware of simple musical notations (staff, measures, rests, and notes)
to be aware of the families of instruments and their roles in an orchestra
to participate in the performance of a musical play in the spring
to reinforce basic musical skills through computer work which is age-appropriate
to use rhythm instruments to help accompany songs

Physical Education

Kindergartners develop their motor skills as they engage in many movement forms. They take part in small game activities with emphasis on following directions, fair play, understanding rules, and getting along with fellow teammates.

The following are our physical education objectives for kindergarteners:

to develop an understanding of rules and how they apply to small game activities
to move in different directions
to change movement direction in response to a signal
to develop a need for physical activity on a daily basis
to develop good sportsmanship and an understanding of fair play
to enjoy physical activity
to increase student confidence in physical activity

Science

This course incorporates all areas of general science. Students gain a brief overview to each new science concept and learn new words to further build on their scientific knowledge. Kindergarteners explore the following topics: definition of a scientist; scientific tools; the seasons; trees; weather and the water cycle; density; floating and sinking; magnets; building; simple machines; ice cream; and animals. Through experiments, students learn how these concepts play a role in real life situations and their importance in daily life skills.

The following are our science objectives for kindergarteners:

to use techniques and experiments that can be safely reproduced at home
to improve fine motor skills and communication skills both orally and written
to see the relevance of general science concepts to real life situations
to develop an awareness of children’s literature to science concepts
to improve reading skills
to develop a broader, deeper understanding of basic science terms
to increase confidence in being able to successfully complete science experiments

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