Kindergarten Overview
PHILOSOPHY
Kindergarten classes are designed to help the student become an individual with educational skills and self-esteem to feel they can accomplish the tasks at hand. We expect the children to follow rules of the classroom and become enthusiastic about the learning process. Students are taught using all modalities including touching, seeing, and hearing. This allows children with different learning styles to be successful in our program. The Kindergarten Curriculum includes reading (with a strong phonetic and whole language approach), mathematics (hands-on), arts and social sciences, handwriting and language, Spanish, computer, and physical education (gross motor skills). Children will be prepared to go into our challenging First Grade Curriculum the following year.
MATH
Kindergarten math is a time to extend knowledge with many manipulatives. The students can obtain a good understanding of basic math by seeing, hearing, touching, and tasting. Correct formation of our numbers and printed letters is most important. Please refer to the attached directions for writing. When addition and subtraction is introduced, we use many different kinds of objects to help us visualize and understand this concept. We do NOT use fingers as counters. After a new concept is introduced, it is reinforced by frequent review, using the skill to play games, or using the computer. Please read the Kindergarten News weekly to know what concepts you can review and work with at home. For example, last week we reviewed colors and color words along with shapes.
PHONICS
The reading curriculum throughout DeSoto Private School is taught Phonetically. We use a multisensory approach for reading, spelling and handwriting. Multisensory techniques are utilized for introducing, reviewing, and practicing skills and concepts. Students are actively involved in the learning process. New concepts and skills are related to those previously taught and all letter recognition and sound skills are reviewed daily.
A sound is first presented in the context of a spoken word, then students isolate the sound in the spoken word. As soon as to letter sounds are introduced, students begin applying their knowledge of letter/sound relationships to decoding words. Students are taught the processes for applying their knowledge of phonics to blending letter sounds together into words.
Thorough knowledge of the alphabet is important to your child’s ability to read, write, and spell. We embark daily on exercises of multisensory exposure to the letter and their phonetic properties, beginning with sequencing in proper order then moving on to locating and naming at random. A new letter is introduced usually twice a week along with its two shapes (capital and lower case), the correct formation of these, and the phonetic sound. We do exercises involving many of our senses such as skywriting, touching letters, and reciting the name, sound and formation of the letter out loud. The Missing Letter decks, which show a letter missing in different positions (_bc, a_c, ab_) help the students with before-and-after concepts. Once we have studied a vowel, we will begin spelling, which is also called un-blending. To read we blend, to spell we un-blend. After the first 6 weeks, we start homework folders. The homework for Kindergarten includes blending (reading) 8 words then choosing 4 and un-blending (spelling) on the back of the sheet. This is done Monday through Thursday. The homework folder is due back at school on Friday. I will return it on Monday. This is very important. In February, the students are ready for their home readers, which are taken home twice a week and read to a parent.
It would be very helpful if you will work with your child on his/her writing skills at home. Included in this packet of information you will find an alphabet letter formation sheet to assist you when working with your child. It shows you how the letter is formed and the words we chant as we form it. Please read the newsletter weekly for information on which alphabet letter we are studying.
LANGUAGE ARTS
In Language we will work on increasing our vocabulary daily. Peabody and McGruff will help us with this goal. Games and other manipulatives will be included in our curriculum to increase our vocabulary and language skills. Finger plays and creative dramatics will also be included. We will work on hand-eye coordination skills to get us ready for writing within a lined space. Learning to write our first name is our initial challenge. As letters of the alphabet are introduced in Phonics, we will learn to write those letters in capital and lower case letters. We will learn to copy from near and from far (chalkboard).
SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES
We gear our year’s study to the seasonal activities but also include playground safety, communication, Texas history, and good health habits in the curriculum. Our Social Studies and Science program is an important area of our curriculum. A study of our states will be included. We hope to integrate our theme studies into our art projects through group discussion of question and answer, puzzles, chalk talk and music. Science experiments fascinate students as they analyze the project.
ART
Art is one of the main areas in the curriculum. One of our objectives is to develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor (muscle) skills as well as show the value of creativity. We hope to develop these creative skills through crafts, using scissors, glue, coloring, painting, and drawing.
PHYS. ED.
We work on various important motor skills throughout the school year. Some of the areas we will cover include body awareness (listening, following directions, cooperation, and self-concept, exercises (calisthenics), balance, locomotor skills (walking, running, skipping, hopping, galloping, leaping, and sliding, and non-locomotor skills (pushing, pulling, rising, falling, etc.) Manipulative skills will include throwing, catching, dribbling, passing, kicking, and trapping. Values we hope to learn are cooperation, teamwork, exercise habits, sharing and taking turns, endurance, enthusiasm, team spirit and self-esteem.
SPANISH/ENRICHMENT
We will work on comprehension of stories we read as we discuss and act them out dramatically. The computer will be used as an enrichment tool to reinforce all basic learning experiences introduced in the classroom. The computer provides yet another median through which each student is challenged and encouraged by successful achievement at their level. Rhythmic development and conversational Spanish will be included in the curriculum.
Administrative - Class Overviews
