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The Kindergarten Program is designed with some basic goals in mind. The kindergarten teachers strive to ensure that each child‘s introduction to
the public school system be a happy, positive and stimulating experience. It is recognized that each child is a unique individual, progressing at
his/her own personal rate. The program endeavors to provide a wide variety of developmentally appropriate social, academic, and physical
activities and materials to meet the needs of each child. Realizing that each child needs to be able to work in a variety of settings, the children
will have the opportunity to work individually, and in small and large groups.
Throughout the year, the kindergartners will be involved in many different types of learning experiences:
Group Meetings: a time to meet together as a group, go over the daily schedule and calendar and share in some math or language activities. Math
includes such topics as patterns, comparing, counting, sorting or number activities from the our math program. Language includes such
elements as shared reading, rhyming, sequencing, letter recognition and phonemic awareness activities.
Explore Time: a time during which the children choose their activities. The emphasis of these activities is on social interaction, problem solving, and
language skills. These choices may include art activities, reading, blocks, puppetry, dramatic play, sand and water, and math and reading readiness
activities. This time could also include social studies or science themes.
Snack/Story: a time to listen quietly to a story or to socialize with friends.
Table Time: a focused teacher-directed time to work on reading, math, writing, art, and social studies or science themes.
Reading: auditory awareness, rhyme and syllabication, letter recognition and letter sounds, predictable books, color, number and rhyming words,
and the opportunity to develop a sight word vocabulary.
Writing: time devoted to work on letter formation, copying words, dictation and journal writing beginning with initial sounds, moving into
inventive (temporary) spelling with some conventional spelling and sight words as a goal by the end of the year
Math: a hands-on approach using the our math program, which focuses on number sense, numeral recognition, skip counting, patterns, comparing, estimating, graphing, sorting, money, telling time, symmetry, shapes and more.
The children attend Physical Education, Art, Library Music and Spainish weekly, and have some shared recess times.
General Information
During our half day program the busses leave school at 12:00. If you are picking your children up, please wait for them outside the front lobby doors. We will need a note about any /all pick-up plans. Once full day starts in January, please pick your children up at the flag pole. We will still need a note about any/all pick-up plans.
Students will learn through a variety of approaches. This will include hands-on use of manipulative materials whenever possible. We recognize that children learn through different styles. Therefore a variety of approaches will be provided. Assessment is an ongoing process. A specific skills checklist for reading and math is also kept for each child as a record of progress. Individual portfolios of each child‘s work are kept from the beginning of the year and are passed on to the next year‘s teacher. These developmental portfolios show a progression of each child‘s growth through the primary years. Students benefit most from a learning environment by which teachers and parents work in partnership to support their children. Parent-Teacher conferences are held twice a year; once in the fall and again in the spring. During the fall conference, parents and teachers talk about the kindergartners' adjustment to life at CCS and review their progress. During this conference parents will receive the first progress report. Progress reports will be sent home in January and June. The spring conference provides an opportunity to share and celebrate each child‘s growth in many areas of development.
Teachers encourage parents to contact them at school with any questions or concerns. A Parent Information Night is held in early September. This gives parents an opportunity to meet the teachers and other parents and to get an overview of the kindergarten year. Informal classroom notes will be sent home periodically to inform parents of classroom happenings.
Parent volunteers are an integral part of the kindergarten program. Volunteering can take place in a variety of ways: helping in the classroom, making things at home, being a room parent, or being a Four Winds parent.
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