Language Arts / Math /Science / Social Science / Music / Art / Physical Education

PHILOSOPHY
We are grounded in a developmental approach to learning. We believe that all children have different rates of development and that all children have individual interests and strengths. Entering children present us with a spectrum of abilities. Our team works toward moving each child along their developmental path through engaging and meaningful classroom activities that incorporate various methods of instruction including singing, drawing, painting, movement, writing, math, drama, block building, computers, phonics, whole language and science. We use these various methods of instruction because we know that one method of presenting material may be good for one child, but not for another child. Using multiple strategies allows us the opportunity to reach all the children.

We support our philosophy by providing an integrated curriculum, which is planned around themes. Specific subject areas are addressed through each unit, which generally last three to four weeks. Our classroom environment also supports our developmental approach as the rooms are set up in learning centers where children plan and select many of their individual learning activities. We try to balance each day with a mixture of teacher directed and student directed lessons.

Most of the activities are hands on type of learning experiences. We believe that all children need to touch, manipulate and play with material. This is how they learn best, through play and the manipulation of their environment. One of the classic examples of this type of learning is block building. There are specific stages of block building beginning with putting the blocks into a bucket and dumping them out. By the time children enter kindergarten they are beginning to use blocks to represent their perception of the environment. Beautiful buildings begin to be designed, the building projects take a week or more to finish and many children cooperate to build the finished product. We deeply believe in providing them the time to work things out alone through play.

We also believe that most discipline issues can be handled in our rooms through our structured classroom setup. Children respond best to consistency and structure. Our schedule is posted each day and reviewed during the morning meeting. Classroom rules are decided upon in September and reviewed throughout the year. Our goal is to provide a safe and happy atmosphere so that each child feels comfortable enough to take risks with their learning.

Our team works together to provide a planned curriculum that is the same for all the kindergarten classes. Although our teaching styles may be different, our use of materials, classroom management and progression from unit to unit is well thought out. We meet on a weekly basis to plan and coordinate activities. We collaborate, share materials and ideas and respect each teacher’s expertise.

Another aspect of our philosophy is that we encourage parent involvement. Some parents are able to help in the classroom; others help in different ways. We encourage all parents to support their child’s educational experience by becoming as involved as possible.

Personal and Social Development

The kindergarten program is grounded in developmental education and seeks to support and extend all children’s individual skills and abilities. Our personal and social goals for the kindergarten children are:

• To develop positive self-esteem and social competence
• To develop social competence throught he use of the Open Circle program
• To begin the process of becoming a life-long learner
• To promote confidence in order to take risks in their learning
• To promote independence
• To work together cooperatively in a caring classroom community
  

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LANGUAGE ARTS
The kindergarten language arts program provides developmentally appropriate experiences and teaching to support reading, writing, speaking and listening. Our classrooms are print-rich environments that immerse children in literacy and our students have many opportunities to talk about their reading and writing.

CONTENT - READING

• Enjoyment of books in all genres
• Increase book knowledge
• Development of an awareness that print has meaning
• Recognition of letter sound relationships
• Introduction of strategies for decoding print
• Introduction of strategies for comprehending text (making connections, predictions, asking questions)

WRITING

• We all have stories to tell
• Communication of ideas through writing
• Introduction to upper and lower case letter formation
• Introduction to the conventions of print
• Development of a sense of story structure (beginning, middle, end) through process writing

LISTENING AND SPEAKING

• Practice in following directions, in attending to the speaker and in appropriate audience response
• Opportunities with individuals and groups for participating in activities that require reporting, explaining, describing, discussing, conversing and questioning
• Participation in storytelling, puppetry and dramatization
• Enjoyment of language

MATERIALS
Classroom libraries of fact and fiction trade books and tapes, school library, charts of poems and songs, recipes, published and class-made big books, weekly journals.

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MATHEMATICS
The curriculum is based on Everyday Mathematics. Mathematics instruction is integrated throughout our daily routine and is conducted in both large and small groups. During instructional math time, the teacher models the use of materials. Then children break into small groups and rotate among math “stations.” Math concepts are integrated throughout the day and math materials are also available for children to explore during other times of the day.

CONTENT

Free Exploration

• Open-ended exploration of the materials
• Counting, sorting, comparing and making designs

Patterning

• Recognizing, creating, extending, describing and representing simple horizontal patterns (ABAB, ABCABC, AABBCCAABBCC)

Numerical Concepts

• Rote counting to 100 by 1’s, 5’s and 10’s
• One to one correspondence to 20
• Numeral recognition, 1-20
• Numeral writing, 1-20
• Introduction of simple addition and subtraction

Comparing

• Estimating
• Graphing
• Measuring using non-standard units of measure

Geometry

• Recognizing, naming and reproducing shapes

Money

• Recognizing and naming coins

Problem Solving

• Developing the ability to identify and solve math related classroom tasks
  

MATERIALS
Everyday Mathematics
Commercial and collected manipulatives (unifix cubes, pattern blocks, geo-boards, tiles, cubes, links, etc.)
Math related literature and charts

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SCIENCE
The curriculum fosters the child’s natural curiosity about their environment. The goal of the program is to provide opportunities to utilize the scientific method. The children observe, explore, predict, record, experiment, discuss, extend and discover an appreciation and respect for the natural world.

Content

Life Science

• Insects and butterflies
• Animals of specific geographic regions of the world including the Arctic, Antarctic, rainforest and desert

Earth and Space Science

• Rocks and minerals
• Observations of the night sky
• Climate and weather patterns

Physical Science

• Magnets
• Sink and float
• Gravity

Technology

• Design process (Leprechaun traps)
• Simple machines (Take Apart)

MATERIALS
Hands on science materials
Concept and picture books
Student “gifts” from home
Songs and art related projects

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HISTORY AND SOCIAL SCIENCE
This curriculum is designed to promote and understanding of similarities and differences among people. The children share experiences about themselves, their families, the school community and various cultures. The social science curriculum is integrated throughout topic areas, including literature, art, science, math and drama.

CONTENT

Self

• Children discuss, compare and record personal traits and attributes through graphing, story-telling, personal journals, songs and literature
• Children begin to develop skills in cooperative learning
• Children begin to develop an awareness of each others strengths and abilities

Family

• Children share and document family culture, including family composition, celebrations, traditions and family roles

School Community

• Children interact with other grades, either through grade-grade programs or whole school attendance at performances and assemblies
• Children develop a sense of community through year-long responsibilities such as playground clean-up and recycling

Cultural Awareness

• Children study the similarities and differences between people of the world

MATERIALS
A variety of literature is used, reflecting topics about feelings, self-awareness, friendship, families, diverse culture and ethnic issues. Picture books, big books, resource books, art materials, journals, artifacts, personal photographs, the school library, local community members and other resources are consulted.

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MUSIC
Singing, playing instruments, moving, creating, listening, and playing music games are means for involving children in music, enabling them to acquire musical skills and knowledge that can be developed in no other way. Involvement of mind and feelings are basic to the experience of music for people of all ages and cultures. Therefore, in music class, the children in Carlisle participate in a wide variety of age-appropriate musical activities which involve both mind and feelings.

Content

A. Concepts:

steady beat, singing in tune, loud/soft, upward/downward, tempo,
high/low, patterns, long/short, same/different, introduction to part-singing

B. Skills:

1. Singing:

• Sing in tune alone and with others within a limited vocal range
• Gain a repertoire of young children’s songs and games

2. Instruments:

• Play classroom instruments in free time and to a steady beat
• Recognize the sounds of different classroom instruments

3. Movement:

• Create movements to songs
• Relate musical concepts to movement
• Experience steady beat
• Perform simple dances and games

4. Music Literacy:

• Basic melodic shape
• Introduction to solfeggio and the “body scale”
  

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Physical education involves the development of the whole person physically, socially, emotionally, and intellectually. Physical education can provide every child with awareness of body function, movement and the joy of effort, which results from participating in a program designed to meet the individual needs of children. The skills and techniques taught in our program help every child to experience success and enjoyment.

CONTENT

Basic locomotion activities
Running
Skipping
Hopping
Galloping
Leaping
Jumping
Sliding

Ball handling skills
Throwing
Catching
Kicking
Striking
Rolling

Movement exploration
Body control
Spatial awareness
Balance

Equipment exploration
Bean bags
Foam Frisbees
Hula hoops
Wands and scoops and scarves

Coordination activities
Jump rope
Scooters

Dance and rhythms
Elements of dance- body, space, force and tempo
Creative Folk. Square and Line dance

Gymnastics activities
Tumbling
Balance beam

Cooperation - Emphasis on cooperation rather than competition

Traditional Special Event: Field Day

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