Kindergarten teachers and Early Childhood Educators use the four frames of the Kindergarten Program to teach large group circle time activities, educator-led activities in smaller groups, and free choice activities. We provide children with educational activities that are appropriate for young learners by taking into account their physical, intellectual, social and emotional needs in both English and French. We also provide the children with plenty of outdoor time, some quiet time activities, and two nutrition breaks for eating.
Play-based learning and learning through inquiry is the foundation of the Kindergarten Program. We believe that children are active and engaged learners who are capable of expressing themselves in many ways and exploring the world around them with their body, mind and senses.
A balanced school day is an alternative elementary school schedule that improves learning and promotes healthy eating. The schedule provides longer blocks of instructional time and two nutrition breaks (morning snack and lunch). During each nutrition break, the students are given an ample amount of time to eat.
In order to make it an easy transition for your child, we suggest having clearly labelled food and snacks so that your child knows what to eat for their morning snack and what to eat for lunch. This can be in the form of different coloured containers, stickers, or whatever works for your family. While we do monitor the children while they eat, we want to avoid your child accidently eating all of their food first thing in the morning!
At circle time the focus is on oral language, building communication skills both in English and French, boosting confidence, as well as nonverbal skills like whole body listening, turn taking, and self-regulation. Circle time consists of the whole group of children learning together with their educators. Circle times can include any subject such as numeracy, literacy, science, social skills, or music and movement.
Small group activities are similar to circle time activities, but are usually more hands-on and focused. Children work in smaller groups with an educator teaching subjects based on the kindergarten curriculum. Smaller groups facilitate learning for the children by providing more opportunities for them to participate, express their ideas, collaborate with others and learn new concepts. Children listen to the lessons that have been carefully planned and participate in the related activities that have been provided for them. Educators observe and document the children’s interactions and progress regularly within small groups. Activities and lessons are based on the children's development and are adjusted according to their needs.
Children will receive blocks of free choice, uninterrupted play. Kindergarten is a play-based program and we find children learn best when they are given a variety of activities and materials that they can explore on their own. Kindergarten teachers and Early Childhood Educators work closely together to provide a variety of play-based learning activities and opportunities based on the children’s interests and their inquiries. For example, we may ask children what they would like to see in the dramatic play area and then based on their interests, we co-create the space together. We want to encourage creativity, imagination, engineering and to enable children to think outside of the box, explore, create, and learn. Children will find these activities throughout the classroom in the forms of table top activities, dramatic play, sensory bins, quiet/reading areas and building areas.
Outdoor exploration time gives children an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and some physical activity! Even though it may just look like the children are playing, they are working on their social skills, problem solving skills, turn taking, and gross motor skills. Educators can also take this opportunity to teach the children group games or teach the children about the outdoors and nature. Our goal is to spend at least an hour outside everyday (often more) in all different types of weather. Please make sure that your child is dressed appropriately for the weather every day.
Transitions are an important part of the children's day and can also provide them with learning opportunities. Some transitions may include tidy up time, getting ready for nutrition breaks, moving from one activity to another, or getting ready to go outside. We as educators will guide the children through transition times with reminders, songs, and poems. Transitions in turn can teach self regulation, patience, how to listen to instructions, and how to properly follow our school day routine.