Here are a few of the things that we do in kindergarten...
Our religion series is called Word of Life. Units include, "The Story of God's Love", "God's Gift of Creation", "God's Promise to Noah", "A New Life", and "The Holy Spirit Comes." Kindergarteners go to Mass every Friday with the rest of the school. We are joined by our fourth grade "prayer partners." We will learn many of the traditional Catholic prayers this year, including the Hail Mary, Our Father, Glory Be, and Guardian Angel Prayer. Our entire curriculum is centered around the teachings of Jesus and his lessons are woven into each of the other subjects.
Kidwriting is a method of journaling that is fun and meaningful for the children. We will begin writing in a “storybook” right away.
Your child will ease into doing the writing himself at his or her own pace. He may begin by writing only squiggly lines, or beginning sounds and then progress to invented spelling and finally to writing words and simple sentences. This will be a very positive, low stress situation for your child.
I’ll send the storybooks home periodically for you to enjoy and send back to us.
The children receive individual instruction in flexible, small groups based on their own specific needs.
Shared reading is when the students and I read through an enlarged book together so that all can see. The students can join in when they feel comfortable. This helps to build reading fluency.
Each Friday your child will bring a small mystery item to school that begins with an assigned letter. He or she will give the rest of the class clues to help us guess what the item is.
I consistently use positive reinforcement in my classroom. Recognizing and rewarding good behavior seems to make a happy, joyful environment. I use a "Star Bear" as an incentive for the children to follow classroom rules and procedures.
I encourage you to read to your child every night. Experience and research shows that reading with your child is one of the best things you can do to help them become readers themselves. Your child will bring home two small stories each week to read to you, beginning right away. One story is the decodable story that we focus on in class and the other is a story to practice the high frequency words we are learning.