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Transition to Kindergarten Class The T-Kindergarten class is designed to give children the gift of another year for growth and development before starting kindergarten. The class provides the children with an introduction to a structured school environment, including specific tasks at centers, teacher table, journal writing, etc. The children are provided with large and small group instructions as well as individual instruction to meet the needs of each child. This class is ideal for children with summer birthdays.
Program Goals Thematic Approach
The thematic approach is used for curriculum development at CPCS. Thematic teaching enhances learning by allowing children to make connections between the various experiences during a school day.
Themes may include the following:
Colors All About Me Dr. Seuss Rhyming Words
Holidays Community Helpers Senses Numbers
Nutrition Presidents/Famous People Seasons Animals
Cowboys Families Dinosaurs Weather
Faith Building
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control”. Galatians 5:22
Each month the TK children will hear Bible stories and secular stories to help them learn a different “fruit”. The children will hear how the different fruit enable them to be more Christ-like, becoming the person that Jesus wants them to become.
No doctrine is taught as we come together from different denominations, but our goal is to partner with parents and guide the children on their spiritual journey.
Center Time
The TK class spends a large portion of their day in “centers”. The centers provide children with hands on activities in a variety or areas. Each center has a particular task for the children to accomplish. The center’s activities change weekly and correspond to the theme studied.
Each center fosters learning in a variety of ways -
Imagination Center – home living, dress-up, dolls, restaurant, etc.
• Get along with others
• Act out events and life situations
• Develop skills in conflict resolution
• Enrich children’s verbal and nonverbal communication skills
Art Center – free art as well as projects requiring following directions
• Encourage creativity
• Follow simple directions
• Learn to make decisions by choosing different art materials
• Build self-confidence
• The process of creating is more important then the product itself
Writing Center – draft books, tracing, wipe-off boards
• Curriculum – Handwriting without Tears
• Experimenting with the written word
• Inventive spelling
• Develop fine motor skills
• Understand left-right progression
Games, Construction & Block Center – board games, Lincoln Logs, Legos, blocks
• Opportunity to develop large and small muscles
• Choose size and shape for their creation
• Develop their own ideas
• Play cooperatively and respectfully
Puzzles and Manipulatives – puzzles, unifix cubes, pegboards
• Develop fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination
• Develop thinking and recognition skills
• Develop problem solving skills
• Match, classify, and sequence
• Work both independently and cooperatively
Library Center – books and books on tape
• Develop listening skills
• Stories have a beginning, middle and ending
• An author is someone who writes a story
• An illustrator is someone who draws pictures for a story
• Left to right progression
• Some words rhyme
• Develop comprehension
Teacher Table Time
The children spend time at “teacher table” each day. The children work in small groups with their teacher. The time is spent on specific skills; reading readiness, math, science, social studies, and health. An overview of the skills taught follows:
Language/Reading Readiness
Curriculum – Read and Sing and Handwriting Without Tears
• Recognize and write name correctly
• Recognize color and color words
• Beginning sounds
• Introduce a letter a week
• Sequencing
• Fine motor skills
• Following directions
• Retell events in a story
• Rhyming words
• Opposites
• Understanding that picture clues help us in reading
• Difference in real and make believe
• Roles of author and illustrator
• Beginner reading books are used by ready students
• Listening skills
• Listening to stories for enjoyment
Math Skills
• Recognize numbers 1-20
• Introduce patterns –ABAB, ABCABC, AABBCC, etc.
• Use manipulatives to form shapes
• Understand positional words
• Count to 100
• Name days of the week & months of the year
• Introduce concepts of “greater than and less than”
• Introduce measurements
• Weights using balance
• Use manipulatives to learn the concept of addition and subtraction
• Introduce graphs
• Sort objects by shape, color, texture, and size
• Estimation
• Money
Science, Social Studies & Health
• Study about myself and families
• Rules
• Community
• Five senses
• Simple experiments
• Nutrition
• Exercise
• Animal –habitats, hibernation, etc.
• Seasons
Movement
Children will attend movement class twice a week to work on their gross motor skills
Children will be provided with opportunities to develop in these areas:
• Movement awareness – body awareness, rhythm, eye-foot coordination, spatial awareness
• Locomotor Skills – Walking, running, leaping, jumping, hopping, galloping, skipping, body rolling, sliding
• Nonlocomotor Skills – dodging, stretching/bending, turning/twisting, pushing/pulling, swinging/swaying
• Manipulative Skills – ball rolling, throwing, bouncing, striking, kicking, catching, trapping
• Health related fitness - Basic nutrition, flexibility, aerobic endurance
• Love for Movement !!!
Spanish
The children will be introduced to the Spanish language through songs, books and interaction with the Spanish teacher.
~Color words
~Counting
~Parts of the body
~Animals/ocean animals
~Food
~Family
~Shapes
~Days of the week; names of the months
~Basic conversational phrases (hello, goodbye, my name is, etc.)
~Hear familiar stories in Spanish (such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle)
~Hear songs in Spanish such as; Hello “Hola” Song, Good Bye, “Adios” Song, Good Morning “Buenos Dias” Song, Color Song
Discipline
~Children will learn to make appropriate choices and be accountable for their choices
~Teachers will talk with children about inappropriate behavior and discuss alternatives
~Parents may be asked for a conference to discuss chronic discipline problems
~The school has the right to terminate the enrollment of any child that hinders the learning and safety of other children
Sample Daily Schedule Transition Kindergarten | Time | Event | | 9:00-9:10 | Welcome | | 9:10-9:30 | Circle Time | | 9:30-10:30 | *Centers | | 10:30-10:40 | Stores/Letter Bag | | 10:40-11:05 | Movement Class with Mrs. Connie | | 11:05-11:25 | Snack | | 11:25-11:30 | Pack up | | 11:30-11:55 | Playground or Gym (depending on weather) | | 12:00 | Carpool/Dismissal |
Examples of Centers: - Learning Lab
- Imagination/Building
- Creativity Center
- Manipulatives
- Spanish once a week
Lunch Bunch Schedule | Time | Event | | 12:10-12:30 | Lunch | | 12:30-12:45 | Rest | | 12:45-1:30 | Free Play (all centers open) | | 1:30-2:00 | Outside Time (weather permitting) | | 2:00-2:15 | Stories/Songs | | 2:15-2:25 | Pack Up | | 2:25-2:30 | Carpool/Dismissal |
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