Kindergarten
Select a class from the list on the right to read the description.
Kindergarten is a time to develop the love, joy, and excitement for the world of learning - for learning rules and routines and how to be a caring, responsible member of a community. Kindergarten children have “Big Friends” in sixth grade who help them understand that they are an important part of the whole school community. Morning Circle time allows children to speak about events, to listen to others and to respect another’s opinion. Children learn how to warmly greet visitors to the classroom and to clearly introduce themselves. On the playground, children learn the listening and language skills required for the peaceful resolution of problems. Kindergarten children appear on stage at least twice a year, during The Winter Holiday Program and the Kindergarten class play. All these activities help to develop confidence and independent thinking.
The Kindergarten program is firmly based in the integration of all major subject areas. Each day unfolds with the child’s growth and interests in mind.
Language Arts
Reading- Alphabet sequencing
- Rhyming
- Phonemic awareness, letter/sound recognition
- Word families
- Decoding
- Building sight vocabulary
- Language Experience charts
- Independent reading
- Page orientation
- Upper and lower case letters
- Letter, word, sentence recognition
- Handwriting books
- Creative sentence writing
- Creative telling of a story
Math
Concepts are developed through the use of hands-on materials and activities.- Counting to 100 by 1's, 5's and 10's. Count by 2's to 16
- Representing numbers in concrete and abstract forms - visualizing numbers
- Exploring and producing patterns
- Representing and reading data - graphing
- 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional shapes
- Measuring - arbitrary and standard units of measure
- Telling Time - introduction
- Money - recognition of coins, counting money
- Calendar - seasons, months, days of week
- Weight - introduction
- Estimation - introduction
Science
- Study of plants and animals
- Trees - parts of trees, leaf identification, trees and the environment
- Characteristics and care of baby chicks
- Birds - characteristics of birds, bird identification, owls
- Animal tracks in winter
- Dinosaurs - identify and compare
- Human Body - healthy foods
- Energy, Light and Sound - introduction
- Solar System - introduction
- Color - introduction
- Magnets - exploration and simple terms
- Technology - Designing vehicles from recycled materials that moves on land
- Block building- use of space, balance, design. mazes
- Forces in Nature - push and pull, float and sink
- Chemical Reactions - experimentation, cooking
- JEM topics - air, water, light, soil
French
Teacher: Marie Baudy - Classes are 15 minutes a day, 4 times a week.- Building Beginning Vocabulary - family, colors, numbers, animals, etc.
- Idiomatic Expressions - greetings, weather, dates, classroom situations
Art
Teacher: Patricia Walsh-Collins - 30 minute classes, twice a week.- Visual perception of basic shapes; primary, secondary, complimentary and warm/cool colors; color mixing
- Visual perception of elements of art: line, color, texture, form
- Creative artistic expression and building of fine motor skills through drawing, painting, printmaking, clay, and various other mediums
- Problem solving skills
- Visuals, stories, art history, inter-curricular projects, gallery and art games
- Art appreciation and art criticism
Music
Teacher: Maria DeVore - 30 minute classes, twice a week.- Singing - folk songs, seasonal and holiday songs
- Non-tuned and tuned percussion instruments
- Movement to music - auditory awareness and discrimination
- Family concept of instruments
- Rhythmic notation - recognizing notes and rests
Physical Education
Teacher: Colleen McAteer - 30 minute classes, twice a week.- Rhythms and movement exploration (hoops, balls, ropes, etc.)
- Cooperative games
- Introduction to organized team games
- Obstacle courses
- Balance beams and jump ropes
- Track and Field events
Library
Teacher: Hillary Spitzer - 30 minute classes, once a week.- Introduction to library and arrangement of ER (Early Reader) books
- Introduction to library terms - author, title, illustrator
- Introduction to Caldecott Award books
- Storytelling and books read aloud
- Art activities related to books read aloud
- Choosing books for individual pleasure
Technology
- Introduction and Use of mouse, monitor and printer
- Kid Pix
- Reader Rabbit
Class Trips
Include a variety each year, some depend on particular class interests.- Honey Hollow Environmental Center
- Apple orchard and pumpkin patch
- Trenton Museum - dinosaurs
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- George School
School Wide Activities
- Assembly - once a week
- Meeting for Worship - once a week
- Recess - three times a day
- Track and Field Day
- Gardening Day