The Curriculum includes :
• Language
Kindergarten is the pivotal year for oral language development. Incoming students have a varied level of language ability. Some kids can already speak with complete sentences, and others still give one-word answers or speak in phrases. We take upon ourselves to facilitate language skills in the classroom, but parents are responsible for creating an environment at home conducive to oral language development.
Socialization
Oral language skills are important for an obvious reason -- communication. Children need to be able to take part in a conversation where they answer questions, share personal stories and retell stories they have heard using details. Although some children are not as communicative as others, by the end of the year most kindergarten students should have mastered these skills.
Reading Skills
There is a major focus placed on oral language in kindergarten because it improves phonemic awareness -- the knowledge that each letter has a corresponding sound and that words are made by blending these individual sounds. Children with developed oral language ability are able to recognize and produce rhyming words and identify beginning sounds in words, two crucial skills for learning to read.
Vocabulary
Oral language development is critical to vocabulary acquisition. When children are encouraged to talk about their experiences in a conversation with others, they will add words to their vocabulary. This helps them later when they begin reading independently. Oral language development in kindergarten will enable your child to build the background knowledge he needs to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words.
Comprehension
Kindergarten students who have well developed oral language skills will have an easier time comprehending what they read or what is read to them. These students have learned to listen and know how to remember important facts about a story. If you communicate frequently with your child at home by asking questions or playing games, you will help him become a successful reader. Scholastic cites research that claims oral language development in kindergarten is an indicator of future reading success.
• Number Skills
Numeral Identification
The first step in Math and Number Awareness is learning what the 10 numerals (0 through 9) look like. This requires strong Visual Discrimination skills since many numerals (such as 6 and 9, or 1 and 7) look very similar. Once a child is able to recognize the 10 numerals and know each numeral’s name, he can develop an understanding of the amount each numeral represents.
Children in the classroom may be asked to “Cut out five circles,” “Pick three friends,” or “Ask one question,” for example. Understanding the significance of numerals will directly contribute to a child’s success in the classroom.
Counting
When first learning to count, a child counts by rote memorization. This means he will likely be able to say the names of the numbers from 1 through 10 simply because he has memorized the order of the words, “one, two three ... ten.” However, he likely does not yet understand that 5 is 2 more than 3, for example.
One-To-One Correspondence
When counting, the concept of “one-to-one correspondence” is the understanding that each object being counted represents “one more.”
Counting objects
Before a child understands one-to-one correspondence, he will count by rote memorization. When asked to count a small group of objects, he will likely count quickly through the numbers he has memorized and randomly touch the objects being counted instead of touching and counting each object just once. For example, a child given five beads may automatically count aloud from 1 to 10 when asked to count the beads, pointing to random beads as he proudly shows how well he can “count.”
Counting On
“Counting on” allows a child to continue counting objects added to a previously counted group without recounting the entire group. For example, give your child two apples and ask him to count them. Then, give your child three more apples. Counting on would involve your child applying one-to-one correspondence to the additional three apples by counting “three, four, five” instead of restarting at one and recounting all five apples.
Counting with one-to-one correspondence
Counting on is an important skill because it is time-consuming and impractical to recount a group of items each time additional pieces are added.
Patterning recognition and creation
Understanding patterns is an underlying theme in preschool and kindergarten math lessons. A pattern is defined as any sequence that repeats at least twice. As a practical example, consider counting from one to one hundred by ones. When counting, there is a recurring pattern in which all digits rotate from 0 to 9 before restarting back at 0.
Recurring pattern in counting
The first pattern that is introduced in the preschool classroom is called an AB pattern. This means that two different objects line up in an alternating pattern, such as: orange (A), banana (B), orange (A), banana (B), and so on.
As comfort with patterns grows, the patterns will become more complex, moving to an ABC pattern or an AAB pattern.
The ability to recognize, identify and create patterns not only supports learning in math but it also contributes to broader social development. Through an understanding of patterns, children are able to make predictions about what comes next. Just as a child can predict that a red bead will come next after seeing a string with a red bead, blue bead, green bead, red bead, blue bead, green bead pattern, a child will be able to make accurate predictions about other things or events that occur with regularity. For example, predicting what comes next after eating lunch (cleaning up) or after taking a bath (putting on clean clothes) will help a child maneuver more confidently in his environment.
Classifying and Sorting
Children are also introduced to sorting and classifying in preschool or kindergarten math lessons. These activities provide children with opportunities to develop logical reasoning skills as well as demonstrate divergent (independent) thinking.
For example, three different children will likely sort a pile of buttons of varying shapes, sizes, colors, and materials in three different ways. One child may put all the round buttons in one group and all the odd shaped buttons in a different group. A second child might put all the metal buttons in one group and all the plastic button in a different group. And a third child might sort the buttons according to color or size. The particular organizational system is not important. What is important is that each child accurately sorts according to his organization system and is able to explain his thought process.
Importance of Hands-On Learning
Math learning is most exciting for children when hands-on manipulatives (fancy teacher-speak for small objects that can be easily handled or manipulated) are incorporated. Manipulatives give children tangible representations of the otherwise abstract concepts related to numbers and counting. For example, when asking a child to count to 30, he may become lost or distracted halfway through. But, when you give the same child 30 small beans and ask him to count them, he will likely be able to apply one-to-one correspondence and accurately count all 30 beans.
Hands-on manipulatives are also essential when teaching patterning. Consider trying to explain pattern creation to your child without using hands-on manipulatives, by asking your child “red block, blue block, red block, blue block… what comes next?” Understandably your child probably did not memorize the order of words that you said and will struggle to answer correctly. By giving your child small red and blue blocks to place in order as you say the same pattern, “red block, blue block, red block, blue block,” you will increase the likelihood that he will be able to continue the pattern.
• EVS
• Art and Craft
• Music
• Computer
• Songs
• Gross and Fine Motor Development
Salient Features of our Curriculum :
