Kindergarten

Kindergarten marks an extremely important time in a young child’s life as they make the transition from preschool to primary grades; we are confident that our program makes the most of this pivotal time. With a small class size, a maximum of 18 children and two teachers, each child is sure to receive the guidance and attention that is necessary at this important age. As a private school, we create a stimulating and expansive curriculum which uses and develops the children’s own interests and passions to make learning meaningful. The children are encouraged to work collaboratively and independently while receiving all the individual instruction they need to be successful. We pride ourselves on creating confident, responsible, independent thinkers who are not only prepared for first grade, but who also leave with great enthusiasm to learn, and are fully prepared socially and emotionally to make the transition.

Below is a detailed description which gives a better understanding of our program.

Class Discipline

The atmosphere we create in the classroom is one of respect and cooperation. We set goals and expectations for the children which they take pride in. The children are taught to be responsible for their own actions and we assist them in resolving conflicts in a positive way. Our Peace Builder program is part of the daily lesson as we recite our Peace Builder Pledge and talk about what it means to be a Peace Builder, which encompasses qualities like being a good friend, having empathy, telling the truth, and using kind words. Every month, we have a school-wide Peace Builder activity that the children participate in, and we talk about how even at a young age, each one of us can make a difference.

Communication

In September, we hold a Parent Orientation where we provide information on the day-to-day activities in the classroom, and the goals for the school year. Conferences are held in the Fall and the Spring and report cards are issued twice a year. There is a daily description of activities and pictures and sometimes assignments posted via the SeeSaw App each day. Email is used throughout the year for communication as well.

Daily Challenge

We start each day with a daily challenge which gets our brains working as soon as we enter the classroom! The children are asked to sign themselves in and, as the year progresses, answer a question of the day. They grow to love the daily challenges as they are fun and involve various activities such as creating something out of an assortment of materials, writing about a specific topic or solving a math challenge or brain teaser. The children have a sense of pride when they are able to complete their challenge each morning and they are praised for their growth and accomplishments.

Circle Time/Morning Meeting

The circle time/morning meeting is the focal point for our school day and is our time together as a whole group to become excited about the events that will be going on. It is a time to introduce new topics and review skills we are currently working on through games, songs, discussion, interactive writing, and use of the SMART board. We also work on public speaking and listening skills with the goal of building self-confidence and respect for others.

Reading

Our reading program is based on a whole language approach combined with explicit phonics instruction, where we read and write for real purpose and meaning and strive to have your child develop a true love of books. We read frequently throughout our day as we integrate literacy into all areas of the curriculum. Reading takes place in many forms including guided reading, reading aloud, independent reading, and reading groups. Our print-rich environment utilizes “traveling sight word boards” which include high frequency words that become sight words and continually change throughout the year.  We use a wide variety of literature including fiction and non-fiction, poetry, myths, reader’s theater, magazines, and current events publications. The children meet in reading clubs and use leveled readers and decodables as a tool to build confidence and work on skills such as phonics, grammar, punctuation and reading strategies. We practice using sight words in many fun ways throughout the year including activities such as songs, games (both inside and outside), and “reading and writing the room” to help learn the words. Everyone becomes a reader in our Kindergarten classroom!

Writing

Our writing program is exciting as children start to “kid write” the day they enter our classroom. Kid writing is an effective approach for children to gain confidence and become independent writers. It allows children to express themselves by writing the sounds they hear in words, and it rapidly develops throughout the school year. Letter formation is reinforced through our school-wide “Handwriting Without Tears” program.  Writing is integrated into everything that we do until it becomes second nature to the children. The writing projects will always represent something that is meaningful to them, and the children are encouraged to use sight words in their stories. We use literature every day to model writing. Every child is given their own journal where they make entries continually throughout the year, it’s amazing to see the progress from September to June! We also “celebrate” our writing by having special days like our “Editor’s Breakfast” where our young writers are busy editing, revising, and reading their work aloud!

Kindergarten “Jobs”

A fun aspect of the Kindergarten is the unique “jobs” they are assigned throughout the year. Each week, a student will have an opportunity to be a “Book Buddy”, a “Star of the Week”, a “Class Photographer” or a “Treasure Hunter”. Every child will have an opportunity to experience all of these roles, but a class favorite is often the “Treasure Hunter”. The “Treasure Hunter” is given the class treasure box to take home with them on Thursday afternoon. The mission is to find 10 items from home that they want to share with the class AND that can fit in the box, being careful that none of the items are alive, slimy, edible, or breakable! On Friday, the “Treasure Hunter” presents each of the items to the class and talks about why they chose the item and why it’s special to them. After all of the items are presented, the class then hides in a separate room and the student presenting, removes and hides 2 items. When the class returns, they figure out what is missing by process of elimination, and then they search the room to find the hidden items. The children really enjoy this activity and don’t even realize they are learning the important skills of public speaking and listening and paying attention to others. Each class “job” offers the children a unique learning opportunity, as well as a sense of importance and belonging as they have a role in their community.

Technology/ Computers

We have a SMART board to enhance our learning experience in the Kindergarten classroom. With this technology, we can produce our own activities and lessons tailored to the specific needs of the children at that time. The SMART board is an interactive tool which engages the attention of the children and brings the lessons to life. It helps to develop visual learners while supporting aural and logical thinkers, and it is great to see the children’s face light up in class because a “magical” device is inspiring them to learn!

We use other educational applications to further enhance the classroom experience such as BrainPop which is an on-line encyclopedia used to help the children learn new concepts in social studies, science, and literature. Both the SMART board and BrainPop are a great resource for research.

On the desktop computer, the children are introduced to the keyboard and taught how to use the mouse and function keys properly. The children will all publish their own stories on the computer by the end of the year and will be able to read and share their work.

Math

Our math program is designed to encourage your child’s creative and open-ended thinking. We aim to develop a true understanding of mathematical concepts through practical problem-solving activities. We bring math to life by using hands-on manipulatives and real-life situations. Showing children how we use math in our daily lives will help them to master important concepts in a fun and meaningful way.  Some concepts covered include numbers, patterns, telling time, estimation, simple addition and subtraction, graphing and data gathering, money and fractions, and measurement.

We have some special math events, too, such as the big celebration of the 100^th day and “Money Week”.  During money week, we set up a banking system with real money where the children earn a salary for coming to school, have the chance to purchase items in their school store, act as cashiers and bankers, figure out interest accrued if they save their money, and even keep track of their debits and credits on their own balance sheet.

Science

Science will be taught through discussion and hands-on experiments. We often go outside to observe nature and our environment and bring it back into the classroom. The objective of our science curriculum is to predict, experiment, observe and record results.

We record our discoveries in our science journals. Some topics we cover throughout the year include floating/sinking, magnets, recycling, growing vegetables, life cycles, research on animals, healthy eating & lifestyle, and discovering the Earth and planets.

Each month we have a real “scientist” from who visits our classrooms and conducts hands-on experiments with the children, teaching them a different scientific process each time. The children are taught to respect and protect the environment.

Learning Centers

Our learning centers encourage independent learning and self-discovery along with providing an opportunity to practice a new skill or work on fine motor development.    We use a variety of creative materials within our centers that allow for a child-centered approach. The Listening Center and the library are two of our popular, year-round centers. Other centers may be language, math or science-based, examples of such centers include sorting and classifying, math facts, creative writing, engineering and construction, and puzzles and games.

Music

Music is a stimulating and effective way to learn, so we integrate it using a wide variety of music and instruments. We enjoy opportunities throughout the day to sing, dance, compose and become choreographers! We also have a Music Enrichment program in which guest professional musicians visit our Kindergarten periodically throughout the year, to perform and share their musical knowledge and talents. Parents are treated to musical performances by the children several times during the year, including our Holiday Show, Mother’s Day celebration and the grand finale of the Kindergarten Graduation!

Outside

Physical activity and outdoor time are important for growing children. We go outside every day, weather permitting. We sometimes have structured physical education time where we play together as a group and work on basic skills such as catching and throwing, jumping rope, hula hoops, team games, etc. We also allow for free time outside so that children have the opportunity to release their energy and invent their own games. We use the property to its full extent by hiking the nature trails, building, visiting the barn & feeding the animals, and sometimes even sledding!

Specials

The Kindergarten program offers Spanish class each week and Yoga classes every other week. We also have Science Enrichment once each month. Children bring their own lunch each day but every Friday we have “Pizza Friday” which the children may participate in if they wish.

The Mountain Hill School Kindergarten is unique. We pride ourselves on helping each child reach their maximum potential. Upon completion of our Kindergarten Program, the children leave with confidence, independence, a love of learning and the foundation they need to be successful in the future!