Kindergarten Curriculum (Red Room)

T.J. Stone

The BNS Kindergarten Program offers a variety of avenues for students to reach the 5 major academic goals listed below. Additionally, the program is focused upon creating a learning environment in the classroom that is reflective of a cooperative community and that promotes emotional health. The children work together to share resources, resolve conflicts, build trust, and articulate experiences. This aids in the creation of a classroom climate that encourages children to take responsible academic and social risks without fear of failure.

The 5 major academic goals of the BNS Kindergarten Program are to have all students:

  1. beginning to read and write on their own by the end of the school year.
  2. demonstrating a comfortable familiarity with the elements of math including addition and subtraction.
  3. understanding how to systematically pursue an idea or question.
  4. telling sequential stories of past and present events.
  5. developing a positive and enthusiastic attitude toward school and learning.

Please keep in mind that the skills listed throughout the curriculum span over the course of the school year and that different students will begin the development of particular skills at different times. Also, for students that are ready, further-reaching goals will be developed as soon as appropriate.

"Circle" Time

The Red Room students begin their day on the carpet together. Circle time provides the opportunity to become reacquainted with each other and oriented to the day in relation to the calendar. It also allows students the opportunity to share information with the class, to practice the sign-language alphabet and ASL word signs, to enjoy different letter sounds and rhymes, to review the day's schedule, to practice reading a classmate's "story," and to hear directions about the next activities. The following skills are developed and reinforced during circle time:

Reading

During reading time students rotate among the following learning centers (a.k.a. "Station Rotations"): Small Group Instruction with T.J., Loft Reading (enjoying books quietly up in the loft as a "reading workshop" time), Fine Motor and Writing Station (including cutting, writing practice, creative writing, illustrating), and Reading "Games" (including puzzles, sound boxes, and appropriate board games).

Each student will read in a small group (of 3 to 4) with T.J. twice per week. They are grouped according to similarity in reading/pre-reading style and experience. Materials for this instruction include letter strips; cvc (consonant-vowel-consonant; e.g. "cat") word cards; Bob Books and other phonetically based early readers; easy readers of all kinds; toy-letter matching games, sight word cards; and class- or teacher-made books, stories, songs, and poems. The following skills are developed and reinforced during reading activities:

The class will also engage in group lessons and story activities in which the students read "big books" or other stories together, play a group game, enjoy a "draw and write" activity, sing songs that stress phonemic awareness, or discuss a particular reading strategy. When listening to stories students will often be asked to identify characters and setting and to retell the story with attention to the sequence of beginning, middle, and end. They will also consider responses to questions of Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.

Writing

Students engage in writing activities on a daily basis. As they become ready, students will be guided to write words related to their illustrations. Some students will be ready to begin using basic (noun, verb) sentence structure. In all writing activities, students will be encouraged to "listen" for the sounds of words and write the corresponding consonant and vowel sounds. Such "invented" spelling (or "temporary spelling") is phonetic in nature and allows students to freely express themselves through writing. In later years at BNS they will refine spelling both naturally—as they become fluent readers, and systematically—through direct spelling instruction. Late in the fall, the students will receive direction with regards to proper letter formation through handwriting workbook activities. The following skills are developed and reinforced during our writing activities:

Math

Math is incorporated into many subject areas throughout the day and is given a concentrated focus during "math time." BNS utilizes the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project curriculum, Everyday Mathematics, for grades K-5, in addition to other math resources. Students receive direct group instruction on sequential mathematical concepts (listed below). They will have an opportunity to explore these concepts through conversation, literature, manipulatives, and practice pages. These concepts are further reinforced with particular math games, puzzles, and other manipulatives. During math "drills," students experience fun ways to put certain "math facts" to memory (e.g. number recognition, counting by 5's, some basic addition facts, etc.). The following skills are developed and reinforced during math activities:

Science, Social Studies, and Theme Activities

Many of the weeklong learning themes will be enhanced by science and social studies activities. Occasional field trips, educational videos, and guest speaker presentations further extend these subject areas.

Key concepts for the science program include:

Key concepts for the social studies program include:

Additional Subjects

Kindergarten students at BNS also receive regular instruction in Art, Spanish, Physical Education, and Music. These subjects are taught by specialists who are employed by BNS. Please click on a link to visit the Red Room curricula for these subjects, or click here to learn about our faculty.

Outdoor Play

When weather permits, the kindergartners receive a 30-minute recess following snack time and a 45-minute recess following lunch time every day.

Rest and Reading

Students are read to on a regular basis. Each day, after lunch, the Red Roomers rest on mats while listening to "chapter book" literature. Occasionally, this is followed by a related activity—such as watching the video of Charlotte's Web after completing the novel. "Rest and Reading" is often a favorite time of day for the children as they enjoy resting and creating images evoked by significant works in children's literature.