1. 2012-2013 Deer Park Early Childhood & Education Center Liz Nobler

2. Kindergarten is a special time: the onset of school. The Kindergarten program here at Deer Park recognizes that children will soon be entering schools that have a range of expectations of child readiness for social and academic performance.

3. Deer Park’s Kindergarten provides a comprehensive approach that challenges children and supports all areas of development.

4. It recognizes the value of emergent curriculum… The approach to kindergarten is a balance of child-centered, teacher-directed and a learning centered approach.

5. Teacher Directed Instruction

6. What Is Kindergarten at Deer Park Early Childhood Education Center? A place to learn A place to grow A place to have fun A place to prepare for Academic Success A place to learn: At DP, your child will experience an environment tailored to learning. He/She will learn the basic academic skills necessary to function in a first grade classroom. They will learn the social skills that will make them a successful communicator and school citizen. A Place to Grow: You will see your child grow in many ways. Physically, they will grow taller and stronger. Academically, they will learn reading skills, math concepts and handwriting techniques. Socially, your child will learn to negotiate, problem solve and communicate with peers and teachers. Emotionally, your child will gain independence and confidence with growing abilities. A Place to Have Fun: In Kindergarten, a family is formed and life long friendships grow and develop. We sing, we dance, we joke, we have fun.

7. A World Of Learning Opportunities…WORLD AT THEIR FINGERTIPS Math Counts – Everyday Math Language Works – Reading A-Z / Phonemic Awareness Science Rocks – Science A-Z Art Smart – Art Studio Our World –Social Studies Well Aware / Movement Matters Projections – On-going based around the children’s interest & skill set

8. Math Counts! Math experiences happen everywhere, like…

9. Learning Math in various ways… We teach math skills in a spiral manner meaning that topics are continuously taught and reviewed. We do not focus on one mathematical concept and then forget it through the year; the math skills are reviewed and practiced in conjunction with other topics throughout the year.

10. Math activities are best facilitated when the materials offered are able to be manipulated and explored

11. The Everyday Math program emphasizes the application of mathematics to real world situations. Through a “spiraling effect” children will be introduced to a variety of math concepts.

12. In Math We Learn Counting Number Recognition Patterning Graphing Time Money Basic Addition and Subtraction Measurement Math activities for kindergarten children are best facilitated when the materials offered are able to be manipulated and embedded in everyday experiences

13. The Block Center Children learn important thinking skills when working with blocks. Manipulating blocks intertwines with Math Counts. The Block Center, one of the most popular areas in our room during child choice rotation, the children practice mathematical skills without even noticing it. Blocks are in direct mathematical proportion so shapes, counting, creating order and symmetry are all a natural part of building.

14. Playing Games Playing games incorporates many math skills Kindergarten children are very much into game playing and much like their block experiences, game playing incorporates math skills. Using spinners and dice give the children exposure to number recognition and identification. Moving the game pieces is a classic example of one to one correspondence at its best. Ordinal numbers come into play when children decide who is first, second and so on.

15. Language Works… Language skills are found and practiced in every activity and every center the children work in.

16. In Language Works… Letter identification Letter recognition Sight words Beginning reading skills Phonetic awareness Language Works is the World at Their Fingertips piece that directly reinforces the many skills and concepts taught through Jolly Phonics, Reading From A-Z and Handwriting. The book center with its tape stories and book selection provide the children with many opportunities for language development.

17. Building Phonemic Awareness The kindergarten curriculum covers all consonants, short vowels, phonemes, blends, and rime patterns. The Jolly Phonics program is to teach children to read and write through a systematic phonics program, where they are taught the 42 sounds of the English language not just the alphabet sounds. Each sound is also taught with a movement. Young children learn quickly when activity is involved. By doing an action for each sound, the students were using body movement, ears, eyes, and speech to help them remember. By doing so, the children are taught all of the sounds with a symbol early on and can then begin blending and writing words and sentences. Due to being exposed to Jolly Phonics throughout our program the Kindergarten children are ready for the Phonemic Awareness Program and Reading From A-Z. A child who is phonemically aware is able to isolate sounds, manipulate the sounds, blend and segment the sounds into spoken and written words.

18. Handwriting In the beginning of the school year, we teach the Zaner-Bloser handwriting style. Starting in March, we will start teaching the D’Nealian (slanted) handwriting style. Zaner-Bloser D’Nealian Zaner-Bloser Handwriting program, also known as traditional or block. It uses an easy step by step approach so that children develop a solid foundation that encourages and supports their handwriting development. D’Nealian is a style of handwriting to help ease the transition from print to cursive. The D’Nealian style also cuts back on many of the common reversals due to the lack of lifting the pencil from the paper.

19. In Kindergarten, the children practice writing their letters formally and casually

20. Daily Journaling Children learn important skills such as: sentence structure decoding capitalization phonetics spelling

21. Reading A to Z Reading A-Z is a leveled reading program that allows children to learn at their own pace. There are thousands of books available to ensure that each child is reading books that will benefit their learning. The children read these books in small groups with the teachers working on vital reading skills like left to right progression, sight word recognition, using picture and context clues and comprehension.

22. Guided reading in small groups allows exposure and practice with sight words and other language skills.

23. A major goal for Kindergarten is to move the children forward in their readiness to read as well as actual reading. A major goal for Kindergarten is to move the children forward in their readiness to read as well as in actual reading. All children develop at different rates and this is particularly true of the development of reading.

24. Science Rocks!

25. Science A-Z Science A-Z is a dynamic collection of downloadable lessons and materials in four scientific domains: life, earth, physical, and process science. All of the units are designed to follow the state and new CORE learning standards. The science center provides the children with materials, opportunities and experiences to explore their environment and strengthen their ability to think and reason. They learn to hypothesize and then conduct experiments to validate the predictions they made. Kindergarteners learn to explore cause and effect, cycles in nature, comparisons, chemical and physical changes and the property of matter

26. In Science we learn… the scientific method how to make predictions to use senses to gain information about the environment and about our everyday lives to sequence events in order of occurrence observe systems, cycles, interactions, and diversity in the environment observe cause and effect materials, color, texture, size, and shape of objects to observe forces such as gravity and magnetism to use weighting and other measurement skills to gain information

27. Art Smart provides an opportunity for creative expression and exploration, it also focus’s on the children’s processes in reaching a final product rather than the actual product itself. Open ended art projects are also provided for the children at times, giving them access to materials and creative outlets new and exciting to them. These projects keep the door open for free exploration of thinking and planning. No direction is given for these projects, simply new and interesting materials not available regularly at the art center. ART SMART Art opportunities are offered to the Children on a daily basis in Kindergarten.

28. Art Smart Art Smart encourages young children to develop an appreciation of visual art, music, drama and dance, and supports the artistic expression that grows from within each child. Art Smart is broad and grounded in our knowledge that all children are artists and their emerging creativity blossoms through engagement and opportunities to observe and appreciate art in the surrounding world.

29. In Art we learn… Expressing Ourselves Creative Representation Eye Hand Coordination Sensory Skills Tactile Skills Music & Movement Drama An Appreciation of the Arts

30. Our World… Our World is a carefully planned learning environment organized for child choice, discovery, exploration, challenge, and mastery of emerging skills. We have planned daily activities and projects that reflect the children's emerging interests and skills. The planned enrichment activities take advantage of local resources.

31. Computers… Kindergarteners have the opportunity both as child choice and as daily work activities to engage in computer programs. The software programs in Kindergarten are both fun and beneficial to learning.

32. WELL AWARE / MOVEMENT MATTERS Well Aware is Bright Horizons approach to Health, Fitness and Wellness. We took our Physical Fitness class and expanding it into the Well Aware Program. Well Aware has been developed to foster positive attitudes towards healthy living through experiences, activities and interactions with caring adults. Being early childhood educators, we are in a unique position to be able to influence children’s physical fitness and promote an understanding of how food, exercise and healthy choices impact our lives. Well Aware involves creating environments, providing activities, establishing family partnerships, modeling behavior, and promoting healthy values so children incorporate healthful habits into their daily routines

34. So, what in The World to do? Managing choice time. How children choose is important In addition to the formal Kindergarten curriculum that focuses on reading writing, social studies, science and math, the Kindergarten children participate in Bright Horizon’s the World at Their Fingertips curriculum that provides hands on learning opportunities in all of the centers of the room. These learning centers and activities supplement the learning that takes place during formal instruction.

35. More about Child Choice System Child Choice time occurs at various points throughout the day. During this time, the children are free to move around the room, making their own choice of activities from a rich array of possibilities offered in the academic learning centers in the room. It is during this time, that many of the centers you have just seen are utilized. How children choose is important. A choice system requires children to think about what they will do and plan their time. Teachers can help a child make choices and guide him or her to new challenges or mastery over emerging skills and understanding.

36. A Day In the Life Of Kindergarten at Deer Park The Kindergarten Daily Schedule

37. Drop Off and Sign-In The benefits of having your child at Deer Park BHFS for Kindergarten is evident the moment you enter the building. That is because you personally enter the building and drop off your child in a familiar and constant setting. There are no bus routes to worry about, very few transitions, and you know your child is safely in the familiar environment.

38. Breakfast & all centers are open… 7:30-9:00 We offer breakfast every morning from 8:15 to 9:00. During this time the children also have child choice time. Having this time offers the children a chance to meet with their friends and socialize and it also allows them time to mentally prepare for the day. This is the perfect time to hear what the children are interested in so I can bring an emergent curriculum to life.

39. Calendar/Weather 9:00-9:30 Morning group time is the heart of our day. We first meet as a group to talk about how we are feeling and then the children can share a story with their classmates. We meet as a class to discuss the days of the week, month of the year, date, weather and days of school. All of these are aspects of our Everyday Math program and expose the children to mathematical skills like number recognition, counting, graphing and sequencing. We also discuss any other important information for the day.

40. . Phonemic Awareness and Read Aloud / 9:30-9:45 Our literacy time begins with phonemic awareness and reading a story to them. The children also have the opportunity to practice writing letters and words that include the sound/s we are focusing on. A literacy activity follows our phonics work. The activities are done in a large group.

41. Daily Handwriting and/or Journals 10:00-10:30

42. Academic Centers 10:30 – 11:15 During the Academic Centers the children have the opportunity to participate in activities set up at each center around the room. It is during this time that the children will rotate through the many centers in the room. During this time the children are learning important social skills necessary to function in classroom life. They are required to share materials, discuss and problem solve with friends and work together. They are also strengthening their ability to make independent choices and to take initiative.

43. Here are our Academic Centers: Science / Sensory Table / Science A-Z Math Table / Everyday Math Art Table / Art Easel Language Table / Reading Area / Reading A-Z Computer Station Listening Station Writing Station Block / Construction Area Dramatic Play / Imagination Station Manipulatives / Puzzles / Games Social Studies / Our World

44. Outdoor Time/Large Motor 11:30-11:55 In an outdoor setting, children learn to share, take runs and express hurt feelings while working cooperatively with their peers. Outdoor activities are essential for physical development. They also help in the development of the small muscles needed for precise tasks. Outdoor play gives children an opportunity to work on social skills in a less restricted environment..

45. Mandarin with Miss Jamie 12:00 – 12:30 During 12-12:30, the lunch helpers set the tables for lunch which is one of our classroom responsibilities, while others are participating in Mandarin.

46. Lunch 12:30 – 1:00 We all sit down together for a family style lunch. Lunch time provides the children opportunities for open conversation and practice with manners and sharing.

47. Quiet Time 1:00-2:00 Kindergarten children do participate in a quiet time. The children are not required or made to sleep, however are expected to rest quietly on a mat, we will have the children participate in quiet time some days without books or other materials and other days they may utilize their quiet time boxes. The children will have the opportunity to work in their journal during rest time. They may write and/or draw about something of interest to them.

48. Outdoor Time/Open Choice Centers/Movement Matters 2:00-3:00

49. Snack 3:00-3:30

50. Art Smart 3:30-4:00

51. All Centers Open/Outdoor Time 4:00-End of Day

52. At Bright Horizons, your child’s Kindergarten year will be one of learning, growth, and fun.

53. Daily Sheet

54. Lesson Plan

55. Benefits of Deer Park Early Childhood and Education Center’s Kindergarten On site /convenience Few transitions/stability Parent involvement Extensive communication More school days Broad Curriculum Low ratio (1-15 max) Able to individualize to each students skill set March on to align our program with public schools