kindergarten

Click a tab on the left to read about the different curricular areas at the kindergarten grade level. We follow the Archdiocesan guidelines that can be found on the Archdiocese of Philadephia website at http://www.aopcatholicschools.org/elementary-schools/curriculum/

In our Kindergarten classrooms, we provide multi-sensory experiences and hands-on, student-centered learning across the subjects.

Reading: We use Scott Foresman Reading Streets Common Core series along with additional texts. Throughout the texts we explore a variety of fiction and nonfiction books. While reading each story we focus on a key reading comprehension skill such as identifying characters, setting, main idea, cause & effect, etc. We also discuss key vocabulary words within every story.  During the Winter months we talk about animal hibernation and conduct author focus weeks where we explore the works of Dr. Suess and Eric Carle. In the Spring we have an ocean unit where our stories focus on the sea and sea life. Each week we work with students in small guided reading groups as their reading skills emerge and develop.

Phonics/Pre-reading: To build critical foundational skills for our emerging readers we use the Wilson Fundations Program for kindergarten. This program emphasizes phonics and phonemic awareness.
Everyday we practice letter sounds, blending sounds into words, segmenting specific letter sounds, rhyming patterns, and word families.

Sight Words: Sight words are your child’s “power words” for reading. We use the Fry sight word lists and our goal is for every kindergartener to master 100 sight words by the end of the year. We practice by identifying and using sight words in the classroom and ask for parents to help at home as well.

Writing:  We concentrate on journal writing wherein we scaffold learning- beginning with writing one- word answers, graduating to copying sentence starters, then independently adding additional details about the subject.  We use this type of writing to teach how to construct a sentence, use capital letters, ending punctuation, spacing between words and the ability to incorporate sight words. Their spelling in the journals are based on their Fundations and sight word knowledge and grows exponentially each week.

We use Sadlier Math to build a solid number sense foundation in Kindergarten.  We begin by exploring different methods of sorting and classifying.  Throughout the year, we explore representing, counting, and writing numbers to 100 and place a strong emphasis on understanding place value as we work with larger numbers.  We learn how to compare numbers and correctly use the terms equal, greater than, and less than.  With our program, we spend time learning about addition and subtraction and the properties of two and three dimensional shapes.  With our series, our students are introduced to the concepts of time and money.

Kindergarten uses Sadlier We Believe --God Made the World. We spend time learning about the story of creation and exploring the many ways God is our Creator. We learn about the life of Jesus and about his parents, Mary and Joseph. We explore how we belong to the church with our family and friends and how we can live like Jesus. In October, the month of the rosary, we learn about the special role of Mary in our lives and how to pray the rosary. During the season of advent we follow the wise men on their journey to Bethlehem and the baby Jesus. Father Brandt visits the classroom for special Christmas and Epiphany blessings. During the Lenten season we discuss the special sacrifice Jesus made for us and how we celebrate his resurrection at Easter. In the month of May we honor Mary for her special role in the Church and join the rest of the school in our annual May Procession. Throughout the year we learn about the lives of special saints. Kindergarten also attends First Friday Mass along with all the faculty and students in the school.

Throughout the year we focus on several unique animals and discuss their animal class, features, life cycles, and unique adaptations. We explore seeds and plants and the growing cycle. Students are exposed to the scientific steps of making observations, asking questions, making predictions, and testing predictions through classroom activities and experiments.

Our Social Studies is integrated with our weekly reading stories, seasonal celebrations and use of the weekly Scholastic News magazine.  We discuss building a community and learning to share and work together.  We also explore national and state symbols such as the American flag.