Kindergarten

Small Class Size
The class size is limited to 12 students.  One teacher is assisted by a parent aide.

Individualized Attention
Students require a program designed to meet their needs in academic, social, and emotional areas. Individual attention span, maturity and social skills are appropriately meshed with academic skill development.  To meet the personalized needs of each child, teachers work individually with students and in small groups.

Personalized Attention
The teachers work with each child so that he/she experiences success with beginning academic skills. A student will not be pushed into academic areas, but will remain challenged by appropriate tasks.

Skill Assessment
The teacher determines the developmental level of each child by assessing academic skills, attention span and developmental needs. A skills checklist, called a rubric, is used to record and guide a child’s progress.

Individualized Program
Once his/her skill level is determined, a child’s program is developed. A student’s day is composed of activities planned by the teacher and chosen by the pupil.

 

Planning Skills
Each day, in conference with a teacher, students plan activities they wish to pursue. The teacher is responsible for helping each child develop a well-rounded program. Using a graphic plan, the child chooses individual tasks and joins group activities. The student learns to make choices and follow through with them. The day ends with a brief conference with the teacher.

New Morning School’s afternoon kindergarten class is based on the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. This innovative approach builds on the interests of each student and helps learners make connections between prior knowledge and new understanding.

In the afternoon, planning is based on daily open-ended, self-selected activities alongside a weekly question posed by each student.  On Monday, children state their questions and spend the remainder of the school week using real-life problem-solving, peer interaction, and creative and critical thinking skills to provide an answer for Friday’s presentation.  “Answers” are represented by the daily work in art, science, math, and writing that children have undertaken.

Math
Math skills are introduced using many manipulatives. Counting, matching, sorting, and addition and subtraction with concrete objects reinforce the child’s understanding of math concepts.

Language Arts
Beginning reading and writing starts with a language experience approach. Students dictate stories for their journals, discuss letter names and sounds, and practice fine motor skills by copying or tracing the words. Visual, auditory and fine motor skills are developed through this process.

Music
Circle time features music activities, musical instruments, songs, musical stories and fingerplays.

Foreign Languages
Students are introduced to vocabulary such as counting in a variety of languages – Japanese, French, Spanish, and Mandarin for example.

Science
Experiments and hands-on activities support group discussion, making science fun, challenging and interesting.  Students participate in regular discovery activities that involve hands-on scientific investigation.

 

Museum Studies
Each winter, a student museum is developed with children choosing individual subjects of interest.  Topics are researched and shared in creative displays and multi-media presentations.  Skills are integrated as students read, write, graph, measure, draw and make models.  These in-depth studies and displays are shared with families and the community on Museum day.

Physical Education
Students attend gym class twice a week to improve cardiovascular health and develop large motor skills.