Kindergarten Curriculum

(5 years old)

Kensington School’s Full Day Kindergarten provides the essential bridge from Preschool to First Grade. From the introduction of elementary math concepts to a language arts program rich in phonics, reading strategies, and writing skills, Kensington School is dedicated to developing confident, poised, life-long learners.

Language Arts 

Jolly Phonics is an engaging program that provides a child-focused approach to literacy. Through a multi-sensory method, kindergarteners are taught the 42 letter sounds, along with phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension.

Proper letter formation and printing is reinforced through the use of Handwriting Without Tears^® resources and tools. Whether piecing together wooden blocks or rolling out a letter with Roll-A-Dough, kindergarteners review the shape and stroke of each letter in various hands-on ways. Materials include individual Letters and Numbers for Me workbook and Building Writers Workbook and Handwriting Without Tears Handwriting Journal.

Michael Heggerty Phonemic Awareness curriculum that provides students with consistent and repeated instruction in phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is an awareness that spoken words are made up of individual sounds called phonemes. This instruction transfers to developing a student’s decoding and encoding skills. There is evidence that direct phonemic awareness instruction is one of the best early predictors of future reading success.

Mathematics

Guided by the teacher’s use of the Singapore Dimensions Mathematics (volumes 1 and 2) curriculum, children discover how math is part of their daily routines – numbers are everywhere! Utilizing manipulatives as well as familiar materials and situations, children gain critical thinking skills and develop problem-solving strategies – key foundations to higher level math.

Science

What do young children and rocket scientists have in common? Endlessly asking why! At Kensington School, children enjoy monthly Science Spin Magazines that are full of engaging lessons that feature fun non-fiction science topics. Children are delighted to flip through the magazine’s colorful pages as they engage in scientific thought and discussion with their teachers. Kindergarteners engage in Project Based Learning thematic science topics and create take home Science Journals of their learning and discoveries. From engineering to experimenting, children are encouraged to observe, investigate, hypothesize, test, and explore the wonders of the world around them.

Geography/Social Studies

Nystom Atlas Block Buddies and Maps, with its wealth of activities, large flip book, globes, and atlases,  inspires, instructs, and extends children’s geographical understanding.  Concepts include Family, Friends and Me, Seasons and Holidays, In Town and On the Farm, Land, Water and Maps, The United States, and Around the World.

Health and Wellness

Kensington School’s Mrs. Health and Happiness is our school’s Registered Nurse who teaches children lessons on leading a healthy and happy life. Health topics include good eating habits, the importance of sleep and exercise, staying hydrated, wearing sunblock, and more. Additional wellness topics include being thankful, being kind to others, using good manners, noticing nature, welcoming a new sibling, smiling, and being brave and honest. Kindergarteners also benefit from weekly yoga classes with our yoga teacher.

The Kensington Tinkerlab

Step into The Kensington Tinkerlab and you will find children thriving with creativity surrounded by a multitude of open-ended materials. It is a place of wonder, a special place for thinking and building where STEAM activities come to life. Robotics and circuitry, the coding corner, a marvels shelf, and woodworking are a few examples of the engineering topics that take place in this popular school destination. Kindergarteners visit The Kensington Tinkerlab twice a week, encouraging in-depth, collaborative projects.

Music

At Kensington School, we feel our curriculum would not be complete without music, and our children develop an appreciation of music as they experience it through movement and song. Seeing their music teacher playing the piano and hearing this “live” music provides the basis of an enduring musical experience. From counting rhythm to practice and performance, the Kensington School music curriculum promotes healthy intellectual growth and social confidence.