Kindergarten Curriculum

Our primary education aims to build young minds as this period forms the basis of all other learning for the rest of their lives.

Kindergarten is a very special time because, for some children, this will be their first time separating from their family. This year your child will learn to share, cooperate, become independent, and learn responsibilities. In order for us to achieve these goals I need your support at home. Together we can make a successful parent-teacher-child team.

In Religion, Kindergarteners will recognize that all things are gifts of God. They will recognize the beauty of God’s creation, be able to explain that God is the Creator of everything, and understand that Jesus is a good friend. Students will celebrate the liturgical seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter, and will participate in school, classroom, parish or community service projects (Christian Service Hours). Students will be introduced to the Rosary and will learn the Sign of the Cross, Angel of God, Prayer Before and After Meals, Our Father, and Hail Mary. All Kindergarten students are required to complete two hours of Christian Service and the related class assignments.

In Language Arts, Kindergartners will recite the alphabet, recognize and name all letters of the alphabet (uppercase and lowercase), and will know the corresponding sounds of each letter.  Students will learn to correctly write their first and last name, write longer words spelled the way they sound, write from left to right and from top to bottom, and show spacing between words.

In Reading, Kindergarteners will identify the front, back, title, author, and illustrator of a book, understand what the illustrator and the author do, and understand the difference between fiction and nonfiction text. Students will learn to blend CVC sounds orally to make words, find where a sentence starts and ends, count the sounds in a syllable, and find the number of syllables in a word. Students will identify and produce rhyming words, use left to right and top to bottom motion when reading, make predictions, and identify characters, setting, and the main idea of a story.

In Math, Kindergarteners will recognize and write numbers and count in sequence, compare numbers, count to 10 by 2s, 5s, and 10s, and be introduced to addition and subtraction. Students will classify objects and count the number of objects in each category.  They will describe shapes, identify, copy, and create patterns, make and interpret graphs, and estimate, weigh, and measure.

In Art, our Kindergartners will be introduced to the fundamental building blocks in Art: color, shape, line, value, form, and pattern through what we see in nature, the seasons, through stories, and through working with materials such as paint, chalk, clay, paper, and more. It is a great year of exploring and getting our fingers and hands to begin to work in the creation of our art.

In Science, Kindergarteners will be able to describe the physical properties of objects (color, shape, texture) and recognize the properties of water (liquid, solid, gas). They will be able to recognize the four seasons, describe daily weather, recognize the differences and similarities of daytime and nighttime, and describe and record the phases of the moon. Students will learn to describe characteristics of mountains, rivers, oceans, valleys, and deserts, explain the differences between living and nonliving things, and describe the structures of plants and animals (roots, leaves, arms, legs, etc.). Students will observe and describe objects in terms of the five senses, and then illustrate those observations through drawings, as well as compare structures and behaviors of different animals.

In Social Studies, Kindergarteners will be introduced to concepts in History, Geography, Economics, and Civics. They will learn about key terms, people, holidays, pictures and stories, locations, tools, land/water, jobs, needs/wants, money, citizenship, rules and consequences, and symbols.

In Spanish, the students will develop vocabulary and knowledge of key phrases in the Spanish language and cultural differences between our culture and those of Spanish-speaking countries around the world. They will also be learning in many different ways including singing, dancing, role-playing, and crafts. In addition, students will learn Prayers (Sign of the Cross, Hail Mary), greetings and salutations, numbers 1-20, colors, shapes, body parts, family members, objects and people in the classroom, and Cultural traditions and holidays in Spanish-speaking countries.

In Music, students are introduced to voicing and timbre through the study of musical instruments of the modern symphony orchestra. Students will be able to identify instruments visually as aurally and understand how vibration generates sound in each instrument family. Students will also explore and refine their own vocal production in preparation for performance of the Kindergarten Musical in the spring.

In Technology, Kindergarten students learn about the use of computers in our everyday lives and jobs. Since they have been exposed to various digital devices almost from birth, some parts of computers may seem familiar to them but other computer components may not. They learn about the total sum of the various components as well as how they work together, and the proper way to care for them. Since they are learning the alphabet, they also learn the keyboard has all the letters of the alphabet and the numbers from zero to nine. In addition, Kindergarten students are introduced to some special keys such as control (Ctrl), alternate (Alt), Start (      ), Shift, escape (Esc), Enter, the arrow keys, Backspace, Home, End and Delete. By the end of Kindergarten, students have learned how to open and close files and programs by using their keyboard or by clicking their mouse.

In PE, children love to move for the pure joy of it. Students discover their own body image through various activities. It is important to provide an environment where the children can feel success and achievement through various physical activities.