Transcript 2003-2004 - Bright Horizons Family Solutions

2012-2013
Deer Park Early Childhood
& Education Center
Liz Nobler
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.
Deer Park’s Kindergarten provides a comprehensive
approach that challenges children and supports all
areas of development.
It recognizes the value of
emergent curriculum…
The approach to
kindergarten is a
balance of
child-centered,
teacher-directed
and
a learning centered
approach.
Teacher Directed Instruction
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What Is Kindergarten at
Deer Park Early
Childhood Education
Center? A place to learn:
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
At DP, your child will
A place to learn
handwriting techniques.
experience an environment
Socially, your child will
A place to grow
tailored to learning. He/She
learn to negotiate,
A place to have fun will learn the basic academic
problem solve and
skills necessary to function in
A place to prepare for a first grade classroom. They communicate with peers
and teachers.
Academic Success
will learn the social skills that
Emotionally, your child
will make them a successful
will gain independence
communicator and school
and confidence with
citizen.
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.
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
Math Counts!
Math experiences happen everywhere, like…
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.
Math activities are best facilitated when the
materials offered are able to be manipulated and
explored
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.
In Math We Learn
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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
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.
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
Language Works…
Language skills are found and practiced in every
activity and every center the children work in.
In Language Works…
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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.
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.
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
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
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.
In Kindergarten, the children practice writing their
letters formally and casually
Daily Journaling
Children learn important skills such as:
sentence structure
decoding
capitalization
phonetics
spelling
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.
Guided reading in small groups allows exposure
and practice with sight words and other language
skills.
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.
Science Rocks!
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
In Science we learn…
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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
ART SMART
Art opportunities are offered to
the Children on a daily basis in
Kindergarten.
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 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.
In Art we learn…
•Expressing Ourselves
•Creative Representation
•Eye Hand Coordination
•Sensory Skills
•Tactile Skills
•Music & Movement
•Drama
•An Appreciation of the
Arts
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
A Day In the Life Of
Kindergarten at Deer Park
The Kindergarten Daily Schedule
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.
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.
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.
Phonemic Awareness and
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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.
Daily Handwriting and/or
Journals
10:00-10:30
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.
Here are our Academic Centers:
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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
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..
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.
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.
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.
Outdoor Time/Open Choice
Centers/Movement Matters
2:00-3:00
Snack
3:00-3:30
Art Smart
3:30-4:00
All Centers Open/Outdoor Time
4:00-End of Day
At Bright Horizons, your child’s
Kindergarten year will be one of learning,
growth, and fun.
Daily Sheet
Lesson Plan
Benefits of Deer Park Early
Childhood and Education Center’s
Kindergarten
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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