Kindergarten! The very word conjures up images of oversized pencils, gooey white glue, posters of the alphabet and flashcards for counting to 100. And who can forget smell of a fresh box of crayons? Kindergarten is an essential year for building the foundation for your child’s education experience. New Richmond Exempted Village School District offers full-day kindergarten at both of its elementary schools. If your child will turn 5 years old on or before August 1st, he or she is eligible to start school.
Your child’s kindergarten teacher will utilize a
variety of education strategies to fill your child’s day with a structured
approach to learning, such as hands-on centers, small group or self-directed
activities, as well as journaling and story time, transitioning frequently
throughout the day to keep young students engaged and on task. Technology is
integrated into the kindergarten day as well, with five networked computers in
each classroom to utilize educational software in support of math, reading and
other new skills under rapid development.
Kindergarteners also have dedicated time each day
for “specials,” where they go to art, music or physical education class on a
rotating basis with those specialist teachers at the school, and they have
scheduled time for recess. Kindergarten students have access to the same
educational amenities as older students — they have lunch in the school
cafeteria, visit the media center and can take advantage of school bus
transportation.
It’s an exciting time for parents and students
alike, and we look forward to helping parents build that solid foundation
students need to be successful through high school and beyond!
Different Than Preschool
If
your child has been in preschool, you will see certain differences in
kindergarten. The children tend to sit at desks more often than on the floor.
While play-based learning is still an important strategy in kindergarten, you
will see more structured learning in most kindergarten classrooms. Generally,
kindergarteners don’t nap though a rest time may be offered. Children are
expected to line-up for lunch, restroom breaks, and recess, etc. and walk
through the halls in a quiet and orderly fashion.
Beginning of the Day
Generally,
when you drop off your child, your child will be greeted by the teacher. The
children put their belongings in their cubbies and wash their hands. Then they
may sit at a table or on the floor to do an individual or small group activity as
the rest of their classmates arrive.
The
day usually starts with a morning meeting or morning circle where the children
greet each other; talk about who’s there and who isn’t, discuss the day of the
week, the weather, and their plans for the day; often they will sing some
songs; and maybe enjoy a story.
After
the meeting or circle, the children will alternate throughout the day with
individual, small, and large group activities; independent or teacher-led
activities; daily activities like lunch, recess, and bathroom routines; and
weekly activities like art, music, and gym.
What Children Learn in Kindergarten
As
parents it’s hard to keep up with our kids’ learning schedules. When are they supposed to start learning
addition? By what age should they be
able to read? Are they on track with
their grade-level learning or do we need to help them catch up?
The
kindergarten year is one in which kids learn more about the formal classroom
setting – learning to focus for segments of time on basic literacy and math,
and learning simple science and social studies.
This is the foundation year for getting used to the routine of school,
the process of focusing and learning, and the social skills involved in making
new friends. It’s a crucial year for
building the foundation of learning.
Reading - Letter-sound correspondence, phonemic awareness, sight words, rhyming, words families and concepts about print are the areas in which your child will expand his knowledge this year. Kindergarten students learn how to identify letters in the alphabet and their sounds, and about how letters and sounds go together to form words. Most kindergarten children are expected to read words by the end of the school year. The Board adopted Open Court Reading is the approved
program used.
Writing
- They also learn to print letters. They
will work on developing fine motor skills as they learn to write the alphabet
in both capital and lowercase letter.
They will also attempt to write stories, journal entries or poems. These will often be a disjointed jumble of
letters and words, but it’s a first step towards expressing themselves in
writing.
Teachers
spend time reading with children and playing rhyming and word association games
to build on their vocabulary and help them in their reading skills.
Math
- Math in kindergarten is all about the basics.
Children will learn how to count, recognize numbers up to 10 and sort
objects. Using objects and manipulatives,
they will learn the concepts of more and less, ordinal numbers, basic addition
and subtraction, creating patterns.
They’ll start to learn about time and calendars and they will cover
these regularly in class. Teachers often
start the day by having a student come up to the board to pin the calendar day,
the day in the week and the weather on that day. That connects numbers to the
calendar and numbers to the date and gives numbers another meaning.
By the end of kindergarten, students should know the components of a calendar and how to build on them – days, weeks, months, and some basic time – on the hour, half hour segments - – recognize numbers up to 100 and count to 100, and some basic single-digit addition and subtraction. The Board adopted Math Expressions is the approved program used.
Science - Science is all about starting to make sense of the world around them. Children learn about plants, animals, good health habits, the weather and keeping track of the weather, and about the five senses and basics about their bodies. Teachers will conduct simple science experiments in class. Kindergartners can remember more information and can now use that to make connections between things and group things together. The Board adopted National Geographic Science is the
approved program used.
Social
Studies - In social studies the year start with the focus on “me”. Children learn about their immediate and
extended families, learn their address and phone numbers and share information
about themselves and their interests.
By the end of the year, they will have broadened their field to look at different families, cultures, the neighborhood and the community. The Board adopted Our World social studies program is the approved program..
Lunch, Recess, Art, Music, & Gym
Activities
like lunch, recess, art, music, and gym are scheduled by the school to fit all
these activities in for all the children. Classroom activities are scheduled by
the teacher based on the needs of the children as they move through their day.
Transitions
You
will hear teachers talk about transitions. Young children sometimes have
trouble moving smoothly from one activity to another – they have trouble
transitioning. The teacher gives these transitions a lot of thought.
Transitions are kept to a minimum and carefully managed to support the
children. Transitions are a critical
skill to develop that will be with them throughout their school career.
Children
have a desk for their books and classroom supplies. The teacher plans around
the children’s alternating need to be active and their need to be quiet and
participate in calming activities. The room is arranged to make it easy for the
children to move around the classroom independently and in an orderly fashion.
The children will be able to make lots of choices during the day and to
problem-solve with their friends and teachers about the challenges that come up
on any given day.
End of the Day
Most
children rides the bus home after school and the kindergarten teacher is
careful to make sure your child has everything they need to bring home.
Communication
Most
teachers keep families up-to-date via newsletters or with classroom websites
where they update the site weekly, upload photos to it, and communicate with
parents via a “comments” section. Your child’s teacher will let you know about
opportunities for other communication apps used in the classroom.
Kindergarten Learning Standards
The State of Ohio provides the Birth Through Kindergarten Entry Learning and Development Standards that describe key concepts and skills that young children develop during the birth-to-five-year period.
The standards promote the understanding of early
learning and development, provide a comprehensive and coherent set of early
childhood educational expectations for children’s development and learning, and
guide the design and implementation of curriculum, assessment and instructional
practices with young children.
The standards address Approaches Toward Learning,
Physical Well-Being, and Social and Emotional Development. These learning and
development standards promote an understanding of the whole child and guide the
instructional strategies that support all areas of learning.
These standards are not tied to any assessments but
are intended to be useful in determining how to support students in these early
grades with the acquisition of literacy skills needed to be successful with
future learning.
Kindergarten Readiness Assessment and Other
Assessments
Assessments
are a very important aspect of learning. They enhance student, parent and
teacher understanding of student learning, show evidence of progress, identify
students who may need additional enrichment or intervention supports, and guide
instruction toward course material mastery and personal growth.
Information
provided by assessments provide descriptive and timely feedback that provides a
means to monitor progress, evaluate instruction, and engage students in both
their own academic and personal learning.
At
the beginning of each school year, each kindergarten student is assessed using
Ohio’s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). The assessment measures each
student’s knowledge and abilities in six areas: social skills, language and
literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, physical well-being and motor
development. By selecting an answer to a question, performing a requested task,
or being observed by the teacher, each kindergarten student is able to
demonstrate what he or she knows and is able to do. More information will be shared about the KRA
by your child’s teacher as school starts.
New
Richmond also uses additional assessments, including the DIBELS (Dynamic
Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) for reading benchmarks.
Additionally, teachers create informal assessments in their classrooms. The
results of assessments and of individual student progress are shared with
parents during parent-teacher conferences and report cards after each semester.
Locust
Corner Elementary
3431
Locust Corner Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45245
Phone:
(513) 752-1432
Principal:
Mr. Joe Roach
School
Psychologist: Ms. Carly Cooper
Secretary: Ms. Vanessa Wyatt
Monroe
Elementary
2117
Laurel Lindale Rd, New Richmond, OH 45157
Phone:
(513) 553-3183
Principal:
Ms. Jamie Kunz
School
Psychologist: Ms. Carrie Pugh
Secretary:
Ms. Sally Wylie