Our Kindergarten page is designed to assist you in helping your children. We are glad that you have visited our page and welcome you.

The Kindergarten Team Mrs. Czerwinski, Mrs. Haworth

Math land projects and activities in kindergarten revolve around the central theme of discovering and verbalizing relationships. The ability to think logically about the relationships between objects or ideas and the ability to express those thoughts is vital to mathematical thinking. Children in kindergarten explore and answer questions, such as; "How are they alike? How are they different? Which group does this belong in?" Throughout their kindergarten year, children compare numbers, patterns, shapes, and the events in their lives.

In kindergarten, children use data to think about the characteristics of things and how they are related. They make and record observations about their own characteristics and explore how these attributes both link and distinguish them from their peers. They examine relationships between events in their lives, thinking about the order of events in time and how they fit together sequentially. "Which comes first? How long ago did that happen?" Through these experiences, they develop understanding of temporal concepts such as, last year, tomorrow, and last week.

Recognizing, extending, and using patterns to solve problems are topics that permeate mathematics.

In kindergarten, children explore patterns by examining, copying, creating, describing, and extending patterns of various types. They use sorting and classifying to identify similarities and differences and begin to identify informal rules for patterns as well as groups.

Students explore linear patterns. They recognize describe and extend them, and eventually create their own.

Exploration of measurement revolves around the theme of comparison in kindergarten. Children are encouraged to examine things in their natural environment, and think about how they relate to each other in terms of attributes such as length, height, weight, and area. Informal experiences and games form the foundation of the kindergarten geometry experience. Children investigate, experiment with, and explore relationships among geometric shapes and forms. They begin to develop their visual and spatial skills as they work to solve geometric puzzles created by classmates.

Raising a child who loves to read doesn't happen by accident. The early stimulation of reading is critical to brain development. Here are some suggestions that can help you raise a reader:

 

	Start early. Even without understanding the story, a baby will learn that reading is a positive experience, associated with warmth and closeness.
Toddler time. Older babies and toddlers will begin to learn the mechanics of reading: books go from front to back.
	Rhyme time. Young children love rhyming texts, and rhymes begin to teach the relationship between spelling and pronunciation.
Read all over. Help your child decode language everywhere. Read traffic signs, menus, cereal boxes, tongue twisters, song lyrics, poetry, magazines, supermarket labels, maps, and more.
	Make it interesting. Make reading fun by appealing to your child's interests: You can read baseball cards, newspaper articles or recipes.
Challenge, don't frustrate. For your child's solo reading, choose books that are at or slightly above her level. Frustration will make her dislike the endeavor.
	Don't stop. Even after your child learns to read, continue to read aloud. Reading books beyond his range will expand his understanding and vocabulary, and stimulate him to continue to improve reading skills.
Set a good example. Children learn more from what we do than what we say. Make sure your home is filled with reading matter, and that your child sees you reading often.

Communication is essential to lifelong learning and successful participation in today's world. Since reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing are keys to thinking and learning, instruction in the language arts is integrated into all disciplines. Lessons build upon prior knowledge and skill development, progressing from mastery of simple concepts about print to understanding the structure and meaning of language.

In the kindergarten language arts program, children are introduced to the world of print. A variety of classroom approaches support and encourage the development of children's knowledge of concepts about print, letter-sound relationships, and comprehension.

The kindergarten classroom is filled with a variety of print resources, such as poems and songs, displays on bookshelves, walls, and charts.

 This print-rich environment supports and stimulates children's literacy by giving them opportunities to participate in whole group shared reading, small group guided reading, and individual independent reading and writing.

 You may wish to enhance your child's reading experience by asking some of the following questions when you read together.

As my child reads and points to the text, is there an exact match between the number of words spoken and the number of words printed?