The kindergarten classroom at Blue Oak School is a dynamic learning community. Together we embark on journeys that weave story, fantasy, play and scientific inquiry, providing meaningful contexts for the development of literacy and numeracy skills. Classroom themes emerge from the intersection of teacher objectives and student interest, and evolve as we develop new understandings, questions and needs. The curriculum is an integrated one allowing children to discover and explore connections in their own learning.
The Family Study
In the fall, much of the kindergarten curriculum is focused around the Family Study. The study allows children to maintain a strong connection with home while making the transition to full-day school life. Family is also something each of the children knows something about, and through class discussions they can broaden and deepen their understandings. During our study of family, we have class discussions centered on such topics such as, “What is a family?” “How are families the same and how are they different?” “What does a family need?”
Early in the year the children bring in photos of family members to add to a class family album. We invite family members to visit the classroom and share something important or special about their family. In the past, we have cooked and tasted foods from various cultures, learned to write numbers in Chinese, heard stories from South Africa and learned about scouting and how to be safe in the woods.
The Family Study contributes to the kindergarten language arts curriculum in many ways. We read and discuss stories about all kinds of families. Family is also a rich source of stories for our Writer’s Workshop. Children draw pictures and write words independently at their own levels to tell true stories about their own families. We write letters to and receive letters back from family members that live far away. Letter writing for the Family Study also leads to a look at maps of our country and the world as we discuss where our letters are going and from where they come.
The kindergarten math curriculum includes many activities and topics and is integrated with the Family Study whenever possible. We talk about how our families can be sorted and graphed; for example, we compare families with pets versus no pets, number of children and where we live.
A Sample Kindergarten Schedule
