Kindergarten Curriculum

St. Mary School Kindergarten provides a developmental program that focuses on the development of the whole child - social, emotional, intellectual and physical. The goal is to develop children’s knowledge and skills in all of these areas. Our curriculum is designed to help each child develop positive self-esteem and to establish a foundation of learning. Instructions will provide activities to stimulate, challenge, and meet the abilities and interests of the children. Each child will have the opportunity to enjoy success by actively participating in hands-on activities and communicating in all formats.

An integrated approach will provide learning centers where children actively engage in learning. These different areas will strive to foster learning experiences that expand the children’s knowledge of the world and themselves. The teachers will serve as the facilitators of this learning, setting up centers in all curriculum areas. These centers will be designed around specific themes providing a variety of learning opportunities.

Our Language Arts Program is designed to foster reading skills, develop an understanding of concepts of print, enhance the enjoyment of literature, and nurture self-confidence. The goal of literacy is to provide an integrated Language Arts approach where skills are taught in the context of authentic literature. Letters, sounds, and words will be taught in meaningful context suitable to the needs of the students. This program will have a strong emphasis on written and oral communication. The children will complete a multitude of activities that relate to other curriculum areas such as math, science, social studies, religion, art, and music. We plan to engage the children with quality literature and hope to instill within each child a love of reading.

In our Math Program, each child will have the opportunity to build mathematical concepts by manipulating objects through real life experiences. Children will discover that math is incorporated into everyday routines. Concepts we will be covering include counting, patterning, sorting, classifying, graphing, making comparisons, number concepts, and beginning addition and subtraction. Instructions will take place in small and whole group lessons. The children will have an opportunity to apply and extend what has been taught through cooperative group work and at learning centers. This approach stresses understanding of concept development, rather than rote memorization and drill. Keep in mind that most of the learning occurs as your child works in learning situations making personal discoveries and building mathematical concepts at his/her own rate.

Our Religion curriculum focuses on having the children grow in their relationship with God. This is accomplished through daily prayer, discussions, and relevant activities associated with the “We Believe” religion program. This curriculum is rooted in Scripture, faithful to the tradition of the Catholic Church, centered on the person of Jesus Christ, and invites a relationship with God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The program also teaches about the Rites of the Church, Saints, and Liturgical Feasts. Our goal is to make these topics developmentally understandable for the children.

Our Scott Foresman Science Curriculum covers four units…Life Science, which is the study of living things; Physical Science, which includes the study of matter and energy; Earth Science, looks at the study of the earth, space, and the weather; and the Human Body, which includes the senses, growth, nutrition, and safety. The content of this program aligns with the structure of the National Science Education Standards. Inquiry, investigation, and experiments involve hands-on learning for the children.

Our unit themes for our Social Studies curriculum are organized around particular strands - Culture – Friends and Family, Geography – Where We Live, Government – Working Together, Citizenship – I am a Citizen, Economics – People Work, and History – Things Change. These strands are based on both state and national standards. Each Unit includes Literature, the Big Idea, and Vocabulary Words to Know. Resources also include lessons on several holidays.

Technology is integrated across the curriculum in Grades PreK-8. The Massachusetts Department of Education Recommended Instructional Technology Standards can be found here. Students in Kindergarten use desktop computers in their classroom. Students use grade appropriate software including the presentation application Kid Pix. Students use the Internet by visiting teacher approved websites that support their curriculum.

We hope that this Kindergarten Curriculum will provide each child with a wonderful first year of learning at St. Mary School.