Introduction
The Kindergarten Handbook has been created to acquaint you with the major components of our program as well as to provide activities which will help your child be successful in kindergarten. Please keep this as a reference guide for the entire year.
Mission of the Kindergarten Program
We want to welcome you and your child to our kindergarten program at St. Michael School. We are looking forward to an exciting year of new experiences and lots of fun!
It is during the first years of life that children form attitudes about themselves, others, learning, and the environment. These attitudes last a lifetime, so we work very hard to find ways to help children develop positive attitudes.
Educating a child is the most successful when family members and school personnel work together in the best interest of the child. We welcome your input and assistance in educating your child. After all, you are your child’s first teacher! Valuing education and the opportunities it provides are important first steps. We are hopeful that you will find time to participate in some of our school activities. We are always in need of parents or grandparents to help in the lunch room and at the greeter table.
The goal of our program is to meet your child’s need not only academically, but also physically, socially, and emotionally. Going to school is one of the most important experiences in a child’s life. School can be an exciting place where children meet new and different people and participate in many new and different experiences. We promise to work diligently to provide the children with wonderful experiences that help them to feel good about themselves and their school.
The following pages are to provide you with some valuable information regarding your child’s kindergarten school year. Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions, comments, concerns, and requests.
Communications
Contacting the School Office
School phone number: (419) 423-2738
Website: www.findlaystmichaelschool.org
Mrs. Kreinbrink: [email protected]
Mrs. Bihn: [email protected]
Contacting Mrs. Small
Email Address: [email protected]
Website: http://mrssmall.weebly.com
Contacting the School about an Absence
You have a few options for this. By 8:00 am, you can call the school office (419-423-2738) or you can send an email. Since my email is not available for a substitute teacher to access, please always email both me and Mrs. Kreinbrink concerning absences.
Overview of the Curriculum
Reading and Language Arts
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following communication arts areas:
Pre-reading and reading activities
Writing Activities
Speaking and listening activities
Mathematics
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following mathematics areas:
Science
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following science areas:
Social Studies
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following social studies areas.
· Identifying and locating places and regions (firehouse, store, Findlay, Ohio, United States of America)
· Identifying landforms and bodies of water
· Identifying people in places
· Recognizing the United States flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance
· Discussing sources of conflict and possible solutions
· Identifying reasons for rules and laws and positions of authority
Health, Physical Education, Safety
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following health, physical education, and safety areas
· Large muscle activity through outdoor play including running, sliding, skipping, and other games
· Basic rhythms of walking, running, marching, skipping, and jumping
· Fire drills and other safety drills (tornado drills, Stop, Drop, and Roll)
Music
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following music areas:
· Singing alone and in groups
· Movement to music
Religion
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following religion areas:
The Kindergarten Handbook has been created to acquaint you with the major components of our program as well as to provide activities which will help your child be successful in kindergarten. Please keep this as a reference guide for the entire year.
Mission of the Kindergarten Program
We want to welcome you and your child to our kindergarten program at St. Michael School. We are looking forward to an exciting year of new experiences and lots of fun!
It is during the first years of life that children form attitudes about themselves, others, learning, and the environment. These attitudes last a lifetime, so we work very hard to find ways to help children develop positive attitudes.
Educating a child is the most successful when family members and school personnel work together in the best interest of the child. We welcome your input and assistance in educating your child. After all, you are your child’s first teacher! Valuing education and the opportunities it provides are important first steps. We are hopeful that you will find time to participate in some of our school activities. We are always in need of parents or grandparents to help in the lunch room and at the greeter table.
The goal of our program is to meet your child’s need not only academically, but also physically, socially, and emotionally. Going to school is one of the most important experiences in a child’s life. School can be an exciting place where children meet new and different people and participate in many new and different experiences. We promise to work diligently to provide the children with wonderful experiences that help them to feel good about themselves and their school.
The following pages are to provide you with some valuable information regarding your child’s kindergarten school year. Please feel free to contact me at any time with questions, comments, concerns, and requests.
Communications
Contacting the School Office
School phone number: (419) 423-2738
Website: www.findlaystmichaelschool.org
Mrs. Kreinbrink: [email protected]
Mrs. Bihn: [email protected]
Contacting Mrs. Small
Email Address: [email protected]
Website: http://mrssmall.weebly.com
Contacting the School about an Absence
You have a few options for this. By 8:00 am, you can call the school office (419-423-2738) or you can send an email. Since my email is not available for a substitute teacher to access, please always email both me and Mrs. Kreinbrink concerning absences.
Overview of the Curriculum
Reading and Language Arts
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following communication arts areas:
Pre-reading and reading activities
- Letter identification
- Letter-sound relationship
- Letter formation (printing upper and lower case letters)
- One-to-one correspondence
- Determining real and make-believe
Writing Activities
- Drawing a picture to convey meaning
- Holding a pencil correctly
- Copying words
- Identifying and writing sight words
- Writing words and sentences
- Revising writing in a group setting
Speaking and listening activities
- Telling stories
- Dictating lists, stories, and descriptions
- Listening to others
- Listening to stories
- Story retelling
- Reciting poems
- Participating in class discussion
- Show & Tell
- Knowing and using terms: author, title, illustrator, title page
- Identifying parts of a book (spine, cover)
- Making predictions and drawing conclusions
- Selecting appropriate reading materials
- Demonstrating respect for others using library materials
- Participating in author studies
- Using visual structure to communicate ideas
- Developing organizational skills in association with art activities
Mathematics
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following mathematics areas:
- Counting forward 0 to 100
- Color recognition
- Recognizing and writing numbers 0 to 100
- Skip counting by 2, 5, and 10
- Counting backwards from 20 to 0
- Reading numerals to 100
- Estimating time on an analog clock
- Naming the value of a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter
- Performing simple data collection and graphing
- Patterning
- Naming geometric shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, cone, sphere, and cube)
- Showing addition and subtraction facts to 10
Science
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following science areas:
- Five Senses
- Weather elements
- Production processes involving plants and animals
- Defining and understanding extinction, identifying animals that are extinct
Social Studies
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following social studies areas.
· Identifying and locating places and regions (firehouse, store, Findlay, Ohio, United States of America)
· Identifying landforms and bodies of water
· Identifying people in places
· Recognizing the United States flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance
· Discussing sources of conflict and possible solutions
· Identifying reasons for rules and laws and positions of authority
Health, Physical Education, Safety
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following health, physical education, and safety areas
· Large muscle activity through outdoor play including running, sliding, skipping, and other games
· Basic rhythms of walking, running, marching, skipping, and jumping
· Fire drills and other safety drills (tornado drills, Stop, Drop, and Roll)
Music
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following music areas:
· Singing alone and in groups
· Movement to music
Religion
Your child will participate in activities to enhance his/her skills in the following religion areas:
- Discuss that they are a child of God and that all creation is a sign of God’s love.
- Express their love of God by loving, caring, sharing, and helping others and by being honest and telling the truth.
- Recite the Sign of the Cross, Hail Mary, Our Father, Glory Be, and Grace before meals.
- Describe what Baptism is to others.
- Participate at Mass, be reverent, and listen to the readings from the Bible.