Classroom and Curriculum
The Kindergarten
The Kindergarten boasts a stimulating environment that seeks to inspire children to learn and share through any and all of their many intelligences. The Kindergarten consists of twenty-four children and a team of adults who come from a variety of experiences, family compositions, and backgrounds. We are committed to understanding and encouraging the expression of each person's culture, ethnicity, and abilities so that all of the children feel valued and respected for their unique contributions. Children are exposed to an atmosphere of love and acceptance where they can experience optimal development across all domains.
The Kindergarten attends to many areas of learning: reading, writing, math, science, art, and music. The expectations for children's development in these areas are high and are based on each child's abilities. Our classroom is organized and the curriculum is developed so that all children are able to access necessary information through a number of media. For example, at Morning Math Meeting the Kindergarten keeps track of the passing days to master one-to-one correspondence, to foster number recognition, and in an attempt to understand increasingly challenging concepts such as time, addition, subtraction, and place value. As a community, the class relies on each other, and various tools such as Unifix cubes, Cuisenaire rods, straws, bears, paper, and markers to assist in solving these mathematical problems. Here is an example from day eighty. The children worked to represent the number eighty in the "ones, tens, and hundreds apartments" and on paper. The children started the process by adding a straw to the black "ones apartment." A child quickly noticed that there were ten straws in the "ones bucket," and that the straws needed to be bundled and moved to the red "tens bucket." Children worked amid much discussion and action, to figure out where to put the straws, what the number eighty looks like, and how to write it on paper. This allowed for visual learners, tactile learners, and auditory learners to all have a means of accessing the curriculum. We take a similar approach in the writing process.
Publishing books is a central part of the Kindergarten curriculum and a wonderful process for the children. It is a time when teachers help children understand the power of print as a means of communicating. There are many discussions about the differences between grown-up writing and Kindergarten writing, and just as importantly, the differences among Kindergarten writing. In recognition of differences, the teachers adapt for the individual needs of children and have an entry point for everyone to jump into the activity. While some children are in the process of making sense of the alphabet, they might use dictation to get their message across. Others work on solidifying the letter-sound connection in their Kindergarten spelling; sounding out the words they intend to write and writing down the letters that represent the sounds that they hear. A child with cerebral palsy might employ a computer to independently complete his or her work. He or she might use a voice-activated system, a trackball, or an enlarged keyboard to use inventive or conventional spelling, and to write a well-organized story. Through these means, children are not inhibited by personal challenges. They are able to demonstrate their knowledge and be presented with new writing challenges.
Writing a book in Kindergarten allows a young author to travel from a set of kaleidoscopic ideas to a well sequenced, beautifully presented published edition. After choosing a true storyline, the author discusses his or her choice with a teacher and signs up on the "Sharing Clipboard." The next step involves the author sharing the first draft with the Kindergarten. Children ask questions about things they do not understand or about things they want to learn from the story. These questions prompt the author to revise his/her work. The author then meets with a publishing teacher to decide on the appropriate changes to the story. Once the author feels satisfied with the revisions, he/she fills out a "publishing form" with a teacher. The publishing form is formatted for the author to dedicate the book to whom he or she deems appropriate and to write a short autobiography about him/herself. The book is then typed (by either the teacher or the author) and printed on special paper. The author then becomes the illustrator and works independently with special publishing markers to design the pictures in the final copy. Then the book is laminated, bound and presented to the hardworking author/illustrator! During the final step of this amazing process, the author invites family and friends to celebrate the published book at an "Author Circle." The author reads the story to the whole group and then signs a miniature, photocopied edition of his or her story for every member of the group. Published books quickly become the most sought after literature in the classroom. Children know each other's stories intimately and are able to tell you in detail what happens in the stories of their peers. The personal nature of a friend's story is powerful and makes for compelling reading. It is fabulous to see the pride and excitement they all have in each other's accomplishments!
Fostering children's overall development allows teachers to attend to the whole child cognitively, socially, emotionally, and physically. Teachers support children in the process of learning how to be effective communicators in their studies as well as in their interpersonal relationships. This requires children to openly express their feelings, knowing that they will be listened to and respected. This community strives to help children learn healthy strategies to work through all challenging situations until there is a comfortable resolution for all parties. In so doing, children become more formidable members of society. Children learn that their actions directly affect other people in their community, and they learn to negotiate between their needs and agendas and those of others. Working through conflicts is critical to forming healthy relationships, especially in groups as intimate as those at TEDCC.
Another piece of ensuring that the community remains close-knit is facilitating family involvement and sharing in the diverse heritages of the members of the community. During the year, we have many projects that encourage families and children to play active roles in their Kindergarten experience. Two of these projects are Special Days and the Kindergarten Expert Yellow Pages. Each year teachers observe children and decide on a Special Day Project. The Special Day theme may focus around a family member who does not share a home with the child, a family friend, or things that each family does for entertainment. Ideas of individuality, cooperation, and nondiscrimination pervade as the Kindergarten community celebrates each family's Special Day. The Expert Yellow Pages highlight the strengths of the individual allowing peers to view each other as valuable resources, as teachers, and as learners. If a child needs help tying his or her shoes, he or she will use the directory to find a friend who specializes in tying shoes.
The Kindergarten at TEDCC is a loving and nurturing community. Parents, teachers, and Kindergarteners work closely together to make sure that the experience is optimal for all. Families share invaluable information about children. Children share their thoughts and inspire teachers to ask mindful and wonderful questions in turn, motivating children to a higher level of thinking. When children leave the Kindergarten they have confidence in themselves as independent thinkers and know and appreciate the true importance of being part of a diverse community.
The Kindergarten spends the last months of school preparing for the transition to a new school and a new community. This curriculum addresses healthy ways to say goodbye to a wonderful experience filled with amazing people. Children work on special projects that celebrate each child and his or her time at TEDCC. Photographs, memory cards, and children's wishes for each other are combined into each child's special Goodbye Book. The child then has an important "Goodbye Group" where children learn to share memories of times spent together and give wishes to each other for the following year. It is an invaluable lesson that allows children closure to their early childhood experiences and allows them time to reflect and celebrate their important journey together.
