This content is currently being reviewed and will be updated by the end of September, 2007.
Art
The Fall Term:
We begin the school year with self-portraits. This project is done at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year to demonstrate the developmental growth of each child. Self-portraits are not used as a measurement of a child’s artistic ability at this age. Next they experiment with mixing colors using tempera paint and then later go back in with markers to “discover” shapes and images hidden in the paintings. Kindergartners spend time playing with clay, using many tools and techniques to see what they can do, this is followed by a class where they create fanciful birds which they later glaze. We welcome in fall with a torn paper collage of trees and falling leaves. Students learn about the Mexican holiday El Dia de los Muertos and then color a skull mask. They learn about texture by doing rubbings of different textures they find on campus. They experiment with projects that involve watercolor, basic drawing techniques, and assemblage of various materials to express feelings.
The Winter Term:
We focus on projects that include texturized clay and pottery, water colors and oil pastels. Students are introduced to mixing primary colors when they create beautiful Rousseau jungle paintings. . We read a book by Ezra Jack Keats (who also does the great illustrations for his books) and then illustrate a scene from the story in Keats’ style. Around the holidays we learn how to fold paper and cut snowflakes that are used to decorate cards and windows.
The Spring Term:
Fine motor coordination was emphasized with projects that involved cutting, pasting, sculpting, tracing, and painting. Kindergartners learn about several artists this term. We begin with Georgia O’Keeffe and her spare landscapes. The students make their own incredible pastel landscapes. We talk about Marc Chagall and his fanciful style of painting. Students do an abstract painting in his style. We do a many step clay project that results in clay rattles complete with texture and colorful glazes. Students paint a picture of their house or a house they’d like to live in… Underwater? A treehouse? Outer space? Students learn how to make pinch pots in clay. Everyone is getting very excited to show off their work at the Lower School Art Show in April. (Students will get to bring home all of their work after the art show.) The year ends as it began, with a self-portrait. This portrait is mounted next to the one the students did on the first day of art this year. We all notice improvements in the development of the students' skills and techniques.
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Technology
The Fall Term:
Kindergarten is introduced to computers as a tool to learn and confidence in exploration is the primary goal. The class comes to the computer lab in halves for 20 minutes to maximize teacher/ student support. The projects are integrated with their class work so that the content is familiar to them as they learn new tools each week in the program Kidpix. They use the square and circle tool to reinforce patterns, the pencil tool to draw an apple tree in season, and the fill bucket to explore the anatomy of bats.
The Winter Term:
In the second term Kindergartners continue to gain confidence using computers and driving a mouse. Their fine motor skills and focus to completion continue to improve. Their understanding of the use of drawing tools in Kidpix is compared and contrasted to the similar tools of Hyperstudio. Their projects inspired by class work include a flipbook of a seed growing, a flipbook of the metamorphosis of a frog, and several graphs depicting letter sounds and numbers.
The Spring Term:
Kindergarten continues to explore Hyperstudio, becoming increasingly facile with complex technical steps using drop down menus and multiple step processes such as recording. With increased confidence, they are able to work without constant individual support and are more excited about exploring on their own. They explore the 5 senses in a multimedia Hyperstudio project, learn to diagonally select objects in a Kidpix bird jigsaw puzzle, and demonstrate time on analog clocks in Kidpix.
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English/Language Arts
The Fall Term:
Stories are read to students in Kindergarten every day. In addition, the classrooms are full of wonderful, engaging fiction and nonfiction books that are accessible to students with a wide range of interests and reading skill levels. Several times a week, the students get SQUIRT (Super Quiet Uninterrupted Reading Time), when they choose books that interest them to read and peruse. Reading skills are introduced as children approach different developmental levels. In the fall months, the reading skills we will emphasize in Kindergarten include: reading and recognizing our names, identifying and creating rhyming words, identifying beginning and ending sounds in words. Phonics skills and high frequency, or “sight words,” are introduced and reinforced each day across the curriculum in a variety of contexts.
Each month we will explore an author of the month, whose writings complement the themes, and curricular goals we are working on in class. In September, we will introduce Barbara Park, author of the popular Junie B. Jones series. We read a chapter of Junie B. Jones aloud every day during snack. In October, we will focus on Mother Goose nursery rhymes and poems to help us with rhyming words. In November the author of the month, Patricia Polacco, will help us learn about families. Beginning in mid-September, each week will highlight a different letter of the alphabet and the students practice saying, reading and writing words that begin with the letter of the week.
Included in the study of the letters each week is developmentally appropriate handwriting practice of manuscript letters. In the fall, the students focus on writing their names. In addition, the students begin writing in their journals each week, they participate in a variety of interactive writing projects, and they help create several class books that are based on the weekly and monthly themes.
The Winter Term:
Each student continues to practice reading by using books that are appropriate to his or her skill level. Every child will meet several times a week with Tontra or Chelsea in guided reading small groups. During guided reading we introduce and reinforce reading skills, using books that are “just right” for each reader. Reading skills we will work on include: one to one matching when reading, recognizing the difference between letters, words, and sentences, and sounding out and decoding words. Simple word families and consonant-vowel-consonant words will be introduced and studied (i.e. cat, bat, sat, hat).
During the winter months, we will also focus on comprehension and retelling stories. We will work on identifying the beginning, middle, and end, as well as characters, problems and solutions. The author of the month in December is Jan Brett, who writes about winter and winter holidays. In December we will also begin an in-depth study of fairy tales. The author of the month in January is Eric Carle, who writes many wonderful stories about animals. In February, in honor of Black History month, the authors of the month are Faith Ringold and Mary Hoffman.
We practice phonemic awareness and beginning spelling skills by listening to specific sounds and writing the corresponding letters. Writing happens daily as students copy beginning words and add their own words to complete a sentence. We will focus on capitalization, spacing, and punctuation as we are learning to write sentences. Students continue writing in their journals, writing their own stories and books, and writing friendly letters.
The Spring Term:
Learning to read independently and to love reading is the focus for each child during the spring. Guided lessons are presented to the whole class, small groups and individuals to support each reader. High frequency words are emphasized and reviewed, using a variety of materials. Phonemic awareness and phonics continue to be very important in building students' sight vocabulary, and enhancing their spelling skills. Super Quiet Uninterrupted Reading Time (S.Q.U.I.R.T.) is a part of every day, as students gain the confidence to read "just right" books to themselves, a friend, or a teacher!
In the Spring, we will look at different text genres, including fiction and nonfiction, poetry, media, and environmental print. In March, the stories of the month are multicultural folk tales. In April, the author of the month is Leo Lionni. In May, the author of the month is Aliki, who writes about our bodies and the five senses. In June, we will do research projects on our favorite authors and books of the year.
We write every day, emphasizing phonemic awareness, capitalization, punctuation, and spacing. We continue to practice handwriting. Students are encouraged to write stories, fiction, nonfiction, poems, friendly letters. Developing a love for expressing oneself and communicating with the world through writing is the goal for each child as they leave Kindergarten.
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Math
The Fall Term:
We begin the year with free exploration of the math manipulatives that we are going to use to study math concepts throughout the year. A calendar and number line are integrated into our morning routines every day. The first concept we consider is patterns. In September, we begin with a simple pattern (ABABAB) that we explore with color, shape, and size. In addition to patterns, we will learn how to sort and group objects by size, color, shape and general category. We will also study the numbers 1-5. In October, we will begin to explore measurement, and experiment with length, weight and volume. In November, we will begin graphing, and learn how to collect and keep track of data using tally marks. We will study numbers 6-10 in depth, and we will also study ordinal numbers.
The Winter Term:
In December, we will focus on numbers 1-12, using a variety of manipulatives. We will extend our patterns to ABC. We will learn how to skip count, count by twos, fives and tens. In January, we will identify odd and even numbers, and learn how to use the symbols <, >, and =. We will investigate plain shapes in depth, and study numbers 13- 20. In February, we will work on mastery of numbers 1-30. In February we will begin to work on addition and subtraction, or "number stories." We will celebrate the 100th day of school in February.
The Spring Term:
In March we will work on complex, extended patterns. We will continue studying numbers, and begin estimating groups of objects. In April, we will study three dimensional shapes, and begin to explore fractions. In May, we will study clocks and learn how to tell time, focusing on time on the hour and half-hour. Learning to use real money is emphasized this term. Children are expected to use pennies, nickels and dimes to make different money combinations. In June, we will wrap up with strategies for rechecking calculations.
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Music
The K-4 music program at RDS nurtures the love of music in each child while it lays a strong foundation for understanding musical concepts and developing musical skills.
It introduces students to the basic elements of music – beat and rhythm, pitch and melody, harmony, tempo, timbre, dynamics, form and style. These elements come to life through a variety of sequential learning experiences, which use speech, rhyme, games, singing, dance, movement, listening, body percussion and musical instruments (such as percussion and Orff instruments). Students’ understanding and skills grow through the years as they learn to sing and play music, read and notate music, listen to music, create music, and understand music in relation to history and various cultures.
The elements of music exist simultaneously; each year we explore the same elements, but with increasing depth and breadth. The experiences and activities that lead children to understand musical concepts and develop musical skills grow from simple to more complex. By the end of the 4th grade, the student’s knowledge and skills will be a strong foundation for the more advanced musical experiences that await them in the upper grades. In addition, the seed has been planted for a lifelong friendship with music that can continue to enrich their lives.
Singing and Playing
- Ear training – explore many ways to use the voice; echo sing various melodic patterns; learn a varied repertoire of songs and singing games aurally; match pitch; work on inner hearing; sing in tune individually and in a group.
- Beat and rhythm – keep a steady beat in a variety of ways (body percussion, singing, playing percussion instruments); differentiate between beat and rhythm; understand rhythm duration symbols; sing and play different rhythm patterns; derive rhythm to a known rhyme or song; identify a song from its clapped, written, or played rhythm.
- Melody and harmony – learn a varied repertoire of traditional children’s songs; recognize a song from its melody; understand solfege symbols, and sing and play solfege patterns; perform ostinati, partner songs, 2 and 3 part rounds and 2 part harmony; track, read and perform simple rhythmic and melodic patterns on a music staff; play boomwackers, Orff bar instruments, recorders (3rd and 4th grade).
- Performance – learn beginning ensemble skills by singing and playing in small and large groups; perform at Generations Day, Winter Concert, Step-Up, class performances, school assemblies and other school events and celebrations.
Reading and Notating
- Read rhythmic patterns using notes and rests in simple meter signatures:
K - quarter note, two eighth notes, quarter rests
1st - quarter note, two eighth notes, quarter rest, half note
2nd - quarter note, two eighth notes, quarter rest, half note, half rest, dotted half-note, whole note, whole rest
3rd - quarter note, two eighth notes, quarter rest, half note, half rest, dotted half-note, whole note, whole rest, sixteenth note, dotted quarter note
4th - add eighth note, eighth note rest, eighth-quarter-eighth note pattern (syncopation)
- Read and notate melody and rhythm patterns on a music staff
- Identify music symbols and terms that relate to dynamics, tempo, form, and meter
- Understand whole steps and half steps
- Write key signatures in C, F, and G
Creating
- Express musical ideas using a variety of sounds (vocal, body percussion, found sounds, non-pitched and pitched instruments)
- Improvise rhythm and melodic patterns and short compositions using movement, singing and playing instruments
Listening
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Listen to a variety of musical styles and genres so that students will be able to:
- respond to and describe music in various ways (language, movement, art)
- understand simple musical forms
- recognize various musical elements and expressive qualities
- develop music vocabulary
- explore contrasts of timbre
- learn about the instruments of the orchestra and instruments around the world
- learn about composers and musicians
- explore music of different cultures and time periods
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Athletics
Students practice traveling in different ways in a large group without
bumping into others or falling. Students balance while bending,
twisting, or stretching. They strike a stationary ball with any part of
the body. Students recognize changes in heart rate and follow
adult-delivered rules. Students come to PE once a week for 30 minutes.
Students also participate in a weekly movement class for 30 minutes.
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Science
The Fall Term:
The science curriculum throughout the year provides a thematic springboard for cross-curricular exploration. In September, we investigate apples and apple trees, emphasizing life cycle of a tree, plant parts, and farms. In October, we launch into a unit on trees, focusing on uses of trees, life cycles, and habitats. We are going to look closely at a redwood forest habitat and at rain forest habitats. In November, we explore plants and seeds.
The Winter Term:
In December, we will begin a five month unit of study on the five vertebrates, starting with animals with fur. We are going to begin by learning all about guinea pigs. We will also take a close look at animals that are native to Northern California and compare them with animals that live in the rain forest. In January, we will investigate animals with shells, focusing on water nails and land snails. We will compare vertebrates and invertebrates. In February, we study animals with scales, reptile, fish and amphibians. We will learn about local, native reptiles, fish and amphibians, as well as reptiles and amphibians and fish that live in the rain forest.
The Spring Term:
In March, we learn about birds. Again, we will emphasize native birds, and compare them to tropical rain forest birds. We will be incubating chicken eggs in the classroom and learning about the life cycle of a bird! In April, we focus on animals with skin. We study frogs, and we will have frog eggs in the classrooms that we will observe change and grow! We also study humans, and learn about our skin. In April we will be busy getting ready for the Science Fair, and teaching everyone what we have learned about rain forest ecology! In May, we will explore the five senses. In June we will celebrate the end of the year with a Five Senses Fair!
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History/Social Studies
The Fall Term:
We begin the year by making a book, "All About Me." We focus on our classroom community, and learning about the four Kindergarten promises (raise your hand, we share, no put-downs, we listen with our eyes, ears and hearts). We set the tone for the year, and learn the routines that make life in the classroom run smoothly. The students learn how to take turns doing class jobs (watering plants, sharpening pencils, feeding the animals, line leader, etc.) We learn all about the school community, and the different people in the Redwood Day School neighborhood. Beginning in mid-September, each week we learn about a different student with A Life Like Mine. In October, we learn about Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos, and investigate pumpkins and skeletons. We also study our bodies, health and nutrition. In November, we focus on the harvest. We read the story Stone Soup, and make a stone soup in class. We meet each other's grandparents during Grandparent's Day.
In Kindergarten, we work daily and weekly on healthy communication and understanding our emotions. We have weekly classroom meetings to discuss what is going well for us, and what we are struggling with.
During the year, we will have many opportunities to work with the larger Redwood community. We will get a chance to meet and work with the other Kindergartners during Friday scramble group, when we mix up classes to do Science and Social Studies. We also have sixth grade buddies who we will meet with once a month. We are also going to be meeting with Kindergarten classrooms from Sequoia Elementary School, a local public school for visits to the Dimond Library.
One of the other important elements of the Social Science curriculum is learning about historical figures who made an impact in the world. In addition to studying the well known national heroes, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cesar Chavez, we will also learn about different lesser recognized historical revolutionaries who made a positive impact in the world, who will be introduced with each letter of the alphabet.
The Winter Term:
In December, we will learn about Celebrations of Light and winter holiday traditions from around the world. Families are encouraged to visit the classroom to share their traditions with the students. During the holiday season, we will emphasize the basic needs of people, and work on a service learning project that will empower the students to help people in need. In December, we will also learn about Rosa Parks. In January, we will learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. We will celebrate the calendar new year, and learn about the Lunar New Year. In January we are going to learn about good dental hygiene, and how to take good care of our teeth. In February, we focus on friendship.
The Spring Term:
In March, we will learn about leprechauns and other magical creatures, during a study of St. Patrick's day. We will celebrate and honor the lives of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and learn about organic farming. In April we learn about ecology and conservation in preparation for Earth Day. We will investigate eggs, and their cultural connection to Passover and Easter. In May, we will focus on making healthy choices for your brain, heart and body.
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Spanish
This program is intended to develop listening comprehension and verbal skills. Students are presented with new vocabulary words usually in sets of three. Each word is given a physical cue or movement. These cues allow for immediate comprehension of the new vocabulary. Teacher-generated mini-stories are used to help reinforce new vocabulary. Stories are easy to internalize and provide multiple opportunities to prove comprehension and to feel successful. Mini-stories are acted by puppets, students at their seats (simultaneously), in partners, or by student volunteers in front of the class. Mini-stories are also reinforced by art. After each mini-story, students are asked questions in Spanish about the story. Initially, Kindergarten students are only able to answer yes/no questions. Games and other activities are also used to reinforce vocabulary.
The Fall Term:
Kindergarten students learn how to respond to the question, ¿Cómo estás? Students are given a movement for each of the possible responses to this question (muy bien, bien, más o menos, mal, or muy mal). Students learn and work with vocabulary words, such as these, during the fall term: Hay (there is, there are), se llama (is called), el gato (the cat), el raton (the mouse), corre (runs), come (eats), mira (looks at), and agarra (grabs). Vocabulary words are used in mini-stories throughout the term.
The Winter Term:
Kindergarten students continue to use vocabulary from the fall term in their mini-stories while also learning new vocabulary. New vocabulary includes words such as: está enojado (is angry), está contento (is happy), llora (cries), duerme (sleeps), and grita (yells). The colors and some numbers are also woven into the mini-stories during this term.
The Spring Term:
Kindergarten students learn new vocabulary words while continuing to reinforce past vocabulary words. Mini-stories are longer and more complex during this last term. Stories include several characters and students are asked more complex questions about each story. Questions may be as follows: ¿El niño está enojado o el niño está triste? (The boy is angry or the boy is sad?). These questions require students to begin speaking the vocabulary words learned during the school year.
