Welcome to Kindergarten! We are so glad that you and your child will be joining us this year. Junior and Senior Kindergarten are years of discovery, exploration and fun! As we begin this year together, our Early Learning Team (teachers and Early Childhood Educators) would like to invite you to take this journey along with us.
Before the school year
begins, we would like to share some important information about the
Kindergarten program your child is such an integral part of.
Play To Learn - Learn To Play
“Play is the highest form of research.”
~ Albert Einstein
We are very excited to be part a Full Day Kindergarten Learning Site. This means your child will come to Kindergarten every day from 9:05 a.m - 3:30 p.m. During our time together, we will play, discover and learn many exciting new things together. Our Kindergarten program is an inquiry and play-based program.
Our Curriculum
Our curriculum is The Full-Day Early Learning - Kindergarten Program (2010) provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education. As stated in the document, "the purpose of the [full day kindergarten] program is to establish a strong foundation for learning in the early years, and to do so in a safe and caring play-based environment that promotes the physical, social, emotional and cognitive development of all children" (p. 1).
Our curriculum is broken down into six key learning areas. As the year progresses, we will be posting many activities and games you can play with your child at home to help them develop in each of the six areas.
Personal and Social Development - children arrive at school with a broad range of experiences. Children will explore sharing, problem-solving to help themselves and others, taking turns, sharing of heritage and culture, and express thoughts and feelings and more.
Language - providing children opportunities to speak, listen, read, write, express themselves, and build vocabulary. Students will learn to respond to and interact with developmentally appropriate texts while increasing their ability to communicate effectively.
Mathematics - learning to count, create patterns, compare shapes and solids, and sorting objects are just a few of the math concepts your child will experience with fun, age-appropriate activities
Science and Technology - capitalizing on your child's natural sense of wonder, they will be given the opportunity to explore many scientific topics. They will create and conduct science experiments, and learn to use materials and tools safely. We will also explore technology in various ways including the use of computers, the SMARTBoard and student blogging.
Health and Physical Activity - children need to develop physically as well as emotionally and academically. Not only will your child have the chance to participate in fun and exciting whole and small group games that help develop both large and small muscle groups, but they will learn about the importance of exercise, healthy eating and how to get help if being they are being bullied or hurt by others.
The Arts - all children have artistic ability. This year they will have the opportunity to dance, sing, move, act, create and share. Using their imaginations, the sky is the limit when children engage in the Arts.
Our curriculum is broken down into six key learning areas. As the year progresses, we will be posting many activities and games you can play with your child at home to help them develop in each of the six areas.
Personal and Social Development - children arrive at school with a broad range of experiences. Children will explore sharing, problem-solving to help themselves and others, taking turns, sharing of heritage and culture, and express thoughts and feelings and more.
Inquiry and Play-Based Program
As educators, we believe that children learn best in a classroom that provides many opportunities for them to play, explore, discover and search out new opportunities for learning.
Our program is established in such a way that your child and their classmates will lead the learning in our classroom. Through large blocks of time to play and explore, that Early Learning Team will play and work alongside the children to find new and exciting learning opportunities.
Right now, you may have a few important questions to ask:
* If my child is playing all day, when will they learn?
Jean Piaget (developmental psychologist) said it best:
As educators, we believe that children learn best in a classroom that provides many opportunities for them to play, explore, discover and search out new opportunities for learning.
Our program is established in such a way that your child and their classmates will lead the learning in our classroom. Through large blocks of time to play and explore, that Early Learning Team will play and work alongside the children to find new and exciting learning opportunities.
Right now, you may have a few important questions to ask:
* If my child is playing all day, when will they learn?
Jean Piaget (developmental psychologist) said it best:
"Play is a child's work."
The importance of play in the early years of a child's life can not be understated. Play is how children bring meaning to the world around them and how they truly experience the world. Giving students the time, space and freedom to play will allow them to: stimulate healthy development of their brain, nurture their creativity, develop problem-solving capabilities, learn essential social skills (taking turns, sharing, cooperation), develop empathy for others, and self-respect. In other words, your child is learning while they are playing.
"Play nourishes every aspect of children’s development – it forms
the foundation of intellectual, social, physical, and emotional skills
necessary for success in school and in life. Play “paves the way
for learning”.
Canadian Council on Learning (Early Childhood Learning
Knowledge Centre), “Let the Children Play: Nature’s Answer
to Early Learning”, Lessons in Learning (Ottawa: CCL, 2006), p. 2
In an inquiry-based program, the learning is driven by the questions, interests and curiosities of the learner. When engaged in meaningful play, your child will have an opportunity to explore and discover topics or questions that interest them. When learning investigations grow from a child's own experiences, the learning is more authentic and the child is motivated to follow where the learning leads.
* What is the role of the Early Learning Team in a inquiry, play-based Kindergarten program?
An inquiry-based program capitalizes on your child's natural curiosity about their surroundings. Our Early Learning Team realizes that all children have a natural desire for inquiry. They want to discover how things work and why things happen. The teachers and ECE's will work together to build on our student's spontaneous interest for exploration, and then gradually guide them to become more focused in their learning.
Some parents fear that when engaged in a play and inquiry-based program, their child simply wanders around the room all day finding things to do. Please know that the Early Learning Team will be working diligently all year to not only discover what interests the students have, but will plan and guide the program to turn this natural curiosity into meaningful learning opportunities.
"Team members provide children with opportunities to plan, observe, and gather information and then to compare sort, classify, and interpret their observations. They provide a rich variety of materials and resources, and interact with children to clarify, expand or help articulate the children's thinking. They the encourage children to share their findings."
The Full-Day Early Learning - Kindergarten Program (2010) (p. 15)
* What does "play" look like in an educational setting?
In an educational setting, play means many things. Your child will be provided with both free-play time (where your child initiates the learning), as well as more structured play-based learning opportunities.
"The learning activities are designed by the Early Learning–Kindergarten team to encourage the children to think creatively, to explore and investigate, to solve problems and engage in the inquiry process, and to share their learning with others."
The Full-Day Early Learning - Kindergarten Program (2010) (p. 13)
Take a peek at what children are learning when they play...
* retelling a favourite fairy tale
* oral language development
* cooperation
* taking turns
* math concepts (volume, comparing capacity)
* science concepts (sinking, floating)
* problem-solving
* oral language development (describing size, shape, position)
* fine and gross motor development
* problem-solving
* self-regulation (taking turns, cooperating)
* fine motor development (using droppers)
* exploring elements of design - colour (The Arts)
* oral language development
* fine motor development (creating and writing flower orders)
* cooperation
* imaginative play
As you can see, playing and learning are one and the same in our Kindergarten classroom. We look forward to seeing you at our Kindergarten Family Play evening coming soon. We invite you to come to our classroom where you can stay and play alongside your child and the Early Learning Team.
“Children need the freedom and time to play.
Play is not a luxury.
Play is a necessity.”
Play is not a luxury.
Play is a necessity.”
~ Kay Redfield Jamison
