Mrs. Karen McDougall
MS. Gianna DeCuba

Mrs. McDougall's class learning geometry

Everything you need to know.....you learned in KINDERGARTEN!

Some people may think kindergarten is mostly "playtime". Actually, kindergarten children are learning many important skills! It is a time of wonder, discovery and growth. Here's what you might see if you peeked into a typical full day Kindergarten classroom:

Some children working independently while others may be working together.

Problem solving:

Children sharing & taking turns as well as solving conflicts peacefully.

Children are also encouraged to discover ways to become more self reliant and they are so proud when they can do it themselves!

During the 2012/2013 Northvail introduced a new math series to grades K-5 called Go Math. This program allows the children to be enveloped in Numbers and Number Sense. The series covers the following concepts:

• Numbers 0 to 5

• Numbers 6 to 10

• Addition and Subtraction

• Numbers 11 to 19

• Sets to 20

• Positions and Sorting

• Two and Three Dimensional Shapes

• Patterns

The kindergarteners use math manipulative and a lot of hands on learning throughout their math lessons. Math today is NOTHING like it used to be!!

Language Arts:

Last year, the kindergarten class introduced reader’s workshop, a program to support and encourage emergent literacy skills, Students explore both fiction and nonfiction texts on levels that are “just right” for the individual. This year, we are including writer’s workshop to foster the concept that even young ones can be authors. Keep an eye out for your child’s next best seller!

Each day we enjoy snack & some free play time. Because snacks are in the morning, they must be healthy.

Examples of healthy snacks: fruit, goldfish and yogurt.

Examples of not healthy snacks: candy (gummies), chips (doritos) and cookies.

The purpose of snack is to get some needed energy before lunch @ 12:30. Unhealthy snacks result in unhealthy energy.

Students benefit from having their own backpack to hold their belongings. Some other individual items might include:

Pocket folders (2-3)

Crayons (to be kept in cubby). We supply crayons but some students enjoy special crayons or markers for special projects.

Pencils (we supply them but some students prefer their own.

Chapstick to be kept in cubby if lips get dry.

We have a water fountain and bathroom in our classroom. Whatever the day, our Kindergarteners are busy finding out how fun learning can be. We love getting to know your children, and watching them grow just warms our hearts!

Thank you so much for all that you do, and for sharing your child with us!