5 & 6 Year Old Kindergarten

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MIGHTY OAK

The children arrive and play outdoors until the bell rings. Once inside, the children gather at Circle Time for sharing treasures, conversation, the daily calendar, and the number line. Some of our information may be written on the blackboard and news of the day read aloud together. This is also a time to present information about the current topic being learned.

At Snack Time a song is sung or a poem recited, and then it’s “Mighty Oak Munch Time!”

At Story Time a current theme related book is shared.

During Work Time, the children devote their time to reading readiness, mathematics, science, and social studies. The children can be involved in cooking, painting, playing games, using Play-Doh, dressing up,  listening to books at the listening center, building with blocks, Legos, or K-nex, as well as doing projects related to the topic being studied. We learn poems and songs in different languages relating to the unit being covered.

The Mighty Oaks make their own alphabet books that reinforce letter sounds and teach the correct method of printing capital and lower case letters through Handwriting without tears. We use the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing Program (LIPS), formerly known as Auditory Discrimination in Depth (ADD). This program teaches the children how sounds are made in their mouths and/or what shape their mouth is when making a particular sound. Our creative writing experiences enhance the reading and writing programs.

For mathematics, we draw upon the “Every Day Math” program. Basically, the children learn the meaning of sets, one-to-one correspondence, estimating, recognizing, counting, and writing numbers from 0 to 100. Recognizing shapes, understanding and becoming familiar with patterns, number lines, and graphs are also included. Learning about mathmatical concepts is a goal to further the ability to think logically.

The sciences and social studies are woven into the Mighty Oak curriculum. We learn to recognize different places in the world on a map and make maps of our home, school, and the countries we study. We vote by ‘secret ballot’ to learn about voting and democracy. Different times and cultures are discussed as we study Native Americans, artists, space, Africa, England and its castles, and how Christmas is celebrated in different parts of the world.

We study birds and observe a tree throughout the seasons; learning to become more observant of details and recognizing change and the passage of time. We expand our understanding of the workld around us by learning about migration, metamorphosis,and life cycles. Work in all disciplines is generally done in small groups, allowing the children time and opportunity to develop at his/her own pace.

Our day continues with a recess, community lunch and library time.

Afternoon activities expand and reinforce learning through investigations, science, hikes on the nature trail, games, art, creative dramatics, litature activities and community meetings.

Specials
Music- Music is a vital part of each day at Acorn School. Our program is designed so that songs and musical ctivities become an integral part of the Acorn curriculum. Many of the songs and activities have been passed down through the years making Acorn the special place that it is. Creative movement, rhythm instruments, finger plays, song stories and the simple joy of singing are only some of the wys we help children learn to love music during these early years. In addition, Acorn’s special music class one day a week for each age level underlines the important place we give to music in the lives of our children.

Yoga – The Acorn School yoga experience begins with presenting the notion that we are all made of 3 important parts: the body, the mind and the spirit. Each yoga class provides an opportunity for all participants to bring together a balance of these 3 parts through poses, imaginative play and song. This balance brings calmness and strength to the practitioner.

Learning about ones body, acknowledging and nurturing their special gifts and strengths while filling up with vibrant energy are just a few of the many benefits children receive from our yoga practice. Playful, creative and fun classes are always conducted with attention to keeping our bodies safe and healthy.

This approach to children’s yoga compliments Acorn’s mission to educate and nurture the whole child as they become active participants in establishing lifelong habits.

OBJECTIVES FOR MIGHTY OAKS

• Develop a positive self-image and feeling of confidence through self-expression, positive reinforcement and the experience of success
• Appreciate and respect each other through kindness, empathy, sharing, and following rules
• Embrace learning
• Feel comfortable and confident in small and large groups
• Accept the balance of work and play
• Increase attention span, develop good listening skills and the ability to follow directions
• Appreciate knowledge, literature, different cultures, nature, and music
• Sharpen memory and recall skills
• Understand the passage of time
• Learn left-to-right progression
• Recognize and compare shapes
• Print one’s first and last name
• Recognize and print upper and lower case letters
• Associate sounds with appropriate letters
• Recognize, print, and order numbers 0 to 20 on a number line
• Strengthen understanding and interpretation of sets, graphs, glyphs, and patterns
• Recognize and use high-frequency words in language arts
• Learn to share a meal together and to clean up afterwards
• Be prepared for a longer elementary school day
• Negotiate and resolve conflict
• Practice and strengthen independence
• Become aware of our role in nature and to treat the earth kindly

11:30 Recess – Outdoor time to play with peers and get some exercise
12:00 Lunch
12:30 Activity Time – an opportunity to explore and do activities pertaining to different topics, such as; puppetry, baking, learning about different countries, exercising, storytelling, building birdhouses, science, pottery and others.
12-20 children/2-3 teachers
1:30 Carpool

11:30 Lunch 
11:50 TimberNook Experience
1:30 Carpool