Kindergarten

Kindergarten is an important milestone in your child’s life. Your child is learning how school works, making new friends, and doing a lot of learning. This guide provides an overview of the academic standards and social emotional milestones that your child will experience this year. Academic standards are important because they help ensure that all scholars are prepared for success. This guide is meant to support you in understanding what your child is learning, and provide ways you can speak with your child’s teacher about their progress and growth over the year.

Learning Partnership Guides

A Guide to Your Scholar's Success

English Language Arts

Reading

Scholars feel like readers and writers.
Read daily.
Learn 26 letters.
Learn letter sounds.
Use picture clues to figure out unknown words.
Scholars can read using decoding and Sight Words.
Listen to books.
Retell books with class and partners.

Ways to talk with your child's teacher:

How is my child performing in phonics instruction? Is that level below, on or above grade level?
What is my child’s Power Goal? A Power Goal is a specific skill or strategy that your child is working on to improve reading skills.
How is my child progressing in terms of meeting standards in reading, writing, speaking and listening? What are their strengths? What are areas to improve?

Writing & Communication

Tell their ideas to a classmate.
Write daily.
Draw, label and write their ideas.
Draw, label, write to ask and answer questions about reading.
Learn letter formation of upper- and lower-case letters.
Ask and answer questions about books in whole group, small groups, or with partners.
Participate in conversations with teachers and classmates in small and larger groups.

Ways to support your scholar at home:

Set aside time (20–30 minutes) for your child to read every day. Have them read to you. Talk to them about what is happening in their book(s).
Ask your scholar to share what they are working on in class. Ask them questions like, “What book did you read and/or talk about in class today?” “What did you like about what you read?” “Tell me what you wrote about today in class.”

Math

SEMESTER 1: SEPTEMBER–JANUARY

Scholars can read and write numerals 0–10.
Given a number 0–10, count out that many objects.
Example: Scholars are given a mystery bag with a number of objects 0–10 inside. They count and write the number that represents the amount inside.

Ways to talk with your child's teacher:

Does my child know how to make and break apart numbers? What have you observed?
Ask to see a piece of your child’s work. Is this work on level? What could be improved?

SEMESTER 2: FEBRUARY–JUNE

Scholars can make and break apart numbers 1–10 in multiple ways.
Example: Zahra has 8 apples. Some are green and some are red. What is one combination of red and green apples that Zahra could have? Can you find another combination?

Ways to talk with your child's teacher:

Ask your child to count things in real life. For example, “How many forks are here?”
Give your child a number 0-100 and ask your child to say or write the next number.

Science

Social Studies

Citizenship at school

Who am I? Who is in my class? What do we all need to learn together?
How are my classmates and I alike? How are my classmates and I different?
Why is it important for me to read and learn about people whose lives and experiences are different from mine?
Fairness and rules: Why do we have rules? What does it mean to follow rules?
Learn how to be a good friend.

Music

Health & PE

Tech Skills

SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL - Kindergarten Milestones

Like to help, cooperate, follow rules, and gain adult approval
Benefit from routines, consistent and simple expectations and consequences
Often need verbal permission from adults before doing something
Insecure with feelings and cautious with actions
Complain, test authority and limits, and may temper tantrum
Frequent reminders and redirection are more beneficial than harsh discipline
Can behave well at school and worse at home, or vice versa
Oppositional; not sure whether to be good or naughty
May switch answers from “yes” to “no” and vice versa
Can work at quiet, sitting activities for fifteen to twenty minutes at a time
Express thoughts through action and learn and practice language skills through direct role play and dramatic play

QUESTION & ANSWER

Q: Who do I contact if I have a concern about my child?

A: First, always contact your scholar’s teacher/s and discuss your concern. If your concern has not been fully addressed, you can contact the school's family liaison or principal.

Q: How can I volunteer in the classroom or go on field trips?

A: All family members who want to volunteer at the school must complete a background check. These can be completed at the school and are valid for two years.

OUR COMMITMENT TO SCHOLARS AND FAMILIES

All scholars learn best when they experience physical and emotional safety in classrooms and schools. Scholars and families should expect to see the following adult actions:

Provide a welcoming environment to support building trusting, encouraging relationships with all families.
Prioritize scholar voice and participation in shaping the learning and classroom culture.
Teach for understanding to assure scholars have high expectations and academic supports to grow intellectually.
Focus on scholar cooperation to encourage scholars to learn from and help others.
Implement school-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports so that all scholars and adults live out their shared beliefs and actions that make school a safe and fun place to learn.
Teach social and emotional learning skills and strategies during morning meetings and reinforce SEL skills throughout the school day.

Getting Ready for College & Career

The ABC's for College & Career Readiness

Attendance

Scholars who maintain good attendance through all years of school:

Achieve grade level standard at a higher rate
Graduate from high school at a higher rate
Develop good habits that contribute to success in school and in future careers
For each day a scholar is absent it takes an average of three days to catch up.

Behavior & Social Emotional Learning

The purpose behind Culturally-Responsive Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (CR-PBIS) is to make schools more effective, efficient, and equitable learning environments for all scholars. By teaching scholars expectations and acknowledging positive behavior, adults increase the predictability, consistency, positive climate, and safety of all at school. Social emotional learning lessons are taught and embedded throughout the school year. To learn more about CR-PBIS and social emotional learning at your school, contact your scholar's teacher or principal.