In the Classroom

Pre-K 3's by Heather Dumais, Teacher

"The things we focus on in our classroom academically are colors, numbers, shapes.  We do this by studying units throughout the year that typically have to do with the time of year.  For example we do a welcome to school unit, a thanksgiving unit, a presidents unit, etc... Most importantly for our 3's we learn how to sit at circle, walk through the hallway and overall behave appropriately in a classroom.  Most of this children have never been in a true classroom environment before.
 
Our centers allow our children to have independent play while the 2 teachers in the classroom work in small groups or one on one(teacher and student) to create the daily project, do the experiment, etc.    
 
One other special that I might add is Chapel...that may prove very important to some parents.  Also our special events through the year....christmas chapel, make believe parade, mardi gras parade, rodeo day, cinco de mayo celebration and graduation. "

Pre-K 4's by Yvette Estopinal, Teacher

The skills we work on are pre-reading, pre-math, fine and gross motor skills, listening, following directions, sequencing, patternings, rhythm, singing, finger plays, drama, movement and dance.  We use a beehive for good behavior rewards! Once the children earn 10 bees (given for good behaviors and completing their work) they receive a prize from the prize box.  Learning is all about the FUN!  We squeeze in so many facts through songs and dance that they are not even aware they are really learning!  One of the highest compliments Simone Bellflower and I receive is that the siblings of our students all come back to us. 

Transitional Kindergarten by Beth Cipriani, Teacher

Skills

Academic and social preparation for Kindergarten:  The children work on the alphabet, beginning reading, number identification, beginning addition and subtraction, money awareness and patterning.  These core skills are supplemented with monthly units such as simple machines, vertebrate animals, fairy tales, insects and the Arctic.

Activities

The children learn through a variety of methods.  Concepts are introduced and reinforced with crafts, science experiments, lots of books and songs.  The children are also given time for free centers where they can play with blocks, work on puzzles, follow patterns and use their imaginations.

Types of Learning Centers

The children work on several centers each day.  They can be teacher directed “academic” centers where concepts are reinforced and independent centers where problem solving skills and peer interactions are encouraged.  The children read to us everyday and books are plentiful in the classroom.  There are books about the subjects being taught, fiction and self photo books with simple text that the children can read.

Things the kids love the best

The children always seem to love story time.  We play games in the classroom that teach reasoning skills or reinforce academic concepts and these are often requested.  Many children enjoy the times that we sew in class.  They also seem to relish the structure of the classroom and that they know how the classroom day runs.  A token system that rewards the positive things in the classroom is something that they are proud to be a part of.  Murphy the guinea pig is our class pet during the week and available for home visits on the weekends and the students love this chance to interact with her.

Special Learning Opportunities

Transitional Kindergarten is filled with extras.  We enjoy science, music, library, Spanish and Art Masterpiece.  The classes take many field trips to the zoo, Panera Bread, singing for nursing home residents, the Woodlands Children’s Museum and other opportunities.  We love to have parents involved in the classroom sharing information about their vocations or reading to the children.

Anecdotes

When I think about what would make Transitional Kindergarten more understandable, it really is snapshots of the year.  There is the fun that we have playing monster or rock and roll hairdo on the playground or quiet conversations while we are sewing a quilt square in class or the pride that a child shows when they have mastered a skill or are sharing unusual bits of information to their family and peers.

There are of course moments that give great satisfaction.  We’ve watched children really gain confidence in their beginning reading skills such as the time two children sat side by side in the rocking chair reading Go Dog Go to each other.  There are students that gain confidence, improve their fine motor skills and demonstrate appropriate school behavior.

But the essence of this classroom is the day to day.  We grow to love your children and are proud of their accomplishments.  They grow and mature and are confident and ready for Kindergarten.

Transitional Kindergarten by Theresa Bruns, Teacher

When I think through the things our kids love best about our TK class, many things come to mind:

1. Being in the "Monkey Class". Like our mascot, Curious George, our students are curious and eager to learn!

2. Our reward system is earning coconuts. Earn 10 coconuts and you get a trip to the treasure chest. Very exciting!

3. The Monkey class loves having jobs. Each child has a different job every week. Line leader, flag holder, calendar, or one of the favorites is "Fluffy's Friend" who get to hold our pet mascot during story time.

4. The children look forward to "joke of the day". They have lots of fun trying to guess the answer ot he silly joke and sometimes they surprise us with the right answer!

5. We also have a "question of the day", which the children answer as soon as they enter the classroom. It could be a simple question like "Are you wearing RED?" or maybe something a little more challenging like "Can you stand on one foot for 10 seconds?" During circle time, we use th answeres for some math questions, such as who has the most, the least, some addition and subtraction. They have a great time with this.

6. We sometimes make our own snacks. (Moo snacks). The love to measure and stir the ingredients and are so excited with the end results.

7. We usually have a free center such as art, blocks, or legos that children can choose during the day. They love to build with the blocks and legos and the art center is popular especially making cards for one another.

8. Lunch time is a fun time for our class.  We eat in the Great Hall with the Puppy Dog class and Kindergarten. The children are encouraged to eat all of their lunch and they are responsible for cleaning their area when they have finished.

9. Playground time is after lunch. The children are ready to visit with their friends, run, jump, swing, play in the sand and play games. They deserve this freetime because they've worked so hard all morning!

10. We usually hav story time after playground. We listen to lots of stories on CD and the children love them. We also enjoy singing silly songs such as Tooty Tot and the Button Factory. We rock with the Funky Monkey!