Kindergarten

 

 

 

 

 

Kindergarten Team

Ms. Marsia Ronyak  & Ms. Kelli Eastmond

We are early childhood educators with over 50 years experience and we know how important this first year of elementary school is to you, your child, and our school community.  We work hard to make sure your child feels safe, happy, and part of our classroom every day. 

In Kindergarten, students learn to identify 26 uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as the most common sound for each letter.  Students will also learn the 27 sight words in Fundations, our phonics curriculum.  Decoding strategies are used to help students develop a foundation that will propel them into thinking about text critically. Our goal is to have every child develop a love of reading.  Our Literacy program, Into Reading, provides students with a wide variety of text to engage all interests and ability levels.

We use Bridges in Mathematics as our guide for counting, number sense, number writing,  2 and 3 dimensional shapes, addition and subtraction stories, and algebraic thinking.  Our daily routine includes counting skills, subitizing numbers, building numbers within 20, working with 10 frames,  and learning to be flexible thinkers with problem solving skills.

We are using PhD Science as our science curriculum. This resource meets the change in science standards instruction and aligns with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). We will be working on the following concepts throughout the year:  

• Physical Science with a unit called “Pushes and Pulls”
• Life Science with a unit called “Environments”
• Earth and Space Science with a unit called “Weather”
   

We will be using Inquiry Journeys for our Social Studies curriculum.  This curriculum helps our students understand the world around them all while celebrating the diversity of our community. We will work in units that focus on past, present, and future, working in a team, and navigating our school.

Kindergarten uses Second Step for social emotional learning lessons. Topics include skills for learning, empathy, emotion management and problem-solving.

We are also firm believers in young children learning through play, and our daily schedules have a play workshop built into the first part of our day. This fosters connections between students, problem-solving skills, and an environment that is fun and self-directed as we move our students into a day of academic focus!

For more information on specific kindergarten standards, please visit https://www.cde.state.co.us/standardsandinstruction