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Kindergarten
Kindergarten at Mulberry is a Magical year! Kindergarten sets the foundation for the elementary experience at Mulberry. A rich, hands-on and exciting multi-sensory curriculum engages students every single day. At this age, children are open, in wonder of the world around them and hungry to learn. They explore, investigate and soak in everything they are exposed to. They enjoy getting to know other children, sharing their world, learning and playing together.
Zoo-phonics Reading
Students come with a wide range of skills and abilities. In Kindergarten, we work to instill a love of reading while supporting our emergent readers with their budding skills. Each day we read a wide range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. The children particularly enjoy shared reading with "big books" and with their fifth grade reading buddies. Each month we focus on the works of one author and read many of his or her books. We earn interesting facts about that author and discuss what made him or her decide to be an author.
We use Zoo-phonics, a kinesthetic and multi-sensory reading program that links movement and animals to each letter of the alphabet. Students have a great time learning their letters through music and movement, phonemic awareness activities and games while acquiring knowledge of letters and sounds, word families, rhyming and concepts of print. A favorite activity is building our “Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom” tree which decorates our room throughout the year.
Zaner-Bloser Writing
Kindergarteners learn to write using the Zaner-Bloser, a creative and fun program that teaches kindergarteners to write by breaking down letter formation into simple and easy to follow steps. In Writers workshop, mini lessons in writing are supported by practice where each student writes their own stories. Kindergarteners are met at whatever level of writing they are at and encouraged and supported in moving to the next level.
Math
Kindergarten Math is hands-on, thought provoking and fun. Multi-sensory Math “investigations” cover number sense, counting, one-one correspondence, patterns, simple addition and subtraction, the attributes of shapes (geometry), time, measurement, data collection and graphing. We explore these concepts through a variety of math programs which include Marilyn Burns, Marcy Cook, and Scott Foresman Math Investigations. We use Math Manipulatives and games to solidify concepts through a process of exploration, exposure, and practice.
Science
Our science program is base on thematic units that include the Seasons, Gardening, Sunflowers, Pumpkins, Insects, Animal Habitats, Frogs and Amphibians and Simple Machines. We read about these topics and then write about, grow, observe, draw, paint, sew, cook and explore each of them.
The year long study of Pumpkin Jack begins with a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch in the fall. We read about pumpkins, draw pumpkins in Art and make pumpkins out of clay. We carve the class pumpkin and then observe and photograph changes. We ceremoniously carry our pumpkin to the garden once it is too moldy for the classroom – we chronicle its rotting and subsequent regrowth each month through photos, class brainstorms and writing. Similarly, we sow sunflower seeds, read about sunflowers, monitor and record their growth throughout the year using words and art.
Our study of simple machines is a hands-on, cross-curricular unit with our fifth grade reading buddies. We read about how machines work, our fifth grade buddies set up centers to experiment with and build models of gears, planks, pulleys, wheels and levers. We also build mini catapults and then write about and paint these machines.
Character and Confidence
Taking personal responsibility is a major part of the social emotional curriculum in Kindergarten. Listening, taking turns speaking, valuing each person’s ideas, discussing the books we read, and class meetings all help in character development. We start the year with “class agreements” and use circle time to build communications and friendship skills and come up with ideas for resolving conflicts when they arise.
Mulberry's Kindergarten Curriculum includes PE, Art & Music, and Gardening, Cooking, Carpentry, Sewing, Field Trips, Service Projects & More. Visit Kindergarten atMulberry and experience the "Mulberry Magic" for yourself!
