MRS. BARLOW - KINDERGARTEN

Kindergarten is more than just an opportunity for children to socialize and learn about colors and shapes.  This is an important year in the life of youngsters!  A well-run classroom should offer kids developmentally appropriate learning opportunities, without pushing them beyond what they can handle, while continuing to challenge them!  It should also provide them with playtime, as well as a chance to recharge and refuel their bodies with rest moments or snacks.

Above all, kindergarten is the time when kids acquire early educational skills so that they're not only ready -- but also excited -- to move on to first grade.  Children within this age group are like little sponges.  They love learning, and they are eager to do so.  Preserving this mindset is one of the most important tasks a kindergarten teacher should accomplish. 

Kindergarten is school for children from 5 to 6 years old depending on their birthday.  The average age of most kindergarteners is 5, but many children aren't actually ready -- whether developmentally or emotionally -- to enter school until they're older. In fact, it's not uncommon for some kids to begin kindergarten at age 6.  With that in mind, kindergarten students will come into the classroom with a wide range of skills and background knowledge.  Some students will be proficient with colors and shapes, but they will need leadership and guidance from the teacher (with parent support from home) with letter identification, phonics (letter sounds), counting, and number recognition and operations.  Others may enter kindergarten reading sight words, sentences, or small books as well as a basic understanding of counting and cardinality with algebraic thinking.  Our goal is for each child to progress though each year at his/her own pace to meet the end of the year objectives and beyond when appropriate.