Kindergarten

Our kindergarten literacy program provides a strong foundation for lifelong learning. Kindergarten students enter school with varying reading readiness skills. Small group instruction with classroom teachers and reading specialists helps meet the needs of each child. Kindergarten classes use a multi-sensory, explicit approach to reading and spelling instruction with phonics. At the beginning of the school year, children focus on increasing phonological awareness, practicing letter-sound correspondence and learning lowercase letter formation. As the year progresses, they move on to blending sounds into words and are introduced to aspects of word and sentence structure. Students also learn a variety of decoding strategies and build sight word knowledge, which they apply when reading texts. Successful reading requires both a toolkit of technical skills and a store of continuously growing content knowledge. Through wide exposure to print and group discussions, students develop verbal reasoning abilities that enable them to understand the author’s message. Kindergarten classrooms provide regular opportunities for students to express themselves on paper, helping children understand that writing has a real purpose. They write list books and letters to family and friends and develop their storytelling skills by writing about personal experiences.

Kindergarten mathematicians actively explore numbers and shapes with increasing confidence. Through hands-on activities like counting, sorting and combining or breaking apart sets, they strengthen their number sense. Using tools like five-frames and ten-frames, they build foundational concepts such as "more than," "less than," pairs that add to 10 and understanding odd and even numbers. Kindergarteners also engage in recognizing and creating patterns in numbers, shapes, movements and songs. Throughout the year, they explore measurement, geometry, addition, subtraction, graphing and problem-solving through projects that integrate literacy, art and engineering.

In kindergarten, students are introduced to the world of scientific discovery through hands-on investigations, observations and exploration. Throughout the year, they learn what it means to be a scientist, investigate forces and motion, explore the diversity of animals and practice using the scientific method. Each unit is designed to build foundational skills that spark curiosity, promote critical thinking and encourage students to ask questions as they explore the world around them.

In kindergarten, students are introduced to technology, engineering and creative problem-solving through playful, hands-on experiences. They begin learning basic coding concepts, exploring simple machines and practicing safe and responsible use of technology. Using the Design Process, students develop early problem-solving skills while working on engaging projects. Throughout the year, they investigate how structures and functions affect stability and balance, program Bee-Bots to follow paths and complete challenges, use ScratchJr on iPads to build sequencing and computational thinking skills, and learn digital citizenship by practicing safe and respectful technology use with their peers.

At CGPS, the social studies curriculum invites students to inquire about the world around them, leading them to take informed action. The first unit in kindergarten is My Team and Self, which asks students to consider, “How can we unite to build a powerful class community?” Their second unit, Past, Present and Future, is driven by the question, “How can we use wisdom from the past to build a better future?” Through these explorations, kindergarten students broaden their focus from self to community.

Kindergarten students are introduced to the fundamentals of color, line and shape through drawing, painting, collage and sculpture. They are encouraged to explore art using a variety of processes and techniques. Student artists also work three-dimensionally and begin to develop their ability to communicate visually. The art studios provide children with a valuable opportunity to express their feelings, thoughts and ideas in a safe and nurturing environment.

During the kindergarten year, students visit the library for the first time and develop a deeper connection to both visual and linguistic literacy. They read stories with longer and more complex storylines, including non-fiction titles and easy readers. During library class, the librarians share a story and engage students in conversations about questions or ideas the story might inspire. Afterwards, children have the opportunity to choose a library book to take home, helping them build positive connections with books and independent reading.

The kindergarten physical education curriculum consists of various individual, partner and group activities that focus on traveling movements, creative play, body awareness and control. Activities are also structured to introduce basic sports skills while allowing children to continue developing their individual performance and strengthening interpersonal relationships with their classmates.

In kindergarten, students continue to experience the natural joy of making music through movement, singing, playing instruments and listening across a range of musical genres. While becoming familiar with the basic elements of music, they create songs and improvise instrumental pieces. Through active participation, songs and games, students learn various elements of music and begin to develop music literacy. They also explore and interact with books, poetry and images to connect musical concepts to subjects such as language, social studies and math.

Kindergarten students combine imagination, music and movement to foster self-expression through storytelling and creative motion. They focus on spatial and body awareness, developing both self-expression and self-regulation. Students explore basic theater elements and games, practice body regulation and build an understanding and appreciation of theater.

Kindergartners are encouraged to ask questions and keep their thinking flexible while looking for clues and exploring ideas. Instructional model games and guided play help develop essential visualization skills. Learning engaging words to describe deeper concepts and ideas supports students’ recollection, builds their verbalization skills and increases their understanding of chess. Tactile learning using larger pieces and a large board complements verbal and visual methods. Students are also introduced to lichess.org and other online chess platforms for learning at home. Social skills and language development are further encouraged through chess team activities and group discussions.