Kindergarten Curriculum

All Day Kindergarten Session
8:15 am - 2:50 pm

Saint Michael School's kindergarten religion program focuses on the Catholic Church teachings about creation, the life of Jesus and his teachings, the importance of Mary and other saints as presented by Sadlier's religion text titled: "We Believe: God Made the World"

Through the Second Step program, students learn about feelings and the feelings of others. They learn how to use an “I” message when they feel angry. In this way they learn how to get along with others during the day.

The Social Studies program is integrated with religion and focuses on the student's place with in the community: how to take care of the earth, how to respect people and customs of other cultures and how to tell the difference between what we need and what we want.

Kindergarten uses the Open Court reading program from SRA (2002 edition). This program focuses on sounds and letters, reading and responding, and English language conventions. Students are encouraged to practice at home skills taught in the classroom, reinforcing learned skills.

Our Math program uses manipulatives (pattern blocks, counters, geometric shapes etc.) as well as worksheets from the kindergarten Holt math program. We cover geometry, comparison, sorting and classifying, patterns, and addition and subtraction (using numbers 1 – 10). We will use our class computers for extra practice in these areas.

Our Science program is integrated with the curriculum. The focus is on observation of the world around us and these study units include skeletons, mammals, reptiles, plants, and the environment. Field trips are utilized here.

In P.E., we develop gross motor skills, such as throwing and catching, skipping, following directions, playing games correctly by learning the rules and being good sports.

Our Music program consists of rhythm, and learning simple songs and dances. We listen to all kinds of music and spend time on the fine arts of music and dance.

Art activities include drawing, cutting, pasting, construction, and the use of color, lines and shapes. We study great artists and learn how to look for certain things in a painting or sculpture, as well as deciding whether we like the piece or not.

Kindergarten class plans and participates in the Mass for Ash Wednesday. We attend all school masses together.

We celebrate diversity with Native American Day that includes stories, cooking, games, and many other activities. We also participate in the Christmas concert and a graduation program.