Kindergarten

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The Kinder program meets 3 days a week, Tues and Thurs 9:00-3:45 and Wed 9:00-1:45 (pickup between 1:45 and 2:00) pm.  Families may choose to add full or half day on Monday as well  8:00-9:00 am class blocks and 2:00-3:45 pm on M/W.  Read below for detailed information

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This core program is divided into 45 min class blocks.  In the core PATHS program, our focus is on phonics and reading instruction as well as creating a love of literature.  Students have 3 reading/language arts blocks and 1 math block daily.  They have science and history twice a week on Tues/Thurs as well as Spanish, Music, and Art once a week.   The core program constitutes a complete curriculum for a Kindergarten age student.  

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We have various add-options available for Kinder for parents who would like additional school hours.  Our full time program offers the most hours weekly, meeting 8:00-3:45 Mon-Thurs, or you can select individual components. You can select from the following add-ons for the core PATHS program: 

 

• Our Steam/Nature day meets Mon from 9:00-1:45 (pickup between 1:45 and 2:00). STEAM Mon for 2024-2025  includes 5 classes: Science Explorers, Jr. Biologist, Botany, Spanish, and Theater or Art. You can read more about these classes on our STEAM day page here 

• We offer Math / Engineering centers from 8:00-9:00 am..  Students will explore hands on math activities using blocks, legos, cuisinaire rods, unifix cubes, and more.   

• Afternoon Block- Students may add 2:00-3:45 Mon and/or Wed afternoon.  Students will complete any homework assignments as well as outdoor nature activities and literature and math enrichment. 

 

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Kindergarten is  sometimes combined with 1st or with the PreK 4s for certain subjects such as art and music  but is separated for language arts and math classes based on their reading level and math understanding.  They generally share recess and lunch times with the 1st students.  Kinder and First grade students also share a classroom.  

 

All students are placed in Math and Phonics/Literature classes based on their ability level. For other classes, they are grouped with their age level. The science and history in this age level are suitable for beginning/emergent readers as well as more advanced readers, and will be engaging and challenging even for advanced students.

 

We believe children learn through experimentation and exploration. That's why our day includes 2 recess periods as well as hands on activities and crafts in all subjects.  We love active, inquisitive, and fidgety kids!

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HOMEWORK

Homework will be sent on Thursday including math worksheets, reading practice, and handwriting/phonics practice.  Students who attend the full time program will complete all homework while at the school.  

 

A note about Transitional K: 

Although we do not have a separate "Transitional K" class, we specialize in customizing classes for young students who may not be ready for K level work in all areas.   Our experience has been that there is a wide range of maturity and academic levels for children ages 4-7.  Some children at 5 may be very bright and ready to work academically but immature emotionally and not ready for the length of the traditional school week. Others may be great with numbers but still unable to hear the different sounds in words- this is called phonemic awareness and is necessary to possess for reading instruction.     In this age range, we work with students at their reading and math levels, and may bump kids into a different group in some areas based on their social interactions. For example, a 5 year old "Kinder" student may do the K reading, join the 1st grade level math, but move into  the PreK 4 for music and art because that group does more high energy activities.  Similarly, we may have a 1st grader who moves into the K reading group but  stays with his peers for all the other classes.  We continually adjust throughout the year to make sure children are working at the appropriate level. 

 

CLASSES  FOR KINDERGARTEN

The following classes are included in the Forest Path Curriculum.  

Phonics-Beginning readers:

 Children are placed in Phonics based on their reading level - your child will be given a evaluated their first week of class for phonics and literature placement.   Beginning readers is the grade level expectation but your child may be moved up into the emergent reader class depending on their reading level,  and may moved up or down as the year progresses. 

 
This class is designed for all new kindergarten students as well as first grade students who are not yet reading.    Students will work on isolating sounds and segmenting words, consonant-vowel-consonant words such as cat and hat, identifying rhyming words,  consonant blends, beginning vowel teams, and silent e words.  The beginning  reader class meets three days a week.

 

We offer a strong phonics program based on Orton Gillingham methodology. We use primarily Saxon Phonics K as their main curriculum but supplement with other programs including All About Spelling / All About Reading and Explode the Code.

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Literature:

Kindergarten Grade students will explore a variety of quality literature selections including Caldecott winners such as Tomy DePaola, Maurice Sendak, Kevin Henkes, Robert McClosky, and many more. These books will be read out loud to the students and parents will be asked to read out loud to their children at home. As the year progresses children will receive their own phonics readers to practice reading at home.

 

Handwriting:

Handwriting without Tears.  Students will learn correct letter formation and practice writing correctly.  

 

Math:

Our core workbook will be the Saxon math, but we supplement with other curricula. Students will learn adding and subtracting plus topics such as calendar, patterning, shapes, and more. We utilize both Math Centers with manipulatives and traditional worksheets.

 

Science: Either Exploring My World or Biology

We utilize an A/B year system.  K and 1st will either enjoy Exploring my World or Biology. They will have one subject in K and one subject in 1st.  

Students will explore and learn through hands on experiments and science centers topics such as the human body and my five senses, animals and habitats, biomes, classification, plants, lights and mirrors, simple machines, and more.

 

History: Either My Country and Me or World Cultures

We utilize an A/B year system.  K and 1st will enjoy either My Country and Me or World Cultures.  

My Country and Me:  Students will learn about our city and state as well as important people in our community. We’ll learn about important symbols of our country and our state.  Later we’ll cover a variety of famous historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, and many more.

 

World Cultures: Students will learn about people and countries around the world.  We will look at maps, flags, foods, and the people who live in places all over the world.  We'll also enjoy craft projects, music, and even some snacks!

 

Spanish

Our Spanish Enrichment classes will introduce the Spanish language and Latin American/Spanish cultures in a “fun” atmosphere. There will be a variety of activities including flashcards, videos, games, and songs. We will learn colors, numbers, the alphabet, lots of vocabulary and more! The skill level taught will vary with the age of the student. Our goal will be to build a strong language foundation while having lots of fun!

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Adventures in Art

The children will be introduced to and explore different techniques, mediums, materials, and a wide range of experiences, resulting in open-ended outcomes. Studies of artists, illustrators, and seasonal fun will also be included. The activities in this class will help foster a lifelong love of art and the creative process

 

Music Explorers

Focus and content include beat versus no beat, melodic direction, exploring the staff, and music notation. We’ll also study the instruments of the orchestra, and composers such as Mozart and Beethoven.  Children will have the opportunity to explore making music using instruments such as bells, sticks, drums, glockenspiels, and recorders.

 

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