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Kindergarten Information

Meet our Kindergarten teachers:

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Marilee MacDonald & Janine Taylor

Philosophy and Curriculum

Early childhood is an exciting time of curiosity and growth.

It is essential that your child’s first experience in school is positive, supportive and fun! Here at Brookside, we thrive to build a strong literacy and numeracy foundation through play based centers and hands on learning opportunities. Our program aims to cultivate social, emotional and creative learning while developing your child’s physical and intellectual abilities.

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Importance of Play

“Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth" (Ginsburg, 2013).

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Top 6 Reasons for Play:

• Helps children learn about the world and society
• Promotes problem-solving
• Promotes creativity, imagination, cognitive, social, and emotional development
• Can be used to deepen understanding of classroom content
• Enhances language and cultural development
• Play is sure to develop the whole child, not just the cognitive parts.

Our Kindergarten Program

How is play incorporated at Brookside? Structured Play is an integral part of our Kindergarten program. We prepare well thought out play-based learning centers, use manipulatives, participate in hands-on activities, engage in movement breaks and dramatization, and play many learning games.

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How are curricular objectives met at Brookside? Literacy and numeracy learning is weaved into all activities and differentiated instruction is provided to meet the needs of all learners and learning styles. Thematic units integrate the objectives and make learning fun and exciting. Examples of themes are “Animals in Winter,” “Safety”, “Bugs” and many more!

Alberta Kindergarten Curriculum

“Kindergarten at a Glance”: The 7 Strands of Kindergarten

https://www.learnalberta.ca/content/mychildslearning/gradeataglance/kindergarten.pdf

A new Alberta curriculum was implemented September 2022. �You can find it here:

https://curriculum.learnalberta.ca/curriculum/en

Our Weekly Schedule

Once a week our kindergarten students participate in:�library, music and a formal art lesson

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Physical education is twice a week, either outside or in the gym, as well as daily physical movement opportunities within the classroom.

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Center time is offered daily along with one 15 minute recess.

Busy Learning

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Field Trips and Special Events

Parents as Partners

-Parent classroom volunteer

-Field Trips

-Special events

-Kindercooking

-Parent Advisory Council

-Expert Sharing

-Playdough parent

-Scrapbooking

A strong partnership between home and school strengthens the connection between a child’s learning and his/her experiences. Here are some ways you can get involved:

Communication

It is very important that there is an open line of communication between home and school. Here are some of the ways communication will occur:

1. Schoolzone- each family will receive a SchoolZone account at the beginning of the year.
2. Email- we try to be as paperless as possible so weekly and monthly emails are sent out to keep you up to date as to what is going on in your child’s classroom.
3. Kanga Pouch- included in your Kindergarten start up fees, you will receive a “Kanga Pouch” which is a sturdy, fabric carrying case for paper newsletters and library books.
4. Open door policy- You are ALWAYS welcome to pop into our classroom to see what we are up to or to chat!

Supporting Learning at Home

1. Read- Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It increases their vocabulary, develops listening skills and prepares them to understand print and written word. Reading builds a supportive and nurturing relationship between children and their caregivers so set a time to read everyday.

2. Play- Providing opportunities for your child to PLAY with a variety of toys such as lego, puzzles, dress up, etc. will help your child develop spatial awareness, reasoning and problem solving skills. Playing outside promotes social development and encourages a healthy lifestyle.

3. Promote Independence- Children need opportunities to develop a sense of self and to feel like they are “growing up.” Encouraging your child to complete jobs by themselves is crucial to their school readiness. Have your child practice with buttoning, zipping and dressing themselves and participate in age appropriate household chores (i.e. clearing the table).

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Kindergarten Readiness

We quite often receive questions regarding whether or not a child is ready to enter Kindergarten. Your child is eligible to enter Kindergarten if they will be 5 years of age by December 31st. However, you must keep in mind that each child is unique and will develop skills at differing rates. This document written by Jan Pierce, M.Ed may offer you some insights as to your child’s readiness and age appropriate skills. If you have further questions/concerns, please reach out as we would be happy to discuss your child with you.

https://www.calgaryschild.com/education/preschool-kindergarten/2469-is-your-child-kindergarten-ready

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Thank you

We look forward to you and your child joining our Brookside Family!

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the school.

780-434-0464

brookside@epsb.ca