Welcome to Grandview School’s

Kindergarten Orientation

Piscataway offers a full day

kindergarten program that uses

the Tools of the Mind curriculum.

Tools of the Mind is a child-centered program that teaches every student at their own level.

Tools of the Mind is a program that is filled with literature, comprehension strategies, and

writing. 

Tools of the Mind teaches mathematical concepts through hands-on experiences.

Tools of the Mind incorporates Self-regulation, Science and Social Studies into various themes

throughout the year.

A Day in the Life of a Kindergartner:

• Arrival of bus students and walkers• Morning Classroom Routines– Your child needs to learn responsibility and

unpack his or her belongings.

Question of the DayEvery day the students participate in opening activities.   When the children enter the classroom, they answer a question of the day.  The question of the day changes throughout the year.  

    Examples:  Are you wearing ___?, identifying rhyming wordssame beginning/ending consonant soundparts to make a shape...

 Students also participate in counting jar activities and attendance sticks.

Morning Meeting

Weather Graph- One space is filled in each day.  Students are asked questions about the data.      Examples: Most/Least, How many more/less than?... 

Timeline- A linear calendar that shows the continuum of time.  We discuss days of the week and months of the year.  We record information on the calendar. Message of the Day- A sentence written on the board using the stem, "We are going to ____."

September and OctoberThe beginning of the year starts with fairy tales, such as The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  *Students learn how to identify the characters, setting, plot, and solution to each story.  *Students are able to retell the beginning, middle & end of the story. *Students are able to compare and contrast different versions of the fairy tales. 

October to June*Students will start to listen to The Magic Tree House chapter books.

 

l                                l                               l                              l                               l                              l                               l                              l                               l                              l                               l                              l                               l                              l                               l                              l                               l                              l                               l                              l                     

Storyboards

Here is a sample Storyboard showing the beginning, middle, and the end of Little Red Riding Hood.

Literacy CentersEach week children are assigned to groups that rotate to one center per day.  Groups are changed weekly.  Blocks- Large wooden blocks, Legos... Math- Manipulatives for hands-on activities... Dramatic Play- Housekeeping area Literacy- Puppets, flannel-board & magnetic characters... Science- Sand table, different items to investigate...

Center PlansOnce a student goes to their center, the first thing they have to do is write what they plan to do in their center. Students in a traditional program would write a string of letters together for a sentence.

                              Example:   imgtbdw  Tools of the Mind teaches students to write with  a correspondence between spoken words and lines.

______   ___  _______  ____  ____  ____  ______.    

    I            M       G               T         B         D           W      .          am     going           to       be      the       wolf

Students draw a picture that corresponds with their sentence. When their plan is complete, they will act out the story in their center. The plan will remind them which character they chose.

How do they know which letters to write?

Students use something called a “Sound Map" to help them write.  A sound map has all of the consonants with a corresponding picture to help students figure out which letter to use. 

For example, if a student wanted to write the word "Mom", he or she would look at the sound map and locate the "monkey".  "Mom" and "monkey" both start with the "mmm" sound, so the student would write the letter "M". 

There is also a "Vowel Map" with short and long vowel sounds, which is introduced after the consonants are learned.

Teacher ScaffoldingThe teacher scaffolds each child's writing on his or her level. Sample Scaffolds:Picture, Message, Lines, Initial Sounds, Ending Sounds, Medial Sounds, Alphabetic Principle, & Word Principle  The teacher conferences weekly with each child to set goals and discuss whether or not the previous goal was achieved.  This encourages children to self-reflect on their own work and focus on one small area to improve.

Mathematics

Students complete daily hands-on math activities. 

 Mathematical activities are a

combination of Tools of the Mind and Scott Foresman

Investigations. 

Some of the math topics covered in kindergarten

include:    *Patterning    *Calendar and timeline concepts    *Developing number sense and 1 to 1 correspondence    *Counting and writing numbers above 50 (preferably to 100)    *Collecting, recording, & interpreting data-

graphs, tallies, survey questions, most, least, how many more/less than...    *Exploring geometry-shapes & solid figures    *Simple problem solving and explanation     *Ordering amounts -most to least, least to most    *Money    *Time    *Indentifying parts of a whole    *Simple addition and subtraction problems    *Using math vocabulary

Self- RegulationIn order for children to be successful, they

must develop self-regulation.  

    *The ability to stay on task    *Ignore distractions    *Remember on purpose    *Hold two directions or strategies in mind at one time    *The development of self-discipline    *Motivation to succeed

Students achieve this through songs, finger plays, Graphic Practice, Buddy Reading, Share the News, etc.

Lunch

• Students may either bring a lunch from home of purchase lunch at school.• Students will eat in the

cafeteria.– Sodexho PayPams- Pre-payment of food

Special Areas

The students are supported by a part time assistant in each classroom.

  

The students participate in the following classes once a week:

*** * Physical Education     *Art     *Music

    

Dismissal

• Students will be expected to pack up their belongings independently.

Other Important Facts to Know:• Healthy Snacks should be provided every day for

your child. • Label ALL personal belongings and clothing with a

permanent marker.• Label lunch money with your child’s name in

either an envelope or a Ziploc Bag.• The Magic Tree House series is used in our

kindergarten curriculum. PLEASE do not read them to your child before we read them in class.

• You will receive a letter in August from your child’s teacher stating which room your child is in and supplies that are needed.