Transitional Kindergarten (TK) acts as a bridge class that helps our students travel successfully from preschool to kindergarten. It is an ideal program for older 4s or young 5s who might need another year to develop socially or academically before moving on to kindergarten.
TK is not just another year of preschool; our program is designed to give children the skills to tackle the challenges they will face in kindergarten. The children strive towards goals comparable to those in a kindergarten program, but work at a modified pace in a much smaller community of learners with a 7:1 child to teacher ratio.
Our TK curriculum presents the children with many opportunities to develop self-awareness through problem solving and decision-making. It also fosters the growth of early literacy and math skills through activities that target listening, speaking, reading and writing. Socially, the TK class emphasizes relationship-building and positive social interaction among children. Our TK students find many opportunities throughout the day to discover the world and to interact with it creatively.
The teachers' ultimate goal for the TK class is clear: to challenge older preschool children academically and socially in a fun, nurturing way that fosters both independence and a sense of community.
Daily Schedule:
8:30 Arrival/Choices
8:45 Morning Meet & Greet
8:55 Return to Choice Time
9:45 Group Meeting, Snack
10:30 Outside
11:00 Shared Reading
11:30 Language
12:00 Lunch
12:30 Quiet Reading/Other*
1:00 Dismissal
- Math Monday, Books on Tape Wednesday, and Guest Reader Fridays
Teachers work closely with individuals and small groups to foster the growth of early literacy, math, science, and social studies and overall social development. Two important class rules include everyone needs to try and to take their time so they can become exposed and really explore new ideas and concepts. In a nurturing, supportive environment, TK children are challenged, experience success, and sometimes frustration, but are always encouraged to find the self-confidence to move to the next level of learning.
Literacy Concepts:
- letter recognition/formation
- story sequencing and retelling
- author studies
- journal writing
Math Concepts
- number recognition
- one-one correspondence
- basic addition and subtraction
- sorting
- graphing
- patterning
- geometry
- measurement
Science Concepts
- senses
- plants and animals
- weather
- states of matter
- space
Social Studies Concepts
- sense of self
- community helpers
- safety
- celebrations around the world