Kindergarten


Kindergartners explore academic content, such as mathematics, science, social studies, and art through hands on learning. 

We also focus on social curriculum through dramatic play, peer interactions, and free play.  Technology also has a place in our classrooms. We believe kindergarten should be academic focused as well as experiential. 

In kindergarten we begin Fundations, a phonics program that supports our reading program by providing daily lessons that focus on:

  • letter formation
  • print knowledge
  • alphabetic awareness
  • phonological and phonemic awareness training

This program has helped our students begin to read as early as kindergarten.

Students strengthen their relationship with God and religion is interwoven into the daily curriculum.  Prayer and meditation are part of our daily routine. 

Kindergarten has two classrooms; each classroom consists of a licensed teacher and an instructional aide providing a 12:1 student to teacher ratio. 

Curriculum Highlights

  • Reading and writing workshops are differentiated and student centered programs.  Both put our students on the fun and exciting path of becoming lifelong readers, writers, and thinkers.
  • Learning in science and social studies is hands-on and is designed to enhance the children’s natural ability to develop a meaningful sense of observation and wonder.
  • Teachers lead differentiated math groups based on skill ability and multiple intelligences. 
  • Children learn the value of diversity and develop a strong sense of curiosity about our brothers and sisters around the world and in our own community.  Spanish instruction in kindergarten exposes children to a culture other than their own and encourages an understanding of diversity.
  • As a faith community, Annunciation is committed to learning, based on Christian values.  The religion curriculum teaches the importance of Catholic traditions and children are taught to live their faith and lead by example.
Kindergarten Curriculum

IB Themes for Kindergarten

Who We Are
  • An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities, and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.
    • Central Idea: Being my best self can help my community be its best.
      • An iquiry into:
        • Our physical, mental, and soical health.
        • Our spiritual health.
        • Rules and routines.
Where We Are in Place & Time
  • An inquiry into orientation in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives.  
    • Central idea:  The story of time can be told using words or numbers.    
      • An inquiry into:
        • Ways to measure time
        • Using time to understand stories
        • Various perspectives of time.  
How We Express Ourselves
  • An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.
    • Central Idea:  People Express culture and values through celebrations.    
      • An inquiry into:
        • Ways celebrations reflect families and cultures
        • How celebrations and traditions can have similarities and differences
        • The role of music and art in cultural traditions.   
How the World Works
  • An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.
    • Central Idea: Living things have a wide variety of habitats.  
      • An inquiry into:
      • Our place in the world
      • Living and non-living things
      • Various habitats  
How We Organize Ourselves
  • An inquiry into the inter connectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function or organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.
    • Central Idea: Exploring maps and globes helps us understand the world.
      • An Inquiry into:
        • Our geographic location in the world
        • Maps and globes as a representation of space
        • The sun as a universal source of light and heat
Sharing the Planet
  • An inquiry into the rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
    • Central Idea: People in communities make choices about shared resources. 
      • An inquiry into:
        • Wants and needs
        • The relationship between personal choices and resources
        • Community helpers