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GEHLEN
CATHOLIC
Initiates
TRANSITIONAL
KINDERGARTEN
Fall, 2007
What is
Transitional Kindergarten?
Gehlen Catholic's Transitional
Kindergarten is a full day program offered to children ages four
and five who are developmentally young and who need an
additional year of growing so that they may be successful when
entering a full-day kindergarten program. It is a bridge between
preschool and kindergarten for those students who, in essence,
need time to absorb and express ideas, learn more about
friendships, assert their independence, and examine the world
around them.
What are
the overall goals of the Transitional Program?
The transitional kindergarten
program offers a calm, nurturing environment with meaningful,
developmentally-appropriate, hands-on enrichment experiences for
children to develop at their own pace in:
-
social skills (cooperation,
friendship, decision-making, self-confidence, listening
skills, problem solving)
-
emotional well-being
(positive attitude, self-responsibility and self-help
skills; respect for self and others;
-
physical skills (fine and
gross motor skills; confidence in physical capabilities, use
all senses for total learning)
-
intellectual skills (
independent thinking, memory, problem-solving skills,
language and literacy skills, understanding of the world)
-
spirituality (experience
wonder and awe in God’s creation, devlep a relationship with
God, gratitude for God’s many gift, prayer as communication
with God, faith).
Parents of TK children are to
be commended for acknowledging the benefits of a smoother,
longer transition for their children, a benefit which will
increase their child’s success throughout the years ahead.
What are
the curricular goals of Transitional Kindergarten?
Active
learning promotes concept retention and skills development. The
Transitional Kindergarten is rich in such experiences and
includes the following curricular outcomes:
Faith
Formation
·
Daily
prayer – formal, informal, meal time, morning and evening prayer
·
Attendance at monthly K-12 liturgy (second semester)
·
Bible
Stories
·
Nature
walks
Language
and Literacy
·
Listen
to a story without being distracted
·
Actively listen to others in conversation and respond
·
Retell
stories with essential elements in logical sequence
·
Understand concepts of print
·
Identify parts of a book
·
Name
and comment on pictures
·
Retell
stories from pictures
·
“Read”
print in own familiar environment
·
Use
prewriting skills with letters and pictures
·
Predict
outcomes of storied
·
Recite
the alphabet
·
Recognize the letters of the alphabet
·
Increase vocabulary
·
Rhyme
words
Math and
Science
·
Match,
identify and draw shapes
·
Understand time concepts
·
Understand directional concepts
·
Understand basic comparison concepts - more than, less than,
larger, smaller, etc.
·
Group
for characteristics, classification and sorting
·
Comparing and graphing
·
Associate one-to-one correspondence of objects when counting
·
Count
and create sets of ten
·
Problem
solve
·
Complete puzzles with increasing complexity
·
Understand basic features of the earth – weather, night, day,
health, animals, etc.
Physical
Fitness and Health
·
Gross
Motor Skills – active games, outdoor play, movement to
music–marching, skipping, running, hopping, etc.
·
Fine
Motor Skills – puzzles and toys; drawing, copying, stringing,
cutting, holing pencil/crayons (grip), lacing, zippering,
buttoning, eye-hand coordination
·
Health
– basic personal hygiene, preventing disease, dental care,
nutrition
Social/Emotional Development
·
Following directions
·
Taking
turns and sharing
·
Helping
others
·
Accepting responsibility
·
Feelings, attitudes, and emotions
·
Empathy
and caring for the feelings of others
·
Use of
words to resolve conflicts
Creative
Expression
·
Use of
a variety of media
·
Arts
and crafts
·
Respect
for the work of others
·
Build
self-confidence in producing own work
·
Music
with movement and rhythms
·
Singing
of seasonal music/songs
·
Plays,
poetry and nursery rhymes
Who
qualifies for Transitional Kindergarten?
Gehlen
Catholic's Transitional Kindergarten program welcomes children
of all faiths who will be four or five
years old by September 15th and who have completed at
least one year of preschool. Priority will be given to five-year
olds.
How does
the program operate?
Gehlen Catholic’s Transitional
Kindergarten program will follow the school calendar (180 days)
and hours (8:15 a.m. – 3:20 p.m.). The first half of the TK day
will be academically-based with instruction by a certified
teacher, Mrs. Pam Jeanery. Students will benefit from a rich
curriculum which includes prayer, language and literature
enrichment, science and math experiences. The second half of
the day will be activities-based under Pam’s planning, direction
and assessment and through the work of a teacher’s aide. The
afternoon of TK students will include rest, snack, and creative
play time as well as classes in physical education, library,
health and music.
Gehlen Catholic has applied for
state accreditation of the TK program and will meet state
guidelines and developmentally appropriate standards.
What is the
class size?
Gehlen Catholic is planning to
offer a transitional class of up to 16 students.
The number of sections will be
based upon demand.
How is
Transitional Kindergarten different
from
Kindergarten?
Gehlen
Catholic’s Transitional Kindergarten program will be different
than kindergarten in that it will strive to help children grow
in the skills that are needed for Kindergarten. Students will
spend the majority of their time involved in hands-on activities
rather than in paper and pencil-type work.
Transitional
kindergarten students are at different levels socially,
emotionally and academically from Kindergartens students.
Consequently, the approach to their learning is somewhat
different, being much more activity-based and hands-on at the TK
level. Children in Kindergarten are expected to have a longer
attention span and greater ability to concentrate than children
in TK.
What is the
typical TK day like?
Morning
Afternoon
Arrival -
8:15-8:30
Lunch
Opening:
Attendance, Prayer, Pledge Recess
Morning
Meeting: Calendar and Weather Activity Read Aloud
Read
Aloud
Special Class (PE, library,
Let’s Meet the
Letter People
arts/crafts, music, show
Recess and
Snack
and tell)
Math
Free Choice play
Center
Fun/Language and Literature Daily
review/smile Circle
Religion
Dismissal -3:20 p.m.
Is there
tuition assistance available?
Tuition
assistance is available for all families who qualify. All
families of potential kindergarten and transitional kindergarten
students will be asked to complete the application to the Msgr.
Lafferty School Tuition Organization known as FAIR (similar to
FAFSA for college tuition assistance). Once completed, tuition
assistance will be allocated according to need. In addition,
families may apply for the Federal Free and Reduced lunch
Program. Qualifying for either program assure tuition assistance.
What is the
cost?
The cost of the program for the
fall of 2007 will be $2.50 per hour, the typical hourly daycare
rate. For 2007, the $2.50 per hour fee for Gehlen Catholic’s
Transitional Kindergarten program includes the cost of the daily
hot lunch and a milk snack.
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