At TFCA, kindergarten is foundational to all other grades and subjects. Students review letter recognition, letter sounds and formation.
Students hone fine motor skills like writing, pasting, cutting, painting, coloring and more.
Math skills are developed through manipulatives, centers and whole group instruction about adding, subtracting, money, telling time, number sense, one to one correspondence, calendar and more.
Students learn to write complete sentences with correct punctuation and capitalization. They do research on animal homes/habitats, arctic animals, Christmas around the world and more.
Thematic units are centered around apples and the life cycle of apples, applying the scientific method, studying Christmas around the world, butterflies and their life cycles, Dr. Seuss, Pilgrims and Indians, and other author unit studies.
Kindergarten students still have a quiet time or rest time in the afternoon for 30 minutes after lunch. This is especially necessary for most students in the first semester. They will have a pillow or rest item they can bring to school.
Kindergarten is also about learning through play. Students learn and master so many skills through their interaction with others. They learn to share, follow directions, listen, collaborate and more throughout their day. They begin to develop more independent habits and prepare for mastery of content in first grade.
Kindergarten students typically have a field trip to the apple orchard, go see the Nutcracker in December (part of their music classes), go to the Science Center in March and have a culminating end of year picnic at the park with families.