Full Day Kindergarten Program
“Kindergarten at GBN is an outstanding mix of personalized curriculum, wonderful creative outlets, and a genuinely supportive environment in which my son has absolutely flourished.”
– Michelle Kohler, parent
Our full day program runs from 7AM to 6PM and includes breakfast, lunch and two snacks.
There are several reasons to consider our full day kindergarten:
A full day means fewer transitions so your child can focus on learning without the frequent interruptions of half-day programs that require before and after school care.
More time means more opportunity for in-depth learning, providing children with the skills they need to excel in first grade and beyond.
Expanded time together allows children to build stronger friendships.
A full day enables teachers to better plan for and meet student's needs.
We offer three teachers during curriculum time.
Our 10:1 staff/child ratio allows for plenty of personal attention.
We take educational field trips to reinforce what we're learning in the classroom.
We have weekly music and geography enrichment programs, computer learning games and computer research opportunities.
Curriculum
Our curriculum is tailored to fit your child's interests, needs and abilities so he or she can work at his or her own developmental level.
For kindergartners, working on active, concrete projects that truly engage them is the best way to learn. Therefore, our curriculum emphasizes hands-on activities and provides your child with opportunities to invent and create. Five-year-olds do best when they can develop their skills in various areas at the same time versus studying subjects one at a time in isolation. Throughout the day, your child will participate in individual, small and large group activities including reading, writing, art, music, movement, science and social studies. We offer a balanced curriculum-quiet and active, academic and social, indoor and outdoor time.
The ultimate goal of our curriculum is to develop your child's intellectual, social, physical and language skills.
Intellectual development
Kindergartners learn best through experience so we encourage exploration and experimentation. We teach academics in a variety of ways and incorporate them into our classroom activities.
Five-year-olds usually develop an interest in reading and writing so our teachers provide them the skills to help with both. We read to and with them every day, both individually and as a group.We know that 5- year-olds still need a one-to-one relationship with the teacher and that children differ, so we strive to meet the needs of each child's interests, needs and skill level. Our teachers regularly change the materials and activities to provide the children with fresh challenges.
Social and emotional development
Kindergartners are capable of cooperation and collaboration with others but still have conflicts to resolve. Therefore, we model and reinforce self-control and social skills, including sharing, turn taking, creative problem solving, and the skills that children need to get along well with others. Our teachers also emphasize activities to help children become independent in order to build their confidence.
Physical development
Our kindergartners enjoy a balance of fine and gross motor activity daily. Toys and materials like sewing, lacing and tying challenge their growing fine-motor coordination and are readily available in the classroom.We also integrate movement and dance into the everyday schedule. Kindergartners benefit from periods of outdoor activity each day and participate in group games like soccer and basketball.
Language development
The typical 5-year-old loves to add new words to his or her rapidly increasing vocabulary.
Our teachers engage children in conversation about what they are doing and thinking. Children are able to interact with one another throughout the day thereby developing their language capabilities as they work through problems and share ideas.
In the course of projects and activities, we explain unfamiliar words and actively introduce new ones.We use phonics to help children decode and construct words and journals to stimulate emerging writing skills. Chapter books are introduced so children become familiar with stories and develop a love of reading.
Assessing your child
We use a valid and reliable system to record and evaluate children's growth throughout their kindergarten year.
The Work Sampling System is the assessment tool we use to track children's progress. It is a curriculum embedded assessment that is based on National and State standards. We collect work samples, chart developmental milestones, use photographs, log teacher observations and provide a summary report on each child. All of this is shared with you during and at the end of the kindergarten year so that when the time comes, you can meet their first-grade teacher with confidence.
Our teachers truly value parents' input and look forward to working with you on furthering your child's development. We believe our role is to identify and build on your child's unique capabilities. With each child we stimulate critical thinking by supporting their thoughts and ideas and build confidence by prominently displaying their work.